Eden Prairie upsets top-ranked Chaska in girls basketball section final

All week leading up to Friday's Class 4A, Section 2 championship game, Eden Prairie's girls basketball coach never wavered from her message.

"We've been playing really well," Ellen Wiese said. "We knew we could win this game."

After the Eagles' convincing performance in a 60-42 victory over No. 1-ranked Chaska — at Chaska, no less — it was clear Wiese's belief in her team, which advanced to the state tournament that begins Wednesday, was well-placed.

"Every day, Coach was preaching to us that we have to go into the game knowing we are going to win," said senior guard Molly Lenz. "So every day, I felt more and more confident."

Chaska went into Friday night's game on a 22-game winning streak. One of those was a 72-63 victory over Eden Prairie in a holiday tournament in December, which seemed ages ago to Eden Prairie.

"Yes, they beat us earlier, but I knew we'd play as well as we did," Wiese said.

Wiese cited two primary factors for her team's performance.

Eden Prairie's active defense spent most of the night frustrating Chaska's potent offense. The Hawks struggled to find their rhythm and were held off the offensive boards. They were limited to a single shot on the possessions when they were able to get one off.

Eden Prairie, conversely, leaned on the surehandedness of Lenz, who is committed to Illinois State for college. She routinely got the Eagles into their offense and never allowed the Chaska defenders to get them out of synch.

Wiese sang her praises. "She can't come out. Her poise is of someone way beyond her years," she said. "It's like a senior in college. And we all feed off of that. We just feel completely comfortable knowing 'Molly's got this.' "

Lenz, who led all scorers with 22 points, said five years of playing point guard gave her a steady hand. "I've been playing point guard since eighth grade, and I have a lot of experience in big games, too. This is my fourth section championship, so I felt very comfortable."