Lakeville North girls’ basketball showcased impressive depth vs. Shakopee

I’m not one who likes to take away moral victories from a team’s loss, but the Lakeville North girls’ basketball team impressed me with their depth in the loss against Shakopee on Friday.

This was the first time I had seen the No. 5-4A Panthers play this season, so I didn’t quite know what to expect. I figured junior Temi Carda would play at a high level, which she did; Carda scored 20. I expected to see a strong showing from crafty defender Olivia Bruce, and I did.

I did not, however, expect to see the strong depth I saw from Lakeville North on Friday.

The Panthers are 10-2 as they are one game away from the halfway mark of the regular season, and if they can continue to get a solid showing from players not named Carda or Bruce, Lakeville North has a decent chance at returning to the Class 4A state tournament.

Sarah Krynski is one name that comes to mind. Krynski is a sneaky offensive threat. If teams focus on defending Carda, Krynski is patient and and can make shots from just about anywhere. Against Shakopee, Krynski played an important role in the comeback. She scored a two-point basket to give the Panthers their first lead of the game with 8:14 left, and she had another clutch shot when she scored a three to make it a 65-62 game with 21 seconds left.

Krynski scored 11 while missing a healthy amount of shots she normally makes.

Caitlyn Peterson also came in off the bench and impressed. She provided a spark that helped the Panthers come within four earlier in the comeback. Peterson scored back-to-back three-pointers, and registered a defensive stop on the following series. Peterson, a junior guard, finished with seven points.

Add in players such as Taylor Brown, Kiara James, Jessica Montouri, Claire Blascziek and Taylor Fosse, and Lakeville North becomes difficult for teams to run with later in games because of its depth.

“We are in pretty good shape,” Lakeville North coach Shelly Clemons said post game. “In a physical game like that, we do a good job of wearing teams down.”

And it will be important to have this depth as the season reaches its midpoint.

“We call it the January grind,” Clemons said. “The season starts to get really long and fatigue sets in.”