Chisago Lakes SL: No Show

#5 posting 7.31.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

CHISAGO LAKES SUMMER LEAGUE
I took a trip up to Chisago Lakes to see the finals of the CLSL, but when I got there the place was deserted. I went around the school and even checked the ice arena (that is where all the cars were). It was a good hour up for a Subway sandwich.
I imagine it was postponed due to the sweltering heat.

It wasn't a total wash out. I picked up a book at Barnes & Noble. More about that tomorrow.

WHAT IS NEXT?
The Sweet 16 is about all that is left in August. What then? There is always something, somewhere going on. Coaches still need to be hired. Players will transfer. Players will verbal. Michigan opens practice on August 14.
In the coming weeks I will be evaluating the summer season indepth, my own personal awards, and comparisons with HS. Of course the Lynx are still playing and their games are being digested.

I want to thank all the readers. You folks provide a lot of good information. If you have news let me know. Email me from the profile about a mile down on the right side of this blog.

Next up: tomorrow with the general news of the day, plus two out & abouts North Tartan vs New Mexico Heat Elite and North Tartan Blue vs Mpls Lady Lakers.

Out & About: North Tartan Blue/KC Keys

#4 posting 7.31.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

this game took place on Sunday, July 30 in the sweltering gyms at Bloomington Kennedy
North Tartan Meltdown, Red Bracket Quarterfinals

North Tartan Blue 59, Kansas City Keys 52

In somewhat of an upset NTB played crisp and clean in the wilting heat for a 59-52 over the Kansas City Keys. The KC Keys were 6-1 in the Miss Basketball tournament in Kearney, Nebraska in mid July.

KCK scored first and the game was fairly tight with the game tied at 7. Katie Haas gave NTB the lead for good on a post up. KCK had droughts of five in the first quarter, 8 in the second. NTB exploited the 8 streak with an 8-0 run. Jaime Zelinsky scored 6 in a row for NTB in the stretch scoring twice on transition steals as she twisted, slithered and snaked her way in for layups. Danielle Adams had all 8 points for the KC Keys in the second quarter. All of her points came in the paint. NTB led 35-19 at half.

NTB kept a helthy ten point lead in the 3rd quarter until KCK hit the jackpot with 6 points in one possession. The score was 39-29 when Kristen Williams was fouled on her second attempt, apparently someone said something that annoyed the ref and a technical was called. Williams made one free throw, #11 made the two techs, and then #11 drained a three. Add the points up and it was now a 39-35 game. Jazmin Townsend scored on a cut to put NTB up by six. #11 drained another 3 to take KCK down 41-38. NTB led 45-40 headed into the fourth. KCK scored on their first two possessions to get to 45-44. Zelinsky came right back for NTB with a 3 to push the lead to 48-44. Then KCK went into a six possession snooze. Going into Adams was working, but she wasn't getting the touches. With four minutes to go NTB led 55-46. Not much changed the rest of the game.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

NORTH TARTAN BLUE
STARTERS
Heather Cook, Eden Prairie 2, 3, 66.7, .333 point guard, had a chance to drive the lane, but she would have been swatted if she ventured into the lane. She gets credit for knowing her limitations. as leader calm and did the right things. RF: size
Jackie Kelly, Blaine 10, 76, 142.9, .571 3 shooter and transitions are her game. RF: balance on the drives.
Jazmin Tonwnsend, Coon Rapids 7, 13, 53.8, .308 very active and passionate. good speed/quickness.
Deena Ewert, Andover 11, 11, 100.0, .545 decent size, decent range. can run the floor. active boarder.
Katie Haas, Tartan 10, 11, 90.9, .545 post player. RF: needs to quicken up moves and shot. exposes the ball
BENCH
Jamie Zelinsky, Park Center 16, 13, 123.1, .615 put stamp on the game in second quarter, and hit big 3 at a one point game. nice drive and dish. used the spin judiciously on drives to basket. cashed in 7/8 at the stripe.
Brittany Holm, Benson 2, 3, 66.7, .333 post player, thin wiry.
Jennifer Hooper, Tartan 1, 3, 33.3, .333 RF: on transition threw behind the player--in other words where she was, not where she was going.

KANSAS CITY KEYS
STARTERS
Cherakie Barrett, Raytown 2, 5, 40.0, .200
Shalisa Williams, Bishop Miege 12, 10, 120.0, .500 3 range, RF: small, at times careless with the ball (or was it the heat?)
#11 12, 11, 109.1, .364
Kristen Williams, KC Grandview 6, 8, 75.0, .375
Danielle Adams, Lee's Summit 16, 16, 100.0, .500 Courtney Paris like. Big strong, decent touch inside. good hands. uses body to create space. RF: tries to go out and shoot 3 bombs. Stay inside and
BENCH
Ashlea Williams, Springfield Hillcrest 4, 6, 66.7, .333
Jolene Tamboue, Manhattan, KS 0, 4, 0.0, .000
#20? 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Trolisa Williams, Bishop Miege 0, 3, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Jamie Zelinsky

BY THE NUMBERS
North Tartan Blue 59, 64, 92.2, .467
Kansas City Keys 52, 65, 80.0, .354

This was NTB's best performance I have seen this year for both pp100 and floor %. NTB played it right by staying in their zone for a couple of reasons. 1. see if KCK can score from the outside (they only made four, they missed many more than that). 2. conserve the legs in the unbearable heat. NTB never suffered extended droughts, and played with more passion than I saw early this season. They withstood the fire and didn't loose their cool and were focused.

Next up: later tonight after the Chisago Lakes Summer League if I don't melt. According to my thermometer it is 101. 5.

Out & About: Mpls Lady Lakers/Purple Aces

#3 posting 7.31.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball

this game took place in the sweltering gyms at Bloomington Kennedy
North Tartan Meltdown
Red Bracket Sweet 16 game

Minneapolis Lady Lakers 67, Purple Aces 54

Talisha Barlow racked up 32 points as MLL had a roller coaster win over the Purple Aces. The Purple Aces are out of NE Wisconsin around the Green Bay area. Some of the players were from the state championship team Ashwaubenon.

Even at 9 am the gym was miserable. It was especially miserable for the Aces as they started the game with 11 possessions without a score, and didn't score a field goal until their 21st possession. They started out with 6 turnovers in their first 7 possessions as the press devoured them. . They were buried 28-2 at one point. MLL was as hot as the Aces were cold as they scored on 9 straigt possessions. Barlow had 10 during that outburst. But just as hot as MLL was they turned ice cold in a 10 possession drought of their own. There lead wasn't really in danger, but the Aces 15-0 run of their own. At half time MLL was only ahead by single digits 32-23.

With the Purple Aces first basket in the second half they were down 7. MLL awoke from their offensive stupor and rattled off 6/7 scoring possessions to be more comfortable at 47-28. They would eventually go up 51-28. MLL cashed in three 3s in the flury. It was a 19-3 run for the Lakers. The Aces were 1/9 during the stretch. The Aces had one last push in them as they scored on 8/9 possessions including the last 7 in a row. Sierra Spaude started the streak off with 8 straight points. The Aces outscored the Lakers 15-6, but time was slipping away. The Lakers were the only team to convert in the last 7 possessions of the game.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MINNEAPOLIS LADY LAKERS
STARTERS
AunDreah Aune, Minneapolis Roosevelt 5, 8, 62.5, .250 3 shooter.
Melanie Wigen, Bloomington Kennedy 5, 7, 71.4, .286 main point guard. good foot speed. RF: some passes ankle high.
Talisha Barlow, Roseville 32, 23, 139.1, .652 produced like a woman among girls. in the paint, behind the arc, transition, rebounds, drives, pull up jumpers it was all in the arsenal. can float for hang time. Defensively stripped kids on the press for 2. played with a fierce determination.
Kiara Strickland, Minneapolis Roosevelt 8, 15, 53.3, .267 nice cut. lefty, has plenty of tools. runs the floor very well. jumps very well. RF: was careless or not aware (maybe it was the heat) as she threw away some outlets after rebounding. needs to work on the right hand. Hasn't produced like she is capable of.
Jenny Ostrom, St. Anthony 5, 5, 100.0, .400 worked the back end of the press for many interceptions. RF: needs to square up and stay on balance on her shots.
BENCH
Chelsia Hooker, Park Center 8, 6, 133.3, .667 hard working nuts and bolts kind of kid to give starters a little breather. Plays without fear.
Kim Grant, Minneapolis Roosevelt 4, 5, 80.0, .400 big post, physical. RF: tried to dribble with many hands in the way in the lane. exposes the ball.
Elissa Hendersen, Minnapolis Roosevelt 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Tyesha Wright, Minneapolis Roosevelt 0, 1, 0.0, .000

PURPLE ACES
STARTERS
Sierra Spaude, Sturgeon Bay 17, 14, 121.4, .571 had all 17 in the second half. has stick to itiveness. very active defensively and that payed off in transition baskets. good anticipation/awareness. scored 3 times in a row this way. has 3 range. can elevate.
Stephanie Bundy, Green Bay East 8, 8, 100.0, .375 point guard. drained a couple of 3s.
Erin Baganz, Ashwaubenon 2, 11, 18.2, .091
Erin Riutta, Ashwaubenon 11, 8, 137.5, .750 was able to get to the line often. RF: left the game due to physical contact to the head.
Tricia Van Vreeede, Kimberly 4, 8, 50.0, .250 decent hight, looked to shoot outside.
BENCH
Kelly DeCaster, Ashwaubenon 3, 6, 50.0, .167
Smurwara? 8, 12, 66.7, .333 shot on the outside.

TRENCH PLAYER
Talisha Barlow

BY THE NUMBERS
Mpls Lady Lakers 67, 71, 94.4, .437
Purple Aces 54. 69, 78.3, .377

This was the best performance by far that I have seen for the Lakers. Their pp100 best before this game was 66.7 against Dakota Hardwood Threat last weekend in the Adidas Mid America Semifinals that is an improvement of 27.7. It also was their tops in floor %. The defense also lowered its marks. The Laker press wrecked havoc on the Aces early. That momentum carried them through.

Next up: later with the North Tartan Blue/Kansas City Keys game. then later tonight from the Chisago Lakes Summer League.

Look at the Lynx: Liberty Rings Lynx Bells

#2 posting 7.31.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

A LOOK AT THE LYNX: Liberty Rings Lynx Bells

The lowly NY Liberty swept the season series from the faltering MN Lynx.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Amber Jacobs 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Seimone Augustus 32, 22, 145.5, .636
Kristen Mann 0, 5, 0.0, .000
Tamika Williams 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Nicole Ohlde 9, 12, 75.0, .417
BENCH
Vanessa Hayden 8, 8, 100.0, .500
Adrian Williams 4, 4, 100.0, .500
Megan Duffy 13, 11, 118.2, .545
Svetlana Abrosimova 1, 5, 20.0, .200
Tynesha Lewis 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Team 0, 2, 0.0, .000 (24 seconds)

NEW YORK
STARTERS
Loree Moore 12, 12, 100.0, .500
Sherill Baker 10, 8, 125.0, .625
Shameka Christon 20, 17, 117.6, .471
Barbara Farris 20, 11, 181.8, .909
Catherine Kraaeveld 7, 11, 63.6, .364
BENCH
Ashley Battle 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Iciss Tillis 4, 6, 66.7, .333
Erin Thom 5, 6, 83.3, .333
Team 0, 2, 0.0, .000 (24 seconds)

TRENCH PLAYER
Barbara Farris

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 69, 76, .434
New York 78, 77, 101.3, .481

It was the same old song, 18th verse. This game the Lynx started out with only two turnovers, instead of the five in Chicago, but MN had five in the first nine possessions. NY only converted on two of them, but that really isn't the point. What is happening is a lack of focus to start the game. These decisions aren't due to fatigue or exhaustion.

Defensivley NY scored five lay ups in their first 12 possessions or first seven scores. MN didn't get a lay up basket until Augustus delivered on the 13th possession. The penetration pemitted needs to be addressed. Matador defense can not stand.

Despite all that bad news MN actualy led 53-51 with 2:36 to go in the 3rd quarter. What broke the Lynx back was the seven possession drought from possessions 2-8 at the start of the 4th quarter. It was 56 all when the streak started. It was 64-56 when the Lynx had to play catch up again. A key play was when Mann committed a flagrant foul on Barbara Farris. She made one of the free throws and then eventually scored a jump shot. With 2:46 MN closed to 67-62 but with under two minutes NY marched to the free throw line six straight possessions and they were money going 11/12.

Again Seimone was wonderful, but the rest of the starters? 2-0-0-9. Even reliable Abrosimova has been tanking lately with a solo point on both Friday and Sunday. Augustus is doing most of the heavy lifting. Duffy had a strong game off the bench. Vanessa Hayden had her 3rd straight 100 pp100 game, the best streak going for the Lynx (Augustus is at 2 right now). Hayden has had a strong July averaging 98.86 in pp100 and .534 in floor %. In May/June she was a dismal 69.14 and .370.

Next up: Out & About with the Mpls Lady Lakers vs Purple Aces; later another Out & About with the North Tartan Blue vs Kansas City Keys. Much later tonight a look at the Chisago Lakes Summer League finales.

Summer Wrap

#1 posting 7.31.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AAU/SUMMER SEASON
Here are the winners of the AAU tournaments
19 Georgia Magic
16 Florida FBVA Orlando Comets Red
15 Cincinnati's Finest Lady Ballers
14 Alabama Southern Stars
13 Potomac Valley Lady Majic (their spelling)
12 Air Oklahoma Stars
11 Missouri Valley Eclipse
10 Tennesse Team Pride
9? Southern Pacific NJB Stars

Other Tournaments
MN State: 19 MN Stars; 16 North Tartan; 15 NC Heat 14 MN Metro Stars 13 North Tartan 12 Mpls Lady Cats.
Bloomington Jefferson: 17-19 Iowa Select I; 16 North Tartan
End of the Trail: Cal Swish Black 17
Dakota Showcase: Daubert Pinnacle Nebraska
Great Lakes Shootout I: MN Triple Threat
Miss Basketball: 17 South Dakota Elite 16 MN Quest 15 WI Lakeside Lady Scholars
Adidas Mid America Shoot Out: South Dakota Elite
North Tartan Meltdown: North Tartan
Nike Chicago Summer Showcase: Green Division MN Quest

SWEET 16
The last big tournament of the summer season in Minnesota is the Sweet 16. No schedules are up yet. Four teams in each class are invited. Most of these teams will be fighting for their respective championships in March. At least for the past four years who ever has been in the championship game has won their class title the next year: (summer title/march title) 2002/2003 Woodbury; 2003/2004 Hopkins; 2004/2005 Rochester Lourdes; 2005/2006 Hopkins finished second to Bloomington Kennedy in the Sweet 16, but turned the tables in March. I know Lakeville won it and went on to their titles in the Podominick era and Osseo won in Hana Peljto's last year. This tournament can set the trajectory, if done right, for the rest of the winter season. You will be getting reports from these games next week.

SUMMER LEAGUE
The last known summer league is holding their championships tonight at Chisago Lakes HS. North Branch will play Osceola, WI; and Cambridge faces Somerset, WI in the other.

COACHING NEWS
MN
Word is Barnesville coach Trevor Schneeberger has left for Mayville State and an assistant position there.
DeLaSalle has new assistants including Zeb Mosley, formerly an assistant at Andover; Shannon Bolden, former Gopher, and April Calhoun, another ex-Gopher. Calhoun will help when she is able.

COACHING OPENINGS

INJURY UPDATES
MN
Paige Pals, Pipestone has reinjured her knee that she injured this past season. It appears she will not be able to play her senior season.

TRANSFERS
MN
Barnesville not only lost its coach but also Kelsey Jacobson has left for Moorhead.

I hear rumors everytime I am at a tournament, but I won't be listing them until they walk through the doors of their new school. Needless to say things are unsettled. There are some big names that may land somewhere else. Stay tuned.

HS TRANSFERS

VERBALS

Next up: We have the Lynx, We have two Out & abouts from the Meltdown yesterday--Mpls Lady Lakers vs Purple Aces; North Tartan Blue vs Kansas City Keys. And a look at the finals from the summer league at Chisago Lakes

North Tartan Leaves Others Blue in Meltdown

#2 posting 7.30.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NORTH TARTAN MELTDOWN
Here are the results from the airconditionless aptly named Meltdown after pool play.
Red Bracket (17-15)
Play in Round
43 Hoops 57, Wisconsin Playground 17 43
North Tartan Blue 62, Prairie Bison Hoopsters 52
MN Triple Threat 69, North Tartan 15 35
Kansas Ciy Keys 55, All Iowa Attack
Mpls Lady Lakers 60, Fox Valley Hustle 52
Purple Aces 63, Higher Level Camps 17s 50
MN Storm 55, MN Summit 16W 44
MN Summit 16B 58, Kansas Belles 30
SWEET 16
North Tartan 98, Higher Level Camps 17
Purple Aces 15s 43, MN Northern Lynx 36
New Mexico Heat Elite 70, Wisconsin Playground 16 46
Northern Lites 60, Sultan Prospects 48
North Tartan Blue 52, 43 Hoops 28
Kansas City Keys 45, MN Triple Threat 39
Mpls Lady Lakers 67, Purple Aces 54 MLL starts out fast, very fast in a 28-2 lead. More on this on Monday
MN Storm 46, MN Summit 16B 37
QUARTERFINALS
North Tartan 78, Purple Aces 15 41
New Mexico Heat Elite 71, Northern Lites 56
North Tartan Blue 59, Kansas City Keys 52 NTB is one of the most improved teams I have seen from start to finish this summer. More on this game Monday
Mpls Lady Lakers 61, MN Storm 48
SEMIFINALS
North Tartan 58, New Mexico Heat Elite 42. NT trailed 34-17 in the second quarter as NMHE did everything right. Then NMHE had a drought of biblical proportions--26 possessions without a single score. That drought stretched over 3 quarters. NT outscored NMHE 41-8 to finish the game. More on this epic game on Tuesday.
North Tartan Blue 56, Mpls Lady Lakers 53 OT. NTB trailed 40-33 going into the 4th quarter. MLL led 47-38 late in the quarter. NTB held MLL scoreless their last six possessions and four different NTB players contributed to outscore MLL 9-0 down the stretch. NTB scored the first three times in OT to keep the momentum. More on this game on Tuesday.
FINALS
Well, there really was no finals. NT was not going to play their sisters, and NMHE didn't want to play MLL again, so it was a glorified exhibition and NT had no problems 46-22. Talisha Barlow was not playing in this game for MLL, and neither was Tera Steinbauer for NT who left the NMHE game with a leg problem. No word on her condition. As a fan I wanted to see the civil war game, but it wasn't my decision obviously. More on this game Wednesday.

14U FINALS
The MN Fury a team recently put together beat the Mpls Lady Cats 65-47. MLC is a 12U team playing up. more on this game on Wednesday.

On the whole the day was extremely uncomfortable just watching. I can imagine it was 10 times worse moving in that oppressive heat. Luckily for me a reliable source brought a floor fan. That made the situation a little more bearable. When I left Bloomington it was 98 on the Freeway Ford electronic sign.

Next up: tomorrow morning with the general news plus later in the day a look at the Lynx vs the NY Liberty (another loss 78-69), and then the first indepth reports out of the aptly named Meltdown Mpls Lady Lakers/Purple Aces; and North Tartan Blue vs Kansas City Keys.

Recruiting Violations

#1 posting 7.30.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

RECRUITING VIOLATIONS
The NCAA manual is 494 of mind numbing rules and regulations regarding the recruitment of players. For an indepth look at the situation read the Fresno Bee with the little things the coaches must deal with. It seems that being curteous and polite are out the window sometimes.

USA U20
WI
Jolene Anderson has made the first cut to make the 20U national team. The evaluators are really honing in on defensive skills. Also making the cut to 18 is Victoria Lucas-Perry from Michigan State; Marscilla Packer, Ohio State; Lyndsey Wisdom-Hylton, Purdue. The team is preparing for the 20U championships in Mexico City August 8-12. Here is more from the Wisconsin press release.

TOURNAMENTS
AAU 14U
The Michigan Shock, the last team in the coverage area, was beat by Indiana's Finest 55-52 in the round of 16. find out who is left at the 14u site.

NORTH TARTAN MELTDOWN
The aptly named Meltdown tournament wraps up today. In fact I am leaving after this post to Bloomington Kennedy. There will be about five games I will watch today starting at 9:15.

Next up: results from NT Meltdown I am guessing close to 8pm.

Out & About: Bismarck Century/Hopkins

#4 posting 7.29.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This is the second or "AA" championship. The 7 teams in the A bracket, plus Park-Cottage Grove from the B bracket held their playoffs and the championship pitted Hopkins and Bismarck Century.
Here is the A standings
Hopkins 6-0
Bismarck Century 4-2
Rogers 3-3
Maple Grove 3-3
Osseo 3-3
St. Michael-Albertville 1-4
Fargo South 0-6

So the top two teams faced off. However some of Hopkins players were off at the North Tartan Meltdown including Caitlin Rowland, Burmeister, and Lillemoe. On top of that Steph Sension was out due to a knee injury.

BC started off scoring on five of their first 8 possessions and that was good enough for a 9-2 lead. Andrea LaFrance, who has verballed North Dakota, led a physcial, aggressive BC team to the early lead. LaFrance is a big point guard with nice passing skills. Hopkins was suffering from the heat and their offense sputtered with a 12 possession drought. 7 of those possessions were turnovers almost approaching Lynx territory. Jackie Hiebert scored the first six points for Hopkins. That was all Hopkins could muster in the first half as they trailed 15-6.

It appeared Hopkins was going to bounce back in the game when they scored five points on one possession. Tess Komarek scored on a drive and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but Hopkins retained possession. On the pass in Ana Garcia drilled a three to cut the margin to 16-11. But after Hiebert's basket to make the score BC 18-13 Hopkins fell into the drought mode again, this time five possession without a score, but it was a 1/9 string going beyond the five. BC was going through the same ordeal as they had a 7 possession dry spell. Hopkins cut the margin to six at 23-17. Brittany Jossart added some distance for BC with a 3. Tori Johannsen scored on a drive, but it wasn't going to be in the cards for Hopkins. BC went ot the line on their next three possessions and made four of six free throws to push the lead to 30-19. Hiebert scored the last points in the steamy gym for the final 30-21.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

BISMARCK CENTURY
STARTERS
Andrea LaFrance 10, 12, 83.3, .500 nice passing, confident, in command. Good enough size for rebounding. RF: heat took it's toll.
Dana Asplund 5, 9, 55.6, .333
Courtney Fettig 7, 7, 100.0, .571 scored in the paint. RF: need to be more active on boards.
Brittany Jossart 5, 8, 62.5, .250 can get hit and still focus on making the lay up. has 3 range. RF: needs to cash in the free throw.
Sam Harris 0, 1, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Maddi Buck 3, 5, 60.0, .200 made her 3.
Brittany Kuntz 0, 1, 0.0, .000

HOPKINS
STARTERS
Hannah Muegge 0, 3, 0.0, .000 point guard. RF: strength.
Ana Garcia 5, 12, 41.7, .167 for a guard had 3 defensive boards. Had a three that put Hopkins back in the game. RF: adjusting to a new system and new players.
Tess Komarek 2, 6, 33.3, .167 RF: ball handling/decision making
Casey Wittmeyer 0, 0, 0.0, .000
Jackie Hiebert 10, 14, 71.4, .357 strong in the work areas had 7 defensive boards and a steal, the best for both teams in that category. only beacon of offensive hope in the first half. RF: problems with traveling in the first half. Should allow the guards to deal with ball handling issues.
BENCH
Katie Goodroad 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Tori Johannsen 2, 4, 50.0, .250 interesting youngster, moves well. RF: still learning. strength
Rachel Johnson 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000 scored in transition

TRENCH PLAYER
Andrea LaFrance

BY THE NUMBERS
Bismarck Century 30, 43, 69.8, .372
Hopkins 21, 42, 50.0, .238

With the conditions the way they were I didn't expect to see crisp, sharp, snappy basketball. I was correct in that assumption. BC was taking the ball hard to the glass, initiating contact. They had more beef than Hopkins and that aggressiveness gave BC the edge. I am sure next week in the sweet 16 we will see complete Hopkins team and 50.0 pp100 and .238 floot % will be a faded memory.

Next up: tomorrow morning general news of the day, plus later in the day coverage of the North Tartan Meltdown. They sure picked a good name for their tournament. Temp right now is 96.4.

Out & About: Kingsland/New Ulm Cathedral

#3 posting 7.29.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

The University of Minnesota ran a team camp. 21 teams were divided into three divisions. This championship game was between the teams in Pool C and Pool B
First here are the standings
Pool B
Park-Cottage Grove 5-1
Kingsland 4-2
White Bear Lake 4-2
Barneveld, WI 4-2
Hastings 3-3
Cloquet 1-5
Mound-Westonka 0-6
Pool C
New Life 5-1
New Ulm Cathedral 5-1
Osakis 4-2
Maple Grove JV 4-2
Ely 2-4
New Rockford, ND 1-5
Cleveland 0-6

In the play offs the last two standing were Kingsland and New Ulm Cathedral. This could be considered the "A" championship.

Kingsland 38, New Ulm Cathedral 21

In an extremely hot Williams Arena, Kingsland outlasted NUC 38-21. Kala Jensen started the scoring first for Kingsland with four points in possessions 2 & 3. NU Cathedral answered with Kirsten Prunty's basket on their second possession. It was a competitive game early on. The game was tied at 7. NUC held a 9-7 lead after Prunty's drive right down the middle of the lane. Kingsland tied it right up on the next possession with Jessie Oeltjen's free throws. NUC was not to score for the rest of the half--11 straight possessions. Kingsland wasn't ripping it up either as they scored only twice, but both were 3 point shots and they led 15-9 at half. Jensen had 7 at halftime.

As both teams played zone it was going to come down to who could move the ball and find the open shots better than the other. Kingsland was the answer to both questions. They connected for four 3s in the second half, and seven for the game. They definitely had more pop and zip on the ball. NUC had one 3 for the half and entire game. The drought outside again affected play inside as NUC had a 9 possession drought. Kingsland had an 11-0 run during the dry spell. The one bright spot for NUC was the play of Kirsten Prunty who had 8 of the 12 points in the second half.

Coach Fenske if you have the names of these players email me.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

KINGSLAND
STARTERS
Paisley Larson 8, 8, 100.0, .375 point guard, 3 point shot.
Kala Jensen 12, 12, 100.0, .500 decent on perimeter. forced to do a little inside work, but can hit distance shots.
#15 3, 3, 100.0, .333
#24 3, 1, 300.0, 1.000 always seemed to be on the steal or rebound. had five steals on the day. good hustle. Hit her only possession for a 3. RF: forced passes at times.
#44 0, 1, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Jessie Oeltjen 2, 4, 50.0, .250
#40 2, 3, 66.7, .333 finger rolled for 2.
#30 6, 2, 300.0, 1.000 canned two 3s.
#12 0, 2, 0.0, .000
#50 1, 1, 100.0, 1.000
#3 0, 1, 0.0, .000
#55 1, 1, 100.0, 1.000
#51 0, 1, 0.0, .000

NEW ULM CATHEDRAL
STARTERS
Sally Schreiber 1, 3, 33.3, .333
Kirsten, Prunty 12, 11, 109.1, .545 went right up the middle for two without any stopping her. point guard.
Sam Dengerud 5, 7, 71.4, .286 had a 3.
Katie Larson 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Meghan Schwartz 1, 6, 16.7, .167 RF: tried to force passes into the lane.
BENCH
Kaitlin DuChene 0, 6, 0.0, .000
Tricia Bjerke 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Katelyn Schwartz 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Anna Griebel 0, 1, 0.0, .000

BY THE NUMBERS
Kingsland 38, 40, 95.0, .425
New Ulm Cathedral 21, 40, 52.5, .275

Kingsland zipped the ball around on offense. On defense they initiated press & traps. They were the ones that set tempo and pressure and therefore came out on top. They limited NUC to only one shot, if that, on each possession. The heat probably had effect on shots, shots taken, and other decisions. Things seemed to move a tad slower.

Next up: the "AA" Championship with Bismarck Century and Hopkins

A Look at the Lynx: Dales Wails

#2 posting 7.29.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

It was more of the same from Chicago as the Sky came crashing down on the Lynx 79-65
Stacey Dales was on target for six 3s and 20 points.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Amber Jacobs 3, 8, 37.5, .125
Seimone Augustus 17, 17, 100.0, .471
Kristen Mann 10, 7, 142.9, .571
Tamika Williams 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Nicole Ohlde 4, 5, 80.0, .400
BENCH
Svetlana Abrosimova 1, 4, 25.0, .250
Adrian Williams 4, 4, 100.0, .500
Chandi Jones 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000
Vanessa Hayden 18, 12, 150.0, .750
Shona Thorburn 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Megan Duffy 2, 3, 66.7, .333
Team 0, 2, 0.0, .000

CHICAGO
STARTERS
Jia Perkins 13, 9, 144.4, .667
Stacey Dales 20, 10, 200.0, .700
Amanda Lassiter 9, 7, 128.6, .571
Candice Dupree 19, 15, 126.7, .600
Bernadette Ngoyisa 10, 15, 66.7, .400
BENCH
Coretta Brown 3, 3, 100.0, .333
Stcey Lovelace 2, 3, 66.7, .333
Liz Shimek 3, 4, 75.0, .500
Chelsea Newton 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Team 0, 2, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Stacey Dales

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 65, 69, 94.2, .449
Chicago 79, 69, 114.5, .522

Four straight MN turnovers to start the game tell me their minds weren't in Chicago.
12/19 scoring possessions for Chicago in quarter 1 to 6/19 tells it all. Slow out of the gate and having to play catchup ball the rest of the night. What really broke the Lynx back was the six straight scoring possessions (#4-9) in the second quarter--with the first three in that sequence all for 3s. It was a 15-6 run and the Lynx trailed by 19.
A lot of what I mentioned yesterday holds true still.
Vanessa Hayden has been ripping it up and deserves some credit for producing when everyone else is stagnant, but the odd fact is every time she is in double digits the Lynx lose. The Lynx are 3-4 when Hayden is over 100 pp100. The Lynx are 1-4 when Hayden is above .500 in floor %.

Next up: later in the day with the championship games at the University of Minnesota Team camp.

Transfers to NDSU, USD D1?

#1 posting 7.29.2006

SIGNEES/TRANSFERS
ND
North Dakota State has a couple of transfers coming into the program: Jackie Sanden of NDSCS and Wyndmere HS, ND; and Annika Walseth of Colorado State and Bloomington Jefferson HS. Here is more on both from the Grand Forks Herald.

VERBALS

HS TRANSFERS

COACHING NEWS
MI
Diane Robertson is the new coach at Edwardsburg. She was the JV coach at the school last year and has plans to turn the program around from a 18-44 record the last three years. Find out more in the Cassopolis Vigilant.
MN
Crookston player Brea Aamoth writes about the exit of coach Erik Schmidt, what he meant to the team, what he taught her in an article in the Crookston Times.

COACHING OPENINGS

TOURNAMENT NEWS
AAU 14S
The MN Metro Stars were beat in the first bracket game by the Fairfax VA Stars 48-45. North Tartan won their play in game against South Georgia 76ers 56-37, but then lost at the same level the Metro Stars did in a 66-46 loss to Bay State Magic.
The Michigan teams moved one to the next round. The Shock beat the Orlando Blazers 57-46. The Mid State Wizards however lost to the Bmore Cougars 57-49.
More from the 14U site.

AAU ROSTERS

HAWAII
Hawaii Select is 2-0 in the Vision Sports National Youth Basketball Championships at Las Vegas. You can check out the action at the Vision Sports site.
MN
The North Tartan Meltdown continues today and tomorrow. Schedules can be found on their home page.
ND/HAWAII
North Dakota sent a couple of teams out to the King Kamehameha Summer Classic Basketball Tournament held June 20-27 in Oahu, Hawaii. The B team finished 2-2. The tournament winner was a group out of West Fargo. Here is more on the tournament from the Valley City Times.

SUMMER LEAGUE
HI
The D.One summer league has their playoffs tonight at the Manoa Rec Center. There are many former and current Hawaii players involved. More in the Honolulu Advertiser.
IA
The Central Iowa Summer League's finals are on Sunday at Grandview College in Des Moines. Some familiar faces from Iowa schools will be playing. Here is more from the Des Moines Register.
MN
The Chisago Lakes SL semifinals have been set for Monday. North Branch will play Osceola, WI in one semifinal while Cambridge sees Somerset, WI in the other. Games start at 7 pm.

MOVING TO D1?
South Dakota has formed a task force to look into the chances of moving to D1. With North Dakota's announcement of their intention of moving it will only leave the North Central with six schools. Here is more on what South Dakota is up to from the Yankton Press & Dakotan.

Next up: A look at the Lynx vs Chicago and the Minnesota Team camp championships.

Look at the Lynx: Charlotte II

#2 posting 7.28.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

Charlotte took a measure of revenge against the Lynx on Thursday

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Amber Jacobs 3, 7, 42.9, .143
Seimone Augustus 19, 21, 90.5, .429
Kristin Mann 5, 10, 50.0, .200
Tamika Williams 8, 6, 133.3, .667
Nicole Ohlde 4, 6, 66.7, .333
BENCH
Vanessa Hayden 17, 16, 106.3, .625
Shona Thorburn 2, 5, 40.0, .200
Svetlana Abrosimova 6, 6, 100.0, .500
Adrian Williams 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Tynesha Lewis 4, 3, 133.3, .667
Team 0, 1, 0.0, .000 (24 second violation)

CHARLOTTE
STARTERS
Helen Darling 4, 10, 40.0, .200
Monique Currie 8, 9, 88.9, .500
Sheri Sam, 17, 15, 113.3, .533
Tangela Smith 21, 15, 140.0, .667
Tammy Sutton-Brown 6, 10, 60.0, .300
BENCH
LaToya Bond 7, 7, 100.0, .429
Janel McCarville 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Tye'sha Fluker 6, 4, 150.0, .500
Allison Feaster 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Kelly Mazzante 10, 7, 142.9, .571

TRENCH PLAYER
Tangela Smith

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 68, 83, 82.9, .415
Carolina 81, 83, 97.6, .446

The same old problems came up to bite the Lynx on the rear end again:
1. rebounding The Lynx on three consecutive Charlotte possessions stretching over two periods (the end of the second and beginning of the third) let them take 3, 4, and 5 shots. To sum up Charlotte had 12 shots in 3 possessions. yikes! They only made four points in that sequence, allowing FIVE shots is unforgivable.
2. turnovers Why don't we let the 3rd quarter do the talking as MN had 8 turnovers in their first 11 possessions. YIKES!! That is a turnover ratio of 72.7 turnovers per 100. DOUBLE YIKES!!! It can't be layed at one players feet as five contributed to the disaster.
3. Lack of production out of the Starters (minus Seimone) The other four provided a total of 20 points or combined as a group 69.0 pp100 Yechh! Tamika Williams did score 8, and she has been stepping it up lately with 6 straight games over 100 pp100 the best on the team. The problem is she only is getting 6 possessions a game. Throw a few more to TW. Ohlde on the other hand hasn't seen 100 pp100 in six games, Mann does one game more at seven games. YECH!!
4. Defense. Yes I realize MN held Charlotte to under 100 pp100, but Sheri Sam went off at the start of the third as she scored on 5 out of the first 7 possessions. She racked up 11 points in the explosion. Unfortunately I didn't attend the game so I don't know who wasn't guarding Sam, but it is up to the team to stop a player. After the third time Sam scored didn't a light bulb go off in some Lynx's mind? Apparently not.

This isn't a coach issue. It is a lack of players that are consistent.

Next up: tomorrow morning with the general news of the day. And then an Out & about at the U of MN team camp championships.

NC Heat 3rd, Chess & Basketball

#1 posting 7.28.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

CHESS & BASKETBALL
David Friedman in 20 second time out writes about success and the factors that are involved in it. Every successful athlete/person has at their core the same characteristics. I would recommend reading this. It isn't all physical ability that sets apart players. It also involves the mind and motivation. Check out the links in the article too.

15u AAU
The MN NC Heat wrapped up their AAU experience with a 65-52 over SE/TN Tennessee Pride. Cincinnati's Finest justed edged the Philadelphia Belles 53-51 in the championships. NC Heat lost to the Belles in the semis. more at the 15u site.

14u AAU
Bracket play begins today. Michigan Shock finished first in pool I with a 5-0 record. Michigan Mid State Wizards finisihed 3rd in pool c. The MN Metro Stars finished 3rd in pool J at 2-3. North Tartan was 6th in pool L with a 1-4 mark.
Today the MN Metro Stars face the Fairfax Stars. The Michigan Shock have a bye, but play later in the day. North Tartan sees the South Georgia 76ers. Mid State Wizards face Baltimore Cougars. More at the 14u site.

AAU ROSTERS

VERBALS

COACHING NEWS
MI
Comstock Park needs a coach. Kathy Commeret lasted one season. Her team won the District B title last fall. Here is more from the Grand Rapids Press.
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore needs a coach. Contact information: athletic director Russ Collins at 22980 13 Mile Road, St. Clair Shores 48082, or at rcollins@lsps.org.
MN
As reported yesterday Eric Schmidt has left Crookston for the University of North Dakota football staff. Schmidt was also the football coach at Crookston. Here is the reaction from the Crookston side to the news from the Crookston Times.

COACHING OPENINGS

Next up: I will retro fit the All Star game 1-20 from the MN Elite camp last night. Some of it is up already, even the Maroon side now. After that I will get the Lynx action with Charlotte last night.

Out & About: MN Elite All Stars #1-20

#4 posting 7.27.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This is the MN Elite All Star game with players #1-20

GOLD 49, MAROON 43 OT

Gold outscored the Maroons 6-0 in overtime to claim the All Star win.
Gold got off to a fast start with Katie Coughenour's 3 on the first possession and 5/6 scoring in their first six possessions. Gold led at that point 10-4. As has been the case, what once was hot, became cold and the same thing happened to Gold when they endured a five possession drought. Maroon seized advantage of that misfortune with a 9-0 run. Of course by now you know that Maroon had to have their drought and they had a doozy of a drought--12 straight no scores. 7 of those possessions ended up on missed shots, on five they never had a chance. Gold enjoyed a 14-0 run to go up 24-13. Gold led at the half 25-15.

Maroon started their comeback slowly in the second half. Nicole Christianson provided four points on a 6-2 run to cut the margin to 27-21. Maroon later put together five straight scoring possessions with Camille Stenhaug and Jenny Gilbertson providing four points each. That cut the margin to 34-31. Maroon then had a six possession nothing as Gold built their lead back up to 41-31. Then it was Gold's turn to tank as they had 9 straight blanks. Maroon took the lead on Hallie Hoganson's two free throws with 1:17 to go. Angel Robinson gave Gold a one point margin after her two free throws with 58 seconds left. Maroon milked the clock for 44 seconds before Cassie Rochel was fouled. She made one, but missed the second. Jess Peterson grabbed the rebound and Gold worked in for the final shot. Robinson had the call, but her fade away missed the mark and we were off to extra sessions.

OT is a two minute session. Gold won the tap an with 1:22 to go Alex Montgomery hit a shot in the lane. Kaiya Sygulla missed her 3 for Maroon. Bri Zabel had the board and was fouled. She converted both for a 47-43 lead. Sygulla missed again, Gold had the rebound and worked their way down to the end. Laura Canton was fouled, but she missed the front end. But everything Maroon tossed up in overtime missed the mark. Montgomery scored again in transition for the final points.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

GOLD
STARTERS
Katie Coughenour, Wayzata 5, 7, 71.4, .286 3 point shooter. RF: passing execution
Leah Dietel, Jordan 6, 6, 100.0, .667 knows how to get fouled. decent size, decent frame.
Alex Montgomery, Cannon Falls 10, 6, 166.7, .833 lefty delivered in the paint today. can run the floor. RF: quickness
Bri Zabel, Northfield 5, 6, 83.3, .500 drew a charging foul. big and strong. RF: attempted circus shot.
Laura Canton, Pine Island 0, 4, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Kiara Buford, St. Paul Central 2, 8, 25.0, .125 RF: exposed the ball. needs to get stronger physically. hesitated on taking a shot that she would never have passed on in HS.
Jess Peterson, Chisago Lakes 5, 13, .385, .231 No fear about taking shots when outsized. RF: hesitated on a clear shot once. needs to be ready for Robinson's passes. Peterson was open, but didn't know it.
Kellie Schuneman, Centennial 3, 3, 100.0, .667
Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central 10, 11, 90.9, .455 can get up & down the court. elevated out of nowhere for a transition block that surprised Hoganson. looked more liker herself after yesterday's tired performance. change of pace/hesitation dribble befuddles defense. RF: I would like more from the left hand on the dribble. Shot was not falling. There are those that surprised when they make it and those that are surprised when they miss. With Robinson we are surprised when she misses.
Kayla Blom, Centennial 3, 1, 300.0, 1.000

MAROON
STARTERS
Abby Busch, GFW 2, 6, 33.3, .167 has energy, RF: but against bigger kids guarding her (Montgomery) had a tougher time getting clean looks, and getting the shot off. needs to work on perimeter game more including spot shooting off the pass. also needs to work on foot work--traveling too often
Camille Stenhaug, Rochester JM 7, 8, 87.5, .500 did score off a spin move in the lane.
Jenny Ostrom, St. Anthony 2, 5, 40.0, .200 scored on a drive early. RF: still needs to square up on shot
Kaiya Sygulla, Lakeville North 5, 8, 63.5, .375 Nails, has the innate drive for success. good anticipation on defense. RF on a charge knocked down Zabel, and that is hard to do, needs to finish transitions. size may be a factor
Emily Davis, Litchfield 0, 2, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Nicole Christianson, Chetek, WI 9, 11, 81.2, .455 very active. got many boards. RF: passing decisions. needs to work more on 3 shot for consistency
Devin Bowlin, Winona Cotter 3, 7, 42.9, .143 point guard moves well, delivers the ball where and when needed. RF: size
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter 6, 6, 100.0, .500 nice hook in the paint. good frame. RF: needs more polish with ball handling and passing execution if she is going to be out.
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North 5, 6, 83.3, .500 If Sygulla is Nails, then Rochel is the Rail. She is also an eraser wiping shots, and changing shots. great hands quite a few accomplishments already for one so young.
Hallie Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 4, 5, 80.0, .400 steady. another point guard. RF: can probably be a little more greedy on offense.

TRENCH PLAYER
Angel Robinson

BY THE NUMBERS
Gold 49, 65, 75.4, .400
Maroon 43, 64, 67.2, .359

Gold scored 20 free throws on the night compared to 10 for Maroon. That indicates to me they had the more aggressive offensive players and better feet on defense. Both games were entertaining this year. Usually there is a blow out, but both games kept folks in their seats. There were a few players that hid in the games, but that is the all star experience. It seems the top of the line is about 86 pp100 or .400 floor % when throwing players together in these all star situations.

OTHER AWARDS
The MN Elite camp also had a couple of other winners.
In the team portion the Comets, coached by Willie Taylor won. Devin Bowlin was a key to success on that squad according to coach Taylor.
In the 3 point contest Sam Stanfield, Crosby-Ironton was the victor
In the 3 on 3 competition the winning team included
Aaryn Booker, DeLaSalle
Amanda Degnan, St. Charles
Sarah Luse, Orono
Kellie Schueneman, Centennial

Next up: tomorrow morning with the general news of the day.

Out & About: MN Elite All Stars #21-40

#3 posting 7.27.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This is the first All Star game (playes #21-40) from the MN Elite camp.

Gold 49, Maroon 44

Both teams scored traded scoring early in the half. Colleen Doerr started things off for Maroon with a basket. After each team scored three times in was shut down mode for offense. The Gold team had a drought of five, and a 1/10 sequence. Maroon wasn't much better at 1/8. Gold took their only lead in the first half with Esther Peterson's 3 for a 9-8 lead. Maroon snapped out of their lethargy first with four straight scoring possessions and a eventually a 12-2 run. Catherine Nass had seven points in the run including a banked 3 from up top. Nass usually makes her living on the blocks. Maroon led 20-11. Gold again had a 1/10 sequence. Maroon fell into the same situation with a seven possession dry spell. Gold did close out the half with an 8-2 run. Maroon led 22-19.

Maroon had their biggest lead in the second half at 26-19. Then Gold really revved up the offensive machine. They went on a 21-9 run and had a 40-35 lead when it was over. Gold had six straight scoring possessions and a 10/12 sequence. Esther Peterson bookended the run with 3s. Megan Forster gave Gold their first lead in the second half at 37-35. Doerr tied it up at 40 with a three for Maroon. Deena Ewert and Doerr each made one free throw and Maroon was up 42-40. Samantha Gacke made an old fashioned three point play for a 43-42 lead for Gold. Taylor Cross made a free throw to tie it. Gold finished off the game with four straight scores. Peterson was the player to put Gold in the lead for good with two free throws. Maroon apparently didn't understand their situation or they would have done a better job of clock management at the end of the game.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

GOLD
STARTERS
Megan Forster, Fairmont 4, 8, 50.0, .250 RF: shot was flat, hand needs to be higher.
Latasha Wittmayer, Lakeville North 7, 6, 116.7, .500 paint performer. undersized, but big fight.
Krystal Lacey, West Central 8, 8, 100.0, .500 runs the floor. RF: off balance on shot at times. needs to work more on the line.
Anna Kovalchuk, DeLaSalle 1, 5, 20.0, .200 out of her element inside. prefers 3 point line.
Nikki Klink, Hibbing 0, 1, 0.0, .000 point guard. great speed. likes behind the back move. didn't look to shoot. RF: uses right hand too often.
BENCH
Samantha Gacke, Luverne 8, 7, 114.3, .429 big player that can drill a 3. RF: foot speed.
Esther Peterson, KMS 10, 8, 125.0, .500 good 3 range, good elevation. got after boards. RF: needs to lead receiver.
Casey Christian, Shakopee 0, 5, 0.0, .000 RF: slammed ball after a violation. She wasn't mad at the refs, but showing frustration in her own play. It is probably better not to show that emotion to the opponent.
Megan Eul, Rosemount 9, 6, 150.0, .833 good fakes, nimble and light on feet. Able to take a beating inside and punish the opponent at the free throw line.

MAROON
STARTERS
Emily DeWitt, Centennial 3, 7, 42.9, .143 3 pt shooter.
Cassie Dorschner, Kasson-Mantorville 2, 3, 66.7, .333 point guard, quick. pullup off the glass.
Colleen Doerr, LeSueur-Henderson 12, 7, 171.4, .857 strong with the ball. protects, chins the ball better than most I've seen this summer. Most hold the ball like it was a loaf of stale bread. Doerr vaules it like it was precious. nice stroke, pull up jumper.
Catherine Nass, Rochester Century 11, 7, 157.1, .714 big player. had 3 range. made free throws. RF: I would prefer more defensive rebounds
Deena Ewert, Andover 5, 4, 125.0, .750 good anticipation, decent speed. RF: on misses she was short.
BENCH
Sam Zopfi, Providence 0, 7, 0.0, .000
Jamie Zelinsky, Park Center 6, 11, 50.0, .273 nice pull up shot. RF: needs to finish in transition
Erica Nord, Barnesville 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Taylor Cross, Hill-Murray 1, 4, 25.0, .250 RF: exposed ball to defense.
Michaela Larson, Hutchinson 4, 6, 66.7, .333

TRENCH PLAYER
Megan Eul

BY THE NUMBERS
Gold 49, 57, 86.0, .404
Maroon 44, 58, 75.9, .379

Gold rescued their game with that 10/12 sequence in the second half. Again most of these players were unfamiliar with each other until tip off. At this point everybody will play hard, or they would not be selected. It comes down to seizing initiative, who is creatative, who grabs the game and doesn't let go. True the players have been going non stop since Tuesday, but that is the beauty of camp ball. I will say that the games this year were much more competitive than they had been in the past.


Next up: Another quick hit with the 1-20 All Star game.

NC Heat Power Outage, Crookston Open

#2 posting 7.27.2006
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TOURNAMENTS
15u AAU
MN NC Heat was frozen out by the Philadelphia Belles 71-42 in the semifinals of the 15u tournament. They were the last team in the coverage area still in the hunt. More from the 15U site.

14uAAU
The Michigan Shock is undefeated at this point in pool play at 4-0. Another Michigan team, the Mid State Wizards, are 2-1 as is MN Metro Stars. MN North Tartan is 0-4 at this point. The teams with four games under their belt will have one more in pool play, while the teams with three games have two left today. Brackets will begin tomorrow. Here is the 14U site.

MAUI SUMMER CLASSIC
There was another SD team that had some success this tournament season. This SD team played in the Maui Tournament and finished 5-1. They lost to the Big Island Stringrays 46-40 in the championship. You will need to scroll down this link, but you will find out more scores and also team members. It is from the local Langdon area paper.

NIKE UPDATE
The Gym Rats 14u team were 1-4 in the Chicago Tournament.

AAU ROSTERS

VERBALS

COACHING NEWS
MN
Crookston is now officially looking for a new coach. Former coach Eric Schmidt has been hired to be the linebacker/operations coach at the University of North Dakota. This will be a prime coaching opportunity. They have most of the team back that finished second to Cannon Falls in the AA tournament in 2006. Here is the North Dakota Press release.

Shakopee is now looking for a new coach

COACHING OPENINGS

TEAM CAMPS
MN
In the MSU Moorhead team camp Bigfork finished 4-1 with their only loss coming to Fargo South. They beat Battle Lake, Sauk Centre, Melrose, and Lake of the Woods.

SUMMER LEAGUES
MN
In the Deer River SL Bigfork was 10-0. Bigfork finished the summer 19-3 with tournaments and summer leagues.

READY FOR THE BIG 10
MI
Here is what Takeya Fortner is doing with her summer getting ready for Michigan State and the Big 10. She is playing in the Flint Pro-Am Men’s league. Find out more at ABC12 site.

As always thanks for all your help readers.
Sorry folks for the delays. It drove me nuts.

Next up: (with fingers crossed) the MN Elite camp All Star games. I should have them both up (there are two games) at the tail end of the Jay Leno show, or start of the Conan O'Brian Show.

Out & About: MN Elite Coaches Challenge Game

#1 posting 7.27.2006

Thanks for your patience readers. The blogspot hosting was down for over 12 hours. It was frustrating for me, and I imagine for you.

#5 posting 7.26.2006 (it would have been if the system was working right)
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

Today at the MN Elite camp they have what is the called the challenge game. It features the players that the colleges are interested in. There are two games played at the same time. I zeroed in on court 1.

Maroon 42, Gold 41

Maroon took the early lead in this contest at 10-5. Jenny Ostrom helped to get them off on the right start with five points. Gold had problems with a six possession drought and 1/11 sequence. Maroon didn’t really capitalize on the problems, as they had their own issues with a 10 possession drought. Maroon led at half 22-17.

Maroon kept the lead and built it up to 36-25 as they scored on 4/5 possessions. They were helped by the fact Gold had another 6 possession drought to start the half. Slowly Gold started their comeback. Leading the charge was Kaiya Sygulla who had 8 points in a six possession Gold outburst . Gold used that 11-2 run to tie it at 40. Abby Busch tied it for Gold. Both teams had two possessions that ended in turnovers. On Maroons last possession Jenny Ostrom scored on an off balance shot in the paint. Sygulla took the ball and drove the lane and was fouled. She made her first shot, but missed the second. Mara Hjelle of Gold got the rebound but her pass was deflected to midcourt and Gold had no shot off as the buzzer sounded.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MAROON
STARTERS
Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central 5, 9, 55.6, .333 point guard, just came in today from Memphis. Wonderful passer. Nice change of pace dribble. RF: the toll of July has affected her shooting.
Jamie Zelinsky, Park Center 7, 5, 140.0, .600 has distance, and can drive.
Nicole Christiansen, Chetek, WI 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Leah Dietel, Jordan 7, 6, 116.7, .500 another player that isn’t afraid to get hit.
Jenny Ostrom, St. Anthony 10, 10, 100.0, .600 cleans up the boards like Hoover. Surprising speed. RF: passing may be an issue.
BENCH
Hallie Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 0, 3, 0.0, .000 point guard. RF: circus shot, not in control on a drive.
Kiara Buford, St. Paul Central 3, 4, 75.0, .250 canned a three. RF: almost ghost like
Jess Peterson, Chisago Lakes 6, 7, 85.7, .429 tough kid, willing to get hit. RF: distance shots look questionable.
Bri Zabel, Northfield 2, 4, 50.0, .250 bruiser, enforcer, strong
Amber Dvorak, Hinckley-Finlayson 0, 4, 0.0, .000 post player, big, still learning. RF: footwork, and picking up speed.

GOLD
STARTERS
Devin Bowlin, Winona Cotter 0, 4, 0.0, .000 point guard. RF: size issues, forced some passes, and stared some down.
Katie Coughenour, Wayzata 3, 10, 30.0, .100 RF: had no angle on transition, shot was short, hesitated on the floor.
Megan Forster, Fairmont 4, 4, 100.0, .500 RF: hand definitely drops on follow through. Needs to keep the arm up, up, up.
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter 4, 3, 133.3, .667 had a nice hook shot in the paint. Good frame.
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North 7, 5, 140, .600 unofficially had six blocks. Big and agile, runs very well. Only a baby. Sky is the limit.
BENCH
Kaiya Sygulla, Lakeville North 11, 10, 110.0, .500 her nickname should be nails as in tough as nails. Point guard, full bore player, takes it to the basket full speed ahead. Very eager. RF: a tad out of control at times. Size matters
Abby Busch, GFW 2, 6, 33.3, .167 energetic, dynamic all over the floor. Nice feed to the post. RF: wasn’t able to get shots in the paint off against the trees. I am not in favor of the spin dribble.
Katie Van Duynhoven, Mankato East 6, 6,100.0, .500 RF: appeared to be thinking about what to do, the moment passed.
Alexis Montgomery, Cannon Falls 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Mara Hjelle, Mahtomedi 4, 4, 100.0, .500 solid inside.

TRENCH PLAYER
Jenny Ostrom

BY THE NUMBERS
Maroon 42, 56, 75.0, .375
Gold 41, 56, 73.2, .339

As is the case with the multiple game days players get tired, and when they get tired they make poor decisions, the zip in their step is off, the whole flow of the game is off. Also these players are thrown together for the first time (except for teammates). It is hard to read new teammates minds. There were bad spacing issues for both teams. What these late games indicate who is in shape and can overcome these obstacles to performance. It also shows who plays hard. That should never change.

Next up: tomorrow morning (in reality about 15 minutes from now as I format what I wrote this morning)

Out & About: SD Elite/IBCA Iowa Select I + Bonus

#4 posting 7.26.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

this game took place on Sunday, July 23
Bloomington Jefferson HS, MN
Adidas Mid America championships
17u Championships
South Dakota Elite 56, IBCA Iowa Select I 49

In a rematch of the Dakota Showcase semifinals SDE proved itself no fluke in a tighter win 56-49. ISI came out with an extremely patient and deliberate offense designed to disrupt the SDE's rhythm and flow and frustrate them into rash actions. ISI scored first on Cala Westergard's post up. She also scored the next two points for ISI, but then was never heard from again. SDE didn't let the patient game disrupt their game and they soon grabbed a 14-4 lead after six straight scoring possessions including two 3s. It didn't stop there as SDE had a high water mark at 26-10. SDE found the holes in the 1/3/1 zone. They made six 3s up to that point, and Jill Young wasn't one of the five SDE players that hit the mark. SDE had a five possession drought, but weathered the ordeal as ISI sliced into that 16 point lead to 28-20. SDE led 32-24 at half.

Young quickly rectified the missing 3 with a shot from the corner on the opening possession in the second half. Rotert had a driving lay up on possession two and SDE had their biggest lead in the second half at 37-24. They then went into a five possession siesta. ISI cut the margin, but didn't really seize the initiative until they made 5/6 scores and 11-2 run. That made the score 42-39. Kelsey Bolte had five points in the run. SDE was caught in another four possession dry spell during the time. SDE snapped out of it with Liz Helsper's two free throw. Kelsey Bolte knocked down a huge 3 and the game was now a nail biter at SDE 45, ISI 44. On SDE's very next possession Jill Young drove in for two and a more comfortable margin of 47-44. Bolte's next 3 attempt went off. Rotert grabbed the board and in due course Megan Doyle made two free throws. After both teams had nonscoring possessions Bolte gave ISI hope again with another trey. The score was 49-47 with time ticking away. But ISI then picked the wrong time to go into offensive hibernation with four straight no scores. The rest of the SDE possessions were a free throw parade. In the next four possessions they converted 7 free throws. ISI did score one more time with a post up by Allison Volkens.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

SOUTH DAKOTA ELITE
STARTERS
Liz Helsper, Brookings 11, 9, 122.2, .556 aggressive with a nose for the basket.
Abby Plucker, Parker 7, 10, 70.0, .300 cooled off a bit from the previous games.
Jenny Miller, Sioux Falls O'Gorman 7, 87.5, .375 had a quick 7 early in the game on transition and a trey.
Kristin Rotert, McCook Central 8, 8, 100.0, .500 a wonderful player, great hands, great vision, great shooting. Both her and Young's stock absolutely soared this summer.
Jill Young, Mitchell Christian 11, 9, 122.2, .556 what more can I say. only one score in the first half, but had 7 assists then. RF: got tired and grabbed her shorts during breaks in the action.
BENCH
Sarah Puthoff, West Central 5, 6, 83.3, .333
Megan Doyle, Hanson 7, 6, 116.7, .667 should not be left alone behind the arc. RF: shot was short when at the line, another sign of tired legs.

IBCA IOWA SELECT I
STARTERS
Jacqui Kalin, Sioux City North 6 6, 100.0, .500 another good outing for the point guard.
Lana Otting, Cascade 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Kelsey Bolte, Battle Creek-Ida Grove 15, 16, 93.8, .375 takes the big shots. strong and intense.
Erin Brocka, North Butler 1, 4, 25.0, .250 physical player. RF: can do more offensively.
Cala Westergard, Charles City 4, 4, 100.0, .500 delivered inside. RF: not enough touches
BENCH
Kelly Krei, Iowa City 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Rachel Madrigal, Decorah 7, 8, 87.5, .375 transition, 3s, and baseline drives make the nets sing. RF: passing questions
Kelsey Cermak, Norwalk 8, 6, 133.3, .500 another big body on the perimeter that has touch, and decent quickness. RF: another player that needed more touches. needs to think of her shot before passing at times. Too nice.
Jodie Krall, Solon 4, 5, 80.0, .400 scored twice on drives.
Allison Volkens, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000 see Westergard's analysis because it is the same.

TRENCH PLAYER
Jill Young

BY THE NUMBERS
SD Elite 56, 56, 100.0, .464
IBCA Iowa Select I 49, 56, 87.5, .393

The first match up had SDE winning 74-41 as they unleashed a torrent of 3s. SDE still hit for 8 today, but not the 17 in the first matchup. One huge, huge advantage for SDE was the points scored at the line. They made 18 on the game, 16 in the second half compared to two, both in the first half, for ISI. The team of guards prevented ISI from doing serious damage inside. Both Volkens and Westergard did punish SDE inside, but they only had six possessions combined.

The slow pace of the game may have aided SDE as they only had seven bodies and their exhaustion showed later in the second half. SDE was not fresh by any means.

Unfortunately for this fan and many others, this was the end of the summer tournaments for both teams.

BONUS COVERAGE
All the championships took place at the same time preventing me from watching the complete games. However the two other games went longer.
16u
In the 16u championship between MN Quest and Dakota Hardwood Threat went into overtime. It was tied at 48. Each team had three possessions in overtime, but only the Quest's Rebecca Friestleben scored on a runner from the right side with 2.2 seconds left. Maggie Malloy's very long 3 was not to be for DHT.
With Yackley having a strong overtime on Saturday, I was expecting more touches for her, but she only had one drive in the opening possession.
Quest won 50-48
15u
For some reason this game was vastly delayed. It featured MN Stars, the hosts, vs. Lakeside Lady Scholars from the Milwaukee area. LLS was up 44-38 when we arrived. The Stars did close the gap to 46-45 on Stacy Dally's basket. Earlier in that possession Marisa Yernatich made one free throw and two technicals, so five points in one possession. Both teams had two non scores for possessions. Then it was an avalanche of scoring. Both teams combined were 15/17 to close out the game. The Stars tied the game at 48 on Jessica Thone's 3. LLS were never to trail at this stage and would always meet the tie with a basket. LaKendra Washington knocked in a three from the left corner to give LSS a 55-51 lead. The LSS had one non scoring possession, but the Stars kept the pressure on as Yernatich made a free throw to cut the margin to 55-54. Rachel Story made two free throws for the LSS. Sarina Simmons finished the scoring for LSS with four points.
Just when I was watching Rachel Story, the point guard for LSS had 8 points. Washington had 6.
For the Stars Yernatich had 7. Dally and Brianna Mastey had five.

Next up: late with a report on the MN Elite camp Challenge games.

Out & About: SD Elite/Iowa Elite

#3 posting 7.26.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

this game took place on Sunday, July 23
Adidas Mid America Championsips, 17u Semifinals
South Dakota Elite 52, Iowa Elite 37

First off I wanted to watch Iowa Select I vs Indiana Elite Open since I had not seen IEO and I had heard they had one player verbal Tennessee and another to Notre Dame. However the 15u Semifinal ran long (yesterday's story) and it was a tight game, so I stayed. Iowa Select won on 50-49. Indiana was at the line and they made the first free throw with 5 seconds left. The second one was off, and Kelsey Bolte grabbed the ball, dribbled to just inside of the 3 point line and launched it through the net. Iowa won 51-50.

The last time I saw Iowa Elite they were down to four players as they lost to MN Metro Stars Black in the Dakota Showcase. They had more on the roster today, including a couple from the II team. They could have used more as SDE jumped out quickly to a 10-1 lead. SDE scored on 4/5 possessions to start the contest. IE opened with a four possession drought, a theme that was to haunt them in the first half. They endured another dry spell of five and closed with 7 non scoring possessions. SDE wasn't the normal rip it up selves either, but they never had extended problems. SDE led 28-17 at half. Kristin Rotert had 9 for SDE.

SDE built up their lead early in the second half to 33-19. IE then scored on 5/7 possessions with a 10-2 run to slice the margin down to six at 35-29. That was a close as it was going to be. Abby Plucker knocked down 7 points in the second half to lead scorers.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

SOUTH DAKOTA ELITE
STARTERS
Megan Doyle, Hanson 7, 8, 87.5, .375 can go hard to the glass or step behind the 3 line. RF: needs to sharpen left hand.
Jill Young, Mitchell Christian 8, 9, 88.9, .333 magician with passing. a flick of the wrist and presto chango the ball is in another players hands and is probably on the way to the hoop. has the moxy. vision and awareness are assets. extremely creative. RF: size, speed at top level. turnovers result of players zagging when they should have been zigging.
Jenny Miller, Sioux Falls O'Gorman 3, 7, 42.9, .286 RF: size post hs. never really handles the ball.
Kristin Rotert, McCook Central 14, 10, 140.0, .600 caused matchup problems for IE's defense. can go to the hole, can drill it deep. a good feel for the game. good timing on her blocks. has spring in her step. serious competitor.
Abby Plucker, Parker 13, 7, 185.7, .714 her play has stepped up a notch. sharpshooter from 3s. more active on the boards.
BENCH
Liz Helsper, Brookings 5, 10, 50.0, .200 likes the drive, can hit 3s.
Sara Puthoff, West Central 2, 7, 28.6, .143

IOWA ELITE
STARTERS
Courtney Stoermer, Iowa City West 2, 9, 22.2, .111 good size on perimeter. RF: needs to finish drives. shot needs more consistency
Jaime Printy, Linn-Mar 6, 11, 54.5, .273 youngster point guard. good vision, good passing skills. RF: shot was a tad off today.
Ally Weaver, Iowa City West 4, 10, 40.0, .200 RF: needs to polish ball handling, passing decisions.
Stephanie Peters, Waterloo West 5, 6, 83.3, .500 big post player. rebounding is strength. RF: can not guard Rotert on the perimeter. Rotert has too much quickness.
Micha Mims, Cedar Rapids Washington 8, 10, 80.0, .400 has a knack for being in the right place. RF: size matters
BENCH
Ashley Arlen, Cascade 10, 10, 100.0, .500 scored off missed shots, transition and her own drives.
Brittany Pritchard, Norwalk 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000

TRENCH PLAYER
Kristin Rotert

BY THE NUMBERS
SD Elite 52, 58, 89.7, .379
Iowa Elite 37, 57, 64.9, .333

This game marked a first on a couple of fronts. In games I have charted it was SDE's first time sub 100 in pp100, and sub 400 in floor %. As they saying goes offense comes and goes, but defense is a consistent. That was true for SDE. They don't let much by, don't beat themselves, and get in the way of what the other team desires on offense.
Winning this game set up the rematch of the Dakota Showcase Semifinal when it was rainging 3s for SDE.

Next up: SD Elite vs Iowa Select I in the 17u championship. And when Conan O'Brien is on later tonight a look at the MN Elite camp Coaches Challenge game.

A Look at the Lynx: Jenkins Era

#2 posting 7.26.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

A LOOK AT THE LYNX: The Jenkins Era Begins

The Jenkins Era began with a rare road win over a hot Charlotte team.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Amber Jacobs 18, 15, 120.0, .533
Seimone Augustus 21, 18, 116.7, .556
Kristen Mann 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Tamika Williams 5, 5, 100.0, .600
Nicole Ohlde 10, 13, 76.9, .385
BENCH
Vanessa Hayden 4, 6, 66.7, .333
Adrian Williams 10, 6, 166.7, .667
Svetlana Abrosimova 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Shona Thorburn 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Tynesha Lewis 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Team 0, 2, 0.0, .000

CHARLOTTE
STARTERS
Monique Curry 3, 4, 75.0, .500
Helen Darling 6, 7, 85.7, .286
Sheri Sam 2, 7, 28.6, .143
Tangela Smith 8, 9, 88.9, .444
Tammy Sutton-Brown 22, 17, 129.4, .647
BENCH
LaToya Bond 5, 10, 50.0, .300
Kelly Mazzante 12, 10, 120.0, .400
Janel McCarville 1, 3, 33.3, .333
Allison Feaster 3, 6, 50.0, .167

TRENCH PLAYER
Amber Jacobs

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 70, 76, 92.1, .434
Charlotte 62, 73, 84.9, .384

MN won despite not breaking the 100 pp100 mark for the first time this season. It certainly is better than the 70s they had been stuck in the last two games. It was also their lowest floor % for a win this year. Their previous low for a win was against Houston at .493.
It was the second best defensive effort with the Houston game at 81.6 still the top level. It was the best D floor % of the year as well beating the Houston mark of .395. The defense is ever so slightly improving. In the last five games the pp100 number has dropped about 1 point in pp100 and 3 point in D floor %. However the offense has been sick dropping 7 points in pp100, and about 40 points in floor %.
This was only the second round win of the year. Their only other win was in June at San Antonio.
When Amber Jacobs has 120 pp100 or better the Lynx are 6-2.

Next up: out & about SD Elite vs Iowa Elite, and the championship SD Elite vs Iowa Select I. Late, late, late tonight (after 11 pm I will guess) will be the Elite Challenge game where players are selected that the scouts are curious to see.

NC Heat in Final 4, Stealth Busted

#1 posting 7.26.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AAU 15
MN NC Heat advanced to the final four with a 71-66 win over the Arkansas Mavericks and then in the quarterfinals beat Illinois Wolverines 51-47. They will face the Philadelphia Belles this morning at 10 am.
The other area team All Iowa Attack was beat in the 16 round by the Fairfax Stars 61-50.
more 15u information here.

14u
The MN Metro Stars split in pool play yesterday with a loss to MA Bay State Magic Elite 51-43, and then they bounced back with a 51-47 win over the Houston hotshots. The other MN team North Tartan had a rough opening day with a 74-54 loss to the MA Comets, and then another 20 point loss 67-47 to the St. Louis Sparks. More on the 14u aau site.

AAU ROSTERS

VERBALS

HS RECRUITING
Washington
The State of Washington doesn't mess around when in comes to recruiting violations in High school sports. Seattle Stealth has had their two state titles taken away due to recruiting violations. They have to forfeit all games for the past four years. They are barred from post season play this year. The coaches involved in the alledged recruiting are now suing to restore their reputations. Here is more from the Seattle Post Intelligencer, and another story from the same paper. The Seattle Times also has much more including many links on the background of this story.

HS TRANSFERS

COACHING NEWS
MN
The waiting game has begun in Crookston as Eric Schmidt. He has not made it official yet, but U of North Dakota football assistant may be his next job. Crookston finished 2nd in AA last year and has a boat load of talent back. Here is the Crookston Times with the news.
ND
Corey Frink has been named the new coach at Bismarck St. Mary's. He replaces Jaye Amundson who resigned to pursue a law degree. Here is more on the hire from the Bismarck Tribune.
LYNX
Jim Lewis has been hired as an assistant for the rest of this season. Here is more from the our sports central

COACHING OPENINGS

ALL STAR GAMES
SD
The North eeked out a 64-62 win over the South in the annual event in Aberdeen last night. Ruth Nelson, Huron and Brittany Fuhrman, Mobridge each had 10 for the North. Tiffany Moe of Brookings led all scorers with 15 for the South. This marked the fifth two point All Star game. ND had two games decided last week by two, and MN had two games decided at the last second in St. Cloud. Here is more on the SD event from the Aberdeen American News.

TEAM CAMP
Minnesota will hold it's team camp Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There will be 21 teams involved. The championship will be Saturday at 12:45 at Williams Arena.
Next up: a look at the lynx with Coach Jenkins debut.

Out & About: MN Elite Camp Action

#4 posting 7.25.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

Tonight I attended the evening session of the MN Elite Camp. It is being held at Concordia, St. Paul for the next few days. They have 12 teams and I saw four play. They have two divisions and the teams are named for the WNBA teams.

First off was the Fever vs the Liberty from the East, then Mercury vs the Strom from the West.

Liberty 42, Fever 31

This game started off like no one was ever going to miss. The first six possessions combined produced points on the scoreboard. Steph Kruggel scored the first five points for the Fever. After that reality set in and both teams were a combined 1/10. Droughts were the norm as the Fever had droughts of 5 and 9.The Liberty led 21-16 at half.

In the second half Abby Busch of the Liberty exploded for 11 points. She scored the first six points for the Liberty in the half as they built a 27-18 lead. The Liberty led by as many as 12 before the horn sounded. For the Fever Casey Christian came to life in the second half with all of her seven points scored in that frame.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

LIBERTY
STARTERS
Cassie Dorschner, Kasson-Mantorville 2, 4, 50.0, .250 point guard
Tanya Runholt, Lakeview 4, 6, 66.7, .333 RF: needs to square up/get angle.
Terin Euerle, St. Cloud Tech 2, 3, 66.7, .333 masked player.
Kendra Bornhoft, RTR 4, 5, 80.0,.400
Erica Nord, Barnesville 4, 3, 133.3, .667
BENCH
Whitney Canton, Pine Island 3, 4, 75.0, .250
Heather Cook, Eden Prairie 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000
Abby Busch, GFW 11, 10, 110.0, .500 extremely active and aggressive. transition player.
Jess Peterson, Chisago Lakes 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Jackie Hulst, Wabasha-Kellogg 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Kelly Cinquegrani, Buffalo 4, 3, 133.3, .667

FEVER
STARTERS
Stephanie Kruggel, GFW 5, 7, 71.4, .286 hot early, 3 range.
Emily DeWitt, Centennial 3, 4, 75.0, .250 3 shooter.
Lindsey Olson, Plainview-Elgin-Millville 2, 3, 66.7, .333 RF: needs to be aware of the 3 point line.
Natalie Giese, Canby 2, 2, 100.0, .500 had nice shot. RF: needs to work to create that more.
Andrea Hagberg, St. Cloud Apollo 5, 5, 100.0, .400 can score off balance. had a nice runner. lefty.
BENCH
Laura Canton, Pine Island 3, 6, 50.0, .333 drew a charge. RF: needs to get an angle on drive
Brooke Monson, Austin 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Kristin Sczublewski, Pierz 4, 9, 44.4, .222 point guard.
Brittni Hover, Clayton, WI 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Casey Christian, Shakopee 7, 7, 100.0, .429 RF: needs to be aware of lines

TRENCH PLAYER
Abby Busch

BY THE NUMBERS
Liberty 42, 49, 85.7, .408
Fever 31, 47, 66.0, .298

STORM 37, MERCURY 27

Just as in the first game scoring ruled early. Both teams combined for a 6/8 possession rate. Leading the charge for the Storm was Latasha Wittmeyer who scored the first 8 points. She was a force down low and on the boards. The Storm held the upper hand most of the first half, only trailing at 7-6 after Bri Zabel's old fashioned three point play. But the Mercury had one bad drought of six to keep them off balance. The Storm led 18-16 at half.

The Mercury took a 19-18 lead after Gina Jaroszewski's 3. On the very next possession Bonnie Albright made two free throws and the Strom never trailed after that. At 28-24 Katie Coughenour of the Strom drained a trey from the right corner. Abby Gust answered for the Mercury, but that was the last points to fall for the Merc. They finished with 11 straight no scores.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

STORM
STARTERS
Bonnie Albright, Lanesboro 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000 was active on boards.
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter 3, 5, 60.0, .600 was playing on the perimeter. nice frame. RF: I have high expectations for her. this was a flat performance.
Amber Junker, Eden Valley-Watkins 0, 8, 0.0, .000
Jordyn Sears, St. Cloud Tech 6, 7, 85.7, .429 guard, not afraid of taking it to the trees inside.
Latasha Wittmayer, Lakeville North 8, 6, 133.3, .667 even though undersized played much bigger inside. uses body well to seal defense. ferocious rebounder. RF: size may be a factor post hs. also was not playing much in the second half.
BENCH
Jenna Dolence, Moorhead 3, 2, 150.0, .500
Amber Dvorak, Hinckley-Finlayson 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000 big young center. keeps ball high. RF: still learning the game, needs to improve footwork
Katie Coughenour, Wayzata 5, 7, 71.4, .286 3 point specialist. RF: was forced into being a point guard
Amanda Kinzler, Glencoe-Silver Lake 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Bryn Erickson, Orono 0, 2, 0.0, .000

MERCURY
STARTERS
Bri Zabel, Northfield 7, 5, 140.0, .600 strong. very strong. able to get hit and it is like a fly on a horse. She uses her body well to create space and to protect the ball. She has decent range. RF: foot speed. free throw follow through too fast.
Gina Jaroszewski, Moorhead 5, 5, 100.0, .400 3 range.
Deena Ewert, Andover 6, 5, 120.0, .600 showed off range.
Kellie Schuneman, Centennial 1, 5, 20.0, .200 RF: too many spin dribbles, hand on follow through on free throws snapped back to quick, not long enough for the shooter's pose.
Kia Johnson, St. Bernard's 0, 4, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Amanda Degnan, St. Charles 0, 2, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to be aware of where she is on the floor. killed dribble to tight to mid court.
Jenna Beckner, Bigfork, 0, 3, 0.0, .000 tiny guard.
Abby Gust, St. Paul Central 3, 5, 60.0, .200 can hit the 3
Aaryn Booker, DeLaSalle 2, 6, 33.3, .167 RF: needs to have the right angle for shot.
Sarah Luse, Orono 3, 5, 60.0, .400

TRENCH PLAYER
Latasha Wittmeyer

BY THE NUMBERS
Storm 37, 46, 80.4, .413
Mercury 27, 45, 60.0, .289

Both games featured rapid scoring early. The adrenaline must have been flowing. Then in both games the offenses crashed. These teams were just put together today and are probably still learning their names.

INJURY UPDATE
Ebony Black, St. Paul Central hurt her knee and left camp.
Maggie Bauernfeind, Rosemount went home ill, but will be back when better.


Next up: general news of the day, plus the last two games from the Adidas Mid America 17u semis and finals. Plus bonus coverage of the Elite camp challenge game.

Out & About: MN Stars Schmitz/East Iowa Slam

#3 posting 7.25.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

this game took place on Sunday, July 23
Bloomington Jefferson HS, MN
Adidas Mid America Championships 15u Semifinals
MN Stars Schmitz 67, East Iowa Slam 65

MSS scored the first two times they touched the ball and I had the feeling it was going to be a route. But EIS did not go away. They came out and cut the lead to 5-4. To start the game there was scoring on 5/8 possessions. Then came a nasty dry spell where both teams combined were 1/16. The only score coming on MSS's Ali Schwartzwald's pull up jumper. MSS found its groove were 5/6 in their possessions building the lead at 17-10. MSS scored on three transition lay ups in the outburst. Then MSS had a five possession drought. EIS had a 7 drought right before. EIS's coach was frustrated and picked up a technical at this point. MSS built their largest lead to 31-20. But EIS had a three possession scoring spree led by Barbara Williams with six straight points. A basket by Dally right before half had MSS up 33-26.

Williams scored on the first possession, a put back to make it 8 straight points for EIS. Candis Kertson scored on the next possession and EIS was down 33-30. They took there first lead at 36-35 on Rachel Klaren's three. Klaren was hot during this stretch scoring 10 points in 8 EIS possessions. Klaren herself was 4/5 during the stretch and EIS had their biggest lead at 50-46. Abby Weiss cut that in half with a trey from up top, and then tied it with another. She started a four possession run as Brianna Mastey later added two free throws to regain the lead, and then cleaned up on a rebound. EIS at the same time was on a four possession drought. With MSS up 54-50 it was EIS's turn to comeback. They were only able to get to two, but it was always a four/two split. However they did tie it at 65 all on Eisha Berry's drive to the glass. On the next MSS possession Sarah Hintz was fouled as she scored. She missed the free throw and Klaren's desperation 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MN STARS SCHMITZ
STARTERS
Abby Weiss, Martin County West 12, 8, 150.0, .500 key 3s saved the day for MSS. called on to shoot the technical in the first half. RF: quickness
Ali Schwartzwald, St. Francis 14, 15, 93.3, .467 becoming more confident in her role. decent perimeter shooter. another with a good pull up shot.
Jessica Thone, Woodbury 6, 6, 100.0, .500 another transition scorer.
Sarah Hintz, Woodbury 2, 3, 66.7, .333 scored under pressure. RF: missed the icing on the cake free throw.
Briana Mastey, Becker 14, 13, 107.7, .615 force inside, good ball handling skills. cleaned up a lot off misses by teammates. nice pull up jumper. would do well post hs 3.
BENCH
Marissa Yernatich, Duluth East 7, 7, 100.0, .429 can hit the 3. transition favorite. RF: short on shot at times. use more legs.
Ashley Allevan, Fairmont 5, 8, 62.5, .375 scored on transition and a put back.
Sam Mehr, Eastview 2, 2, 100.0, .500 back up point guard
Nicole Mastey, Becker 2, 2, 100.0, .500 very few possessions today. RF: not as aggressive or polished as her sister.
Brittany Weise, St. Michael-Albertville 2, 3, 66.7, .333
Stacey Dally, White Bear Lake 2, 4, 50.0, .250

EAST IOWA SLAM
STARTERS
Eiesha Berry, Dubuque Sr, 5, 7, 71.4, .429 speedy point guard. Took it hard to the glass in closing seconds. not afraid to go into the land of giants. RF: size
Rachel Klaren, Dyersville Beckman 20, 17, 117.7, .471 great shooter, can't leave her open. moves well without the ball, back cuts well. also passes well, but not a pg.
Katie Flogel, Marquette 4, 5, 80.0, .400
Candis Kertson, Dubuque Sr., 8, 9, 88.9, .444 scored in transition.
Barbara Williams, Dubuque Sr., 18, 19, 94.7, .474 big rebounder. has a nose for ball. energy/desire definitely there. likes to block shots. RF: needs some polishing. Footwork.
BENCH
Juanita Robinson, Dubuque Sr., 2, 9, 22.2,. .111 the baby of the bunch only going into 8th grade. a lot of energy, good instincts, RF: game experience.
Megan Shultz, Dubuque Sr., 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000 likes transition game.
Cori Lieb, Dubuque Sr., 2, 2, 100.0, .500 sub 5-0. scored on a drive in the half court game. RF: did I mention sub 5-0.

TRENCH PLAYER
Briana Mastey

BY THE NUMBERS
MN Stars Schultz 67, 71, 94.4, .465
East Iowa Slam 65, 71, 91.5, .437

Looking at the bodies before the game I expected MSS to walk away with it. EIS proved to be a scrappy bunch and could hit big shots when needed. This was the best I have seen MSS play all year as they topped the 90 pp100 mark and they were about 80 points better that the .380 floor % earlier this season. It would be interesting to see them match up now with the other 15s in the state.

Next up: later tonight after I take a look at the MN Elite camp.