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Stillwater gallops to pay dirt in second half, defeats Eden Prairie

By John Wagner, SportsEngine, 02/16/19, 11:00AM CST

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Sara Scalia tallied 25 points for the Ponies, who have now won 16 consecutive games.

Stillwater's Sara Scalia goes up for two of her 25 points against Eden Prairie. The Ponies defeated the Eagles 78-63 Saturday night in Stillwater. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Stillwater's Sara Scalia goes up for two of her 25 points against Eden Prairie. The Ponies defeated the Eagles 78-63 Saturday night in Stillwater. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Stillwater junior Aliza Karlen pulls down a rebound against Eden Prairie Saturday night. Karlen had 14 points in the Ponies' 78-63 victory over the Eagles. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Stillwater junior Aliza Karlen pulls down a rebound against Eden Prairie Saturday night. Karlen had 14 points in the Ponies' 78-63 victory over the Eagles. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

The final seven minutes of Stillwater's 78-63 home victory over Eden Prairie bore little resemblance to the action that preceded it.

After 29 minutes, the two teams were locked in a 55-55 tie. The Ponies' leading scorer, Sara Scalia, was struggling to make shots. And the Eagles were handling Stillwater's full-court pressure well enough to stay in the game.

But Scalia, a senior guard who averages 22.8 points per game, started making her shots, and a devastating injury to Eden Prairie point guard Abby Jirele hamstrung the Eagles at both ends of the court.

The result was a 23-6 run by the Ponies to finish the game.

First Report

Stillwater outscored Eden Prairie 23-8 over the final seven minutes of the second half to earn a 78-63 nonconference victory at Stillwater High School on Saturday evening.

Stillwater (21-2, 15-0) got 25 points from senior guard Sara Scalia, a University of Minnesota commit who is the team’s leading scorer at 22.8 points per game.

Struggling from beyond the arc in the first half, Scalia shot 0-for-6 from three-point range early. She had 11 points at halftime, with her team trailing 31-30. Scalia, however, found her touch in the second half, with her making three of her first four attempts of the half, including a three-pointer.

For the Ponies, who are ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, three players other than Scalia scored in double figures, with Alexis Pratt tallying 16 points, Grace Cote dropping 15 and Aliza Karlen adding 14.

Eden Prairie (17-6, 2-4) was led by Nneka Obiazor, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds. Natalie Mazurek had 11 points and Abby Johnson added 10 for the Eagles.

With their defeat of Eden Prairie, the Ponies have won 16 consecutive games. They last lost in a 78-76 decision to No. 2-4A Wayzata on Dec. 17.

Eden Prairie's Nneka Obiazor is fouled on the way to the basket by Stillwater's Delaney Wagner.  Obiazor had 19 points in the Eagles' 78-63 loss to the Ponies. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Eden Prairie's Nneka Obiazor is fouled on the way to the basket by Stillwater's Delaney Wagner. Obiazor had 19 points in the Eagles' 78-63 loss to the Ponies. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

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