The Czar goes down to South

The Czar went down to South, he was looking for a player who could seal the deal.
South was way behind, their defense ready to go for steals.
I saw this player on the dribble and dropping like it was hot.
Czar jumped up from his seat and said 'Tayler let me tell you what'
I bet you didn't know but I'm a point guard too
And if you're fair but just don't care, I'll make a fool of you.
I'll bet my crown of gold against your school's logo, cause MG is better than you.
She said, "That's right I'm Tayler and we'll win
so I'll take your bet cause I'm one of the best that's ever been"

That of course is a parody of the famous Charlie Daniels tune "Devil went down to Georgia" which was played tonight at South for their girls matchup against Maple Grove. Needless to say that account (except for lines 1,2 and 5) are complete fiction and are intended for humor only. No boys game tonight but if you've been watching closely you'll see I've been tracking Tayler Hill's progress to the state's all time scoring record so I decided to check in on that.

10-9 Maple Grove with about 11 minutes left in the 1st half. They stretch the lead to 24-13 at the 5:15 mark. Hill heats up to bring the Tigers back. 9 of her 11 first half points in a 15-2 South run. Maple Grove gets the last bucket of the half and we're tied at 28 at the break. Hill 11 points on 4-11 shooting. Ellen Edison hot from outside and Hannah Reichel getting it done inside for 9 points each for Maple Grove.

Sadiqah Jihad with 2 FTs with 15 minutes left gives South a 36-32 lead. Maple Grove then explodes. Jennifer Field with a 3, Edison with a J and the Crimson have the lead back. Then Edison with a triple, Field with 2 FTs, Edison again with a jumper, Field 2 more and Julie Kruse puts back an offensive rebound to conclude an 18-1 Maple Grove run. Coach Ahmil Jihad going Phil Jackson on us and not using a timeout during the run. 50-37 Crimson with 9:30 to play. Tyisha Smith with 1 of her many steals and a feed to Hill for a layin that finally breaks the run with 8 minutes left. 7:30 for South without a field goal as they couldn't make anything but a layup. Makensie Becker with her 2 points on the night at 6:45 makes it 52-41 Crimson. Hill then with a 3 pt play at 5:39 and 2 FTs at 5:18 to cut the lead to 6. Stephanie Davision with a triple to push the lead back to 9 and South takes time with 4 minutes left. 55-46 Maple Grove.

The Crimson then can't get a call and turn it over on 6 of 7 possessions with the other being a block. Hill with a layin and then an assist to Mallory Cramer makes it 55-52 Maple Grove with 2:15 left and you wonder if the Crimson will hang on.After 1 of 2 FTs by Maple Grove, Jihad misses a 3 but the Crimson turn it over. Hill responds with 2 more free throws with 42 seconds left and the Crimson lead is only 56-54. Field with a clutch 1 and 1 after South called a timeout with 27 seconds left to push it back to 4. Hill goes right back down for a layup with only 7 seconds coming off the clock. Davison fouled and makes the 1st but misses the 2nd with 15 seconds left. Edison gets the offensive rebound though. South finally tracks down Field and fouls her with 9 seconds left. Now its the double bonus, but Field misses both free throws. South rebounds and elects not to use their final timeout. Hill comes down puts up about a 25-27 foot triple at the horn and its no good. Maple Grove with the major upset 59-56.

Maple Grove came in 0-2 with double digit losses to very good Hopkins and Wayzata teams. South was coming off a win against a ranked Lakeville North squad in the Breakdown classic on Saturday in Becker. South couldn't make an outside shot to save their soul. Hill finishes with 28 points (17 in the 2nd half) on 10-22 shooting, most of those layins. Tyisha Smith with 8 as South once again couldn't find a 2nd scorer. Ellen Edison with a great game and leads Maple Grove with 16 points. Jennifer Field with 13 for Maple Grove.