Thursday, January 31, 2008

Out & About: Fergus Falls/Sartell

#9 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

FERGUS FALLS otters 49, SARTELL sabres 39

In a Central Lakes/8AAA match up 2nd place Fergus Falls beating host Sartell 49-39. This win will solidify FF's #1 standing in 8AAA. It was FF's second win over Sartell on the year. FF is now 14-4 on the year, Sartell moves to 13-6.

The first half was a study in contrasts--Fergus Falls used the perimeter sharpshooting of Hannah Draxten, Sartell looked to go inside with drives or post ups. Draxten knocked down four threes, two on two consecutive possessions. But it was the defense of FF that put distance between the two teams. A 9 possession drought by Sartell gave FF the window of opportunity to jump from a 14-13 lead to a 25-13 lead. Draxten nailed her fourth 3 in that stretch. Sartell snapped out of their offensive funk with three straight scoring possessions, but they could only squeeze one point on two of those possessions. FF went inside to Susan Wellendorf for two straight scores. At half time the Otters led 31-21.

The second half had less scoring than the first half. Each team only managed to squeeze out 18 points. Droughts reigned supreme. Sartell had 4, 6 while FF 4 and an 11. Fergus Falls' biggest margin came at 45-29 with about 8 minutes to go. That is when the 11 drought reared it's head. Seven of those possessions were turnovers, including the first four in that streak. FF only made five field goals in the second half. Sartell had two more than that. Sartell did cut the margin to 45-37 with 4:20 to go as the game became a bit more intriguing, but The Sabers picked the wrong time to go cold with three straight empty trips. On top of that FF was in a modified delay game and Sartell allowed them to run valuable time off the clock. On top of that Sartell only had three fouls, so they had to scramble to get more fouls to put FF at the line. It appeared Sartell didn't want to foul. More time evaporated. When Sartell finally put FF in the bonus the Otters missed the front end. However on their possesion with 1;45 left ended up as a missed shot. Draxten dominated the defensive boards in the second half with 10 added one to her account. She converted two free throws with 1:06 left to push the lead back to 10. Sartell scored on a put back by Maddie Hysjulien, but they allowed more time to slip away before putting another Otter at the line. This time Draxten made one with 34 seconds left. One more possession later she added another for the final margin.

Photos: #1 jump ball between Maggie Bryant (Sartell, Blue #25) and Amanda Lewis (FF, White #24). #2. It looks like all FF players know the answer--Susan Wellendorf, Amanda Lewis, and Becca Rengel surround an unknown Sartell player. photos by kja.

key: player (grad year) points, possessions, pp100, floor %
FERGUS FALLS
STARTERS
Susan Wellendorf (08) 6, 8, 75.0, .375 post player. steady
Erin Morstad (08) 2, 12, 16.7, .083 point guard. needs to clean up ball handling/passing decisions.
Hannah Draxten (08) 19, 18, 105.6, .500 bigger perimeter, likes 3 shot. workhorse on the d boards. when posting up tends to go too low for any glass action. did not score the second half from the floor. went to the line five times. Rushes free throw shot. Her form is fine, but she needs to take some time. When handling the ball bringing it up court needs to recognize open players faster.
Amanda Lewis (08) 12, 8, 150.0, .750 scored off drives to the basket. maximized possessions.
Sarah Erickson (08) 0, 3, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Becca Rengel (08) 10, 11, 90.9, .455 back up post.

SARTELL
STARTERS
Maggie Bryant (08) 11, 16, 68.8, .375 gave Draxten too much space. slow start, 9 points in the second half. will drive, crashes offensive boards.
Courtney Tideman (08) 10, 15, 66.7, .467 did a strong job defensively on Draxten. also had the most steals for Sartell. went to the line five times. needs to be better than 4/10 at the line (see below).
Jenna Flynn (10) 2, 3, 66.7, .333 needs to shorten passes.
Sarah Schellinger (08) 2, 11, 18.2, .091 point guard. tough nosed. forced lob passes. needs to get balance before shot.
Rachel Wieme (08) 8, 6, 133.3, .667 post player. most effective player in the paint for Sartell.
BENCH
Abby Frericks (09) 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Maddie Hysjulien (08) 4, 4, 100.0, .500
Nicole Grogan (09) 2, 3, 66.7, .333
It appears that the entire Sartell team needs to hold their follow through a good second longer than they do. It is if they are burning their hand when they yank it back after the shot. To put it another way, there is no good photo with follow through. The picture is just a player and you can not tell if they have shot or not. It also holds true at the line.

TRENCH PLAYER
Hannah Draxten

BY THE NUMBERS
Fergus Falls 49, 60, 81.7, .400
Sartell 39, 62, 62.9, .355
made 3s: FF 4, Sartell 0
ftm/fta-ft%: FF 11/21-.524; Sartell 9/18-.500
bench: FF 10, Sartell 6
Fergus Falls checked in with a 96.9 pp100 for the first half and a .438 floor %. In the second half the Otters struggled with a 64.3 pp100 and .357 floor%. Sartell was was only 65.6 pp100 in the first half with a .375 floor%. The key difference was Draxten's 4 from behind the arc. Sartell in the second half was slightly off with 60.0 pp100 and .333 floor %.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
FERGUS FALLS
Hannah Draxten 14.5
Becca Rengel 5.5
Erin Morstad 4.5
Amanda Lewis 3.5
Susan Wellendorf 3
Sarah Erickson 1
Brittany Gagner 1
totals: 33

SARTELL
Courtney Tideman 6
Sarah Schellinger 4
Maggie Bryant 3
Jenna Flynn 3
Rachel Wieme 3
Nicole Grogan 3
Maddie Hysjulen 2
Lindsay Poplinski 1
totals: 25

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Fergus Falls used man a majority of the time. They also used 1/3/1 and 2/3 zones.
Sartell used man almost the whole night.
match ups Sartell off/FF def; Schellinger/Erickson; Flynn/Morstad; Bryant/Draxten; Wieme/Wellendorf; Tideman/Lewis
FF off/Sartell def; Draxten/Bryant (early)--Tideman (later); Lewis/Tideman (early)-Bryant (later); Erickson/Hysjulien; Rengel/Flynn; Morstad/Schellinger

With Coach Teas in Washington, I went to the game Coach Krieg.The trip was a snap. not one missed turn.

next up: tomorrow morning

Grab Bag: Mercy, Mercy; Run & Gun

#8 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AFTERNOON GRAB BAG:
MERCY, MERCY
The MSHSL is going to vote on the "Mercy" rule on April 1st. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press. USA Today wrote about the mercy issue last Friday. In fact a coach in Washington was suspended and reprimanded as his team beat another 112-16.
I have seen six games this season that would fall under the "mercy" rule. These games don't have a lot of appeal and I can't wait for the contest to end. But every time my scorn is on the team getting mauled.
Here is my take:
#1 it is up to the team that is getting hammered to get better. I think the score perfectly reflects the time, energy, effort that players put in during the off season. Why reward mediocrity? What message is being sent?
#2 How will a team know that they have improved if a team has eased up and not given full effort?
#3. teams and players have been kicked out of sports because of trying to fix games. Nothing but full effort should be given. doesn't the integrity of the sport matter anymore? or are sniff, sniff, feewings sniff, sniff, more important these days?
I am NOT in favor of the mercy rule. It cheapens the sport due to some misplaced notion of fairness or compassion. Teams should be trying to maximize their potential.
Let's say 40 points is the threshold. What will be the result? teams ahead will TRY to keep the score under the threshold to keep playing. That my friends is a "fix."

In a related message I think it is up to the team getting beat to "throw in the towel." I have been around too long to see a misplaced notion of compassion for the opponent come back an bite the team ahead. Case in point: Osseo was miles ahead of another team once upon a time with the 3rd string in when the other team slapped a full court press on the deep subs. Bam, Bam, Bam the game all of sudden became "interesting." Coach Thorpe was not pleased and put the full unit back in with instructions to press the other team full bore. The game quickly reverted back to the natural order of things.

So how do you avoid these travesties? Don't schedule cream puffs on your schedule. It does nothing to increase your standing or admiration in the polls. Now some teams are stuck in horrible conferences (St. Paul Central vs Harding). It would be great if the two city conferences could combine and have a two tier league going divided by skill. Then games and margins would be more competitive. Will that happen? Not while I am still breathing.

RUN & GUN
Dunkerton, Iowa is averaging 83.8 ppg, which is under the 85.85 set by Cedar Falls in 1999. If Dunkerton was in Minnesota they would be averaging 94.3 ppg (in 36 minutes). Scroll to get to this in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

POINTS & BOARDS
Maranda Dohrn will own the rebounding and scoring records at Lake City. She has a feature in the Rochester Post Bulletin.

LATE RESULTS
IOWA: MSAE beat WACO 48-31 to advance to the SEISC championship. Is this code? find out in the Washington Evening Journal.

Next up: later tonight with another out & about.

Whitewater Wins in Overtime

#7 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D2
Mary isn't "fretting" about losing two games last week. From the Bismarck Tribune.

D3
Concordia Moorhead beat St. Olaf 71-58. Melanie Hageman (Fargo South) had 13 for CM. Elyse Erickson (Orono) had 17 for St. Olaf.

Gustavus beat Bethel 77-67. Jess Vadnais (Hudson, WI) had 23. Gabrielle Gustafson (St. Louis Park) had 18 for Bethel.

Macalester beat St. Mary's 60-51. Danielle Johnson (Madison Edgewood) had 15 for Macalester. Jess Weisbrod (Winona Cotter) had 13 for St. Mary's.

St. Benedict beat Carleton 73-60. Judy Falvey (Lakeville) had 17 for St. Ben's. Hannah Oken-Berg (Portland Lincoln, OR) had 22 for Carleton.

St. Catherine beat Augsburg 71-59. Ashley Busch (GFW) had 19 for St. Kate's. Kristina Lurken (Kenyon-Wanamingo) had 20 for Augsburg.

St. Thomas beat Hamline 71-60. Carrie Embree (Waukee, IA) had 22 for St. Thomas. Mary Wilkowski (Savannah, St. Andrew's) had 17 for Hamline.

WIAC
Oshkosh beat Platteville 71-62. Whitney Thriver (Oshkosh West) had 21 for Oshkosh. Lisa Wubben (Southwestern, WI) had 21 for Platteville

Whitewater beat LaCrosse 99-87 in overtime. Lindsey Buechner (Middleton, WI) had 24 for Whitewater. Mackenzie Hunter (Eau Claire Regis) had 28 for LaCrosse.

Eau Claire beat Superior 79-40. Michelle Burns (Eau Claire North) had 18 for Eau Claire. Anna Petersen (Osseo-Fairchild, WI) had 10 for Superior.

Stevens Point beat River Falls 81-46. Chelsea Kranz (Columbus, WI) Sarah Schoeneck (Bloomington Jefferson) had 18 for River Falls.

Stout's Julia Hirssig (Rochester Mayo) was named player of the week.

IIAC
Luther beat Buena Vista 79-73. Ashley TeKippe (Decorah, IA) had 23 for Luther. Margo Muhlbauer (IKM) had 27 for BV.

CC
MINNESOTA
Vermillion beat Mesabi 64-57

Rochester beat Anoka-Ramsey 60-38. Amanda Degnan (St. Charles) had 17 for Rochester. Carri Roline (St. Francis) and Amanda Reh (Monticello) had 11 for AR. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Riverland beat Fergus Falls 81-77. Anna Hebrink (Austin) had 30 for Riverland. Krista Shaikoski (Fergus Falls) had 26 for FF. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

I reported on the MN West 71-61 win over Anoka-Ramsey last night. Here is the Worthington Daily Globe with their version.

IOWA
Top Ranked Iowa Central (9-1, 20-1) suffered their first loss of the season as ninth ranked Kirkwood (10-0, 16-6) used Brean Hill's 15 points, nine rebounds, six steals and six assists in a 66-40 win.
The Eagles led 35-25 at halftime before extending the lead to as many as 29 points in the second half at 64-35.
Allie Lindemann added 12 points and four assists, while Lauren Thomas-Johnson added 10.
Iowa central was led by Morgan Brown's 13 points.
Kirkwood travels to North Iowa Area CC in Mason City on Saturday at 4pm

Next up: Later this afternoon with the grab bag.

Marquette Wins Emotional Game

#6 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D1
BIG 10
The Capital Times looks at Marshfield's Jamie Braun now playing with Indiana.

What will Alyssa DeHaan's defensive role be tonight when Michigan State plays Michigan? From the Grand Rapids Press.

BIG 12
Oklahoma beat Kansas 67-51. Kelly Kohn (Adrian, MI) had 2 for Kansas.

Iowa State beat Colorado 65-45. Amanda Nisleit (Woodbury) had 16 for ISU. Hannah Skildum (Mounds View) had 2 for Colorado. "Cyclones show signs of life" says the Des Moines Register.

Kansas State beat Nebraska 77-75. Cory Montgomery (Cannon Falls) had 6 for Nebraska.

BIG EAST
Louisville beat Cincinnati 79-56. Keshia Hines (Auburn Hills Avondale) had 8 for Louisville.

Marquette beat Georgetown 60-55. Krystal Ellis (Racine St. Catherine) had 14 for Marquette. Angel Robinson (St. Paul Central) had 10 for Marquette. It was a tough week for Marquette with Erin Monfre's mother dying. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

MID AMERICAN
Kent State beat Toledo 87-61. Asheley Harkins (Saginaw Arthur Hill) had 21 for Kent State.

Ohio beat Ball State 88-82 in overtime. Lauren Kohn (Adrian, MI) had 22. Jackie Hiebert (Hopkins) added four to Ohio's totals.

Western Michigan beat Bowling Green 79-73. Tiera DeLaHoussaye (Detroit Country Day) had 19 for WMU.

EAST
American beat Navy 59-52. Talicia Jackson (DeLaSalle) had 12 for American.

Temple beat St. Joseph's 70-67. Shenita Landry (Milwaukee King) had 6 for Temple. Amy Wold (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) had 21 for St. Joseph's.

WEST
Santa Clara beat Portland 61-58. Claire Goins (Sioux City Heelan) did not score for Santa Clara.

San Diego State beat Colorado State 86-52. Elle Queen (Minnetonka) had 11 for Colorado State. Lauren Young (Edina) had 5, Emily Neal (Breck) had 4 and Kelly Finley (Breck) did not score for CSU.

HIGH FIVE
Michigan took both honors yesterday and moved back in front of Wisconsin on the individual race by a half a game. It is Lauren Kohn's second time leading the High Five.

MICHIGAN--89
Lauren Kohn, Ohio (Adrian) 22 vs Ball State 88-82 OT
Asheley Harkins, Kent State (Saginaw Arthur Hill) 21 vs Toledo 76-61
Tiera DeLaHoussaye, Western Michigan (Detroit Country Day) 19 vs Bowling Green 79-73
Jennifer Poff, Ohio (St. Johns) 14 vs Ball State 88-82 OT
Molly Dwyer, Western Michigan (Sterling Heights Stevenson) 13 vs Bowling Green 79-73
Amanda Parker, Western Michigan (Muskegon Mona Shores) 13 vs Bowling Green 79-73

IOWA---56
Amy Wold, St. Joseph's (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 21 vs Temple 67-70
Kelsey Bolte, Iowa State (Battle Creek-Ida Grove) 15 vs Colorado 65-45
Allison Lacey, Iowa State (Ballard) 15 vs Colorado 65-45
Jocelyn Anderson, Iowa State (Prairie Valley) 3 vs Colorado 65-45
Kandy Beemer, Colorado State (Bedford) 2 vs San Diego State 52-86
Kala Kuhlmann, Nebraska (Charter Oak-Ute) 2 vs Kansas State 75-77

MINNESOTA--55
Amanda Nisleit, Iowa State (Woodbury) 16 vs Colorado 65-45
Talicia Jackson, American (DeLaSalle) 12 vs Navy 59-52
Elle Queen, Colorado State (Minnetonka) 11 vs San Diego State 52-86
Angel Robinson, Marquette (St. Paul Central) 10 vs Georgetown 60-55
Cory Montgomery, Nebraska (Cannon Falls) 6 vs Kansas State 75-77

WISCONSIN---31
Krystal Ellis, Marquette (Racine St. Catherine) 14 vs Georgetown 60-55
Kelly Lam, Marquette (Brookfield East) 11 vs Georgetown 60-55
Shenita Landry, Temple (Milw King) 6 vs St. Joseph's 70-67

next up: D2/3/cc reports

Chippewa Valley Turns Table

#5 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MICHIGAN REPORTS
Wednesday is high school night in Michigan and Chippewa Valley beat St. Clair 45-42. Port Huron Northern beat Utica Eisenhower 53-46 plus other results from the Port Huron Times Herald.

POINT PARADE
Claire Cannon, Chippewa Valley 22 vs St. Clair 45-42
Ariel Braker, Grosse Pointe North 22 vs Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse 64-37

Next up: College Reports

Features, Q&As, and Female Head Coaches

#4 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

WISCONSIN REPORTS
FEATURED
6-2 Mary Kurisch of West Salem is featured in the LaCrosse Tribune.

Onalaska Luther is 14-0 and #7 in the D3 poll. From the LaCrosse Tribune.

Sam Barber of DC Everest does a Q&A with the Wausau Daily Herald.

Elizabeth Mock of DePere does a Q&A with the Green Bay Press & Gazette.

The Fond du Lac Reporter looks at the lack of female head coaches in the their coverage area. This series started with the Oakfield incident.

Menasha St. Mary is looking to clear the last hurdle and get to the state touranment. From the Appleton Post Crescent.

Next up: Michigan Reports

Pair of Big Iowa High School Games

#3 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

IOWA REPORTS
North faces Heelan in a Sioux City girls basketball power battle. From the Sioux City Journal.

#5 1A Southeast Webster-Grand travels to #8 2A Manson Northwest Webster. From the Fort Dodge Messenger.

SE Polk is still celebrating their first win in the 5 on 5 era over Des Moines Lincoln. Bondurant-Farrar lost twice last week. From the Des Moines Register.

Next up: Wisconsin

Trio Featured in North Dakota

#2 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NORTH DAKOTA REPORTS
POLLS
Jamestown dropped from 2 to 5 in the latest A poll. From the Jametown Sun.

FEATURES
The Fargo Forum features on Mara Paulson of Fargo Shanley and Caitlyn Haring of Fargo South

Paige Anderson of Watford City is featured in the Minot Daily News.

Next up: Around the Region

North Tartan Larson Adds Power Trio

#1 posting 1.31.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA REPORTS
AAU NEWS
North Tartan Larson has their line up set for the Junior Eligible team this year. It features three players that can grab the rim. NTL will add a pair of All Iowa Attack players--Amanda Zimmerman and Chelsea Poppens.
Zimmerman is a 6-2 forward from Ballard, IA. Ballard is #9 in the MaxPreps latest Iowa ranking. She made a verbal to Iowa State before ever stepping on the high school court as a freshman. She is averaging 18.4 ppg this year. Zimmerman was named to the girlsbasketball recruit endo of the summer 2007 3rd team. She runs the floor and is a lefty.
Poppens is a 6-3 center from Aplington-Parkersburg. She is averaging 13.6 ppg. Poppens was named to the girlsbasketball recruit end of the summer 2007 2nd team. She runs the floor, gets rebounds, and creates space.
Also Sam Ostarello of Stanley County, SD will join the squad. She is a 6-2 forward. She made a verbal to Purdue last summer and this is her first AAU team she will play for. She turned plenty of heads at the North Tartan Showcase event in September.
The Minnesota players on the roster include:
Katie Loberg of Princeton, a 6-4 center who has made a verbal to the Gophers.
Shakila Boler of Bloomington Kennedy a 5-9 guard who also has made a verbal to the Gophers.
Kelsey Florian of Roseville
Megan Lauck of Mounds View
Suriya McGuire of Minneapolis Roosevelt
Taylor Young of Edina
Jennifer Dowd of Rogers
Rey Robinson of Becker
Jessie Althoff of Becker
These roster moves are like an earthquake. All of these moves will reshape the races in two states for sure and reverberate throughout the region.
North Tartan Larson will hit three huge events this summer: Boo Williams in the spring, End of the Trail in early July and Nike Nationals in the end of July. NTL is one of 24 teams to be invited to the event.

COACHING NEWS
Rochester Lourdes girls basketball coach Myron Glass who recently picked up career win #600 and long time assistant Mike Carroll, who recently announced his retirement, will be honored at halftime of the Winona Cotter game on Friday. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

DEFENSE IS THE FOCUS
New Prague relies on a defense attitude for their success. From the StarTribune.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Centennial with their practice and New Life with their lessons are also mention in the StarTribune (scroll down).

PERFECT START
Battle Lake is 16-0 in class A. From the Fargo Forum.

1000 POINTS
Megan Eul of Rosemount reached the 1000 point mark against Rochester Mayo last week. From the Rosemount Town Pages.
Julianne Mitchell of Minneapolis Edison went over the 1000 point mark against Mpls Roosevelt on Tuesday. Mitchell had 342 points at St. Paul Arlington as a 9th grader. She has 579 this year at Edison this year as a senior. That equals to 921, so 79 points are missing somewhere. Mitchell did not play as a sophomore or junior so the achievement is extremely rare.

Next up: North Dakota reports

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Out & About: MN West/Minneapolis

#8 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA WEST bluejays 71,
MINNEAPOLIS mavericks 61

In a Minnesota South Community College match up it was MN West closing with a 10-2 run to beat host Minneapolis 71-61. Ashlee Domine had 8 points during the run on her way to 27 points for the game.

If it is Wednesday it is community college night. And it was pretty lonely on the bench. There were more coaches than players. Only one sub remained for each team. Both teams approached defense differently: Minneapolis used the zone, MN West relied on man. MN West would look to run more on offense; Minneapolis would pick and choose their opportunities.

Minneapolis jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. MN West struggled early on with a 1/8 offensive sequence to start. The biggest Mpls margin came at 13-6. MN West showed their fire power quickly with a 7-0 run on three possessions to tie the game at 13. Stacy Bush hit one of her three 3s to tie the contest. Mpls was on a seven possession drought during the MW fireworks. That was the first of three ties. MW actually led 15-13 on a second chancer &1 by Domine. Brittany Monio put Mpls back in front with a three from the top of the circle. The biggest Maverick lead in this sequence was 28-21 after a Jessica Ray 3 off the glass. Bush immediately answered with her own 3 as MW finished the half with a 16-1 run. The Bluejays went into the locker room on the upsurge with put back at the buzzer by Cali Mischke. It was 37-29 at the half.

MW pushed their lead to 12 in the first portion of the second half. The margin stayed in that zone up to 57-45. Then MW went into the ice box. They were in a 2/15 offensive sequence, a 26.7 pp100 level and only .133 floor %. Mpls took advantage of MW's offensive slumber with a 14-4 run to cut the margin to 61-59 with 3 minutes left. Monio had 6 to lead the Mavs on the run. Mpls had two opportunities to tie it up, but missed shots on each of their two possessions. MW came to life with a five possession scoring string. It all started with Ashley Kirk's rebound. MW changed one detail of their offense putting Domine on the left block instead of the perimeter. They ran their secondary break and she scored two possessions in a row. Rosie Lewis scored on the third possession while Domine finished up the scoring. Mpls picked the wrong time to go into a five possession drought. Ray scored on a drive for the final Mpls points.

I feel like I am the grim reaper. For the third straight game a player had to leave after an incident on the floor. Amy Langenfeld had the wind knocked out of her and had to leave. She eventually returned.



photos: #1 Jessica Ray keeps her dribble alive after a slip. #2. Ashlee Domine goes up at the left block in her 8 point outburst late in the contest. photos by kja.


key: player (grad year) points, possessions, pp100, floor %
MN WEST
STARTERS
Ashlee Domine, TMB (10) 27, 26, 103.8, .500 permiter (until crunch time). lefty. gets down the floor in transition. Likes to drive baseline side---on the left side. crashes offensive boards.
Rosie Lewis, Ellsworth (10) 6, 7, 85.7, .429 mainly high post on offense.
Ashley Kirk, TMB (11) 17, 15, 113.3, .533 main defensive responsibility was to hound Ray up the floor. runs the floor in transition. looks to drive. has 3 range. big defensive rebounds late.
GP Vaske, Nicollet (11) 4, 7, 57.1, .286 post player. both baskets came on second chancers.
Stacy Bush, Hills-Beaver Creek (10) 11, 14, 78.6, .286 point guard. initiated the run at the end of the first half with two straight 3s. All her points came in the first half. very active defensively.
BENCH
Cali Mischke, Windom (10) 6, 7, 85.7, .429 back up post.

MINNEAPOLIS
STARTERS
Charmaine Cross, Mpls North (10) 23, 24, 95.8, .458 post player, but can shoot outside. has 16 foot range, runs the floor, crashes the offensive board. 7 points via second chancers. went to the line four times. cleaned up defensive boards. Defensively needs to stay low and not give baseline.
Brittany Monio, Stillwater (11) 17, 18, 94.4, .444 mid range shooter back to the 3 line. needs to be more aggressive on defense.
Nicole Morris, DeLaSalle (11) 2, 5, 40.0, .200 hit baseline shot.
Jessica Ray, Mpls North (11) 17, 19, 89.5, .421 point guard. hit a couple of 3s in the first half. In the second half took the ball hard to the glass. has good body control.
Amy Langenfeld, Mpls (10) 2, 8, 25.0, .125 hit one corner shot in the second half. needs to step up on defense. had the wind knocked out of her.
BENCH
Ruby Daniels, Chicago (10) 0, 2, 0.0, .000 reserve with few minutes.

TRENCH PLAYER
Ashlee Domine

BY THE NUMBERS
MN West 71, 76, 93.4, .434
Minneapolis 61, 71, 80.3, .382
made 3s: MW 5, Mpls 4
ftm/fta-ft%: Mpls 9/11-.818; MW 6/7-.857
bench: MW 6, Mpls 0

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
MN WEST
Stacy Bush 12
Rosie Lewis 7
Ashlee Domine 6
Ashley Kirk 5
GP Vaske 5
Cali Mischke 1
totals: 36

MINNEAPOLIS
Charmaine Cross 14
Jessica Ray 13
Brittany Monio 3
Nicole Morris 1
Ruby Daniels 1
totals: 32

DEPARTMENT OF THE DEFENSE
MN West used man, Minneapolis used a variety of zones.
match ups: (MN west off/Mpls Def) Cross/Lewis; Ray/Kirk; Monio/Vaske; Langenfeld/Bush; Morris/Domine

For those wondering what happened to the grab bag, time didn't permit this afternoon. It will be up tomorrow.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Dailey to Resign at Sioux Falls

#7 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D1
George Washington beat Dayton 81-73. Brittany Holterman (Racine Prairie) had 14 for Dayton.

Akron beat Central Michigan 70-69. Latisha Luckett (Detroit Country Day) had 12 for CMU.

Miami OH beat Eastern Michigan 81-70. Amanda Compton (Ann Arbor Huron) had 8 foor EMU.

POLLS
North Dakota is climbing back up the poll. This week they are at #3 in the D2 poll. Other teams of note
#4 South Dakota
#6 Concordia St. Paul
#16 MSU Mankato
#20 Augustana
#23 Michigan Tech

COACHING NEWS
Katie Dailey will resign at Sioux Falls at the end of the year. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

INJURIES
South Dakota Mines' Melanie Vedvei (Lake Preston, SD) suffered a knee injury and will be out for a while. From the Rapid City Journal.

HIGH FIVE
In a light day it was Michigan taking the team title and Wisconsin taking the individual.
Michigan now has 28 team wins.
Wisconsin goes back in front with the individual race with 22.5, a half game ahead of Michigan.
This is Holterman's first time leading the High Five. She is the 6th Wisconsin player to lead the high five.

MICHIGAN--38
Latisha Luckett, Central Michigan (Detroit Country Day) 12 vs Akron 69-70
Brittni Houghton, Central Michigan (Lansing Waverly) 9 vs Akron 69-70
Amanda Compton, Eastern Michigan (Ann Arbor Huron) 8 vs Miami OH 71-80
Kendra Holmen, Central Michigan (East Grand Rapids) 5 vs Akron 69-70
Angel Chan, Central Michigan (Wyoming Park) 4 vs Akron 69-70

WISCONSIN---14
Brittany Holterman, Dayton (Racine Prairie) 14 vs George Washington 73-81

NORTH DAKOTA---3
Amber Land, Eastern Michigan (Kulm) 3 vs Miami OH 71-80

Next up: later today with the grab bag.

Chew on This--40 Points

#6 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MICHIGAN REPORTS
Bloomfield Hills Lahser had a dicey time at the free throw line in a 46-44 win over Oak Park. plus more results in the Detroit Free Press.

Jackson Lumen Christi beat Jackson Northwest 52-39. Tekonsha beat North Adams-Jerome 33-30 plus other results from the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Armada beat Richmond 38-34. From the Port Huron Times-Herald.

Parchment beat Maple Valley 55-52. From the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Chippewa Valley is defensive minded allowing 29.4 a game. From the Detroit News.

POINT PARADE
Emelda Chew, Detroit Northwestern 40 Detroit Cass Tech 77-56
Victoria McGowan, Inkster 32 vs Allen Park 65-46
Allayah Craighead, Detroit Chadsey 30 vs Detroit Cleveland 64-51
Tavelyn James, Detroit Mumford 29 vs Detroit Renaissance 48-59
Tyler Hardy, Ann Arbor Huron 28 vs Ypsilanti Lincoln 70-37
Demeisha Fambro, Detroit Crockett 28 vs Detroit Western 69-39
Jakira Horton, Detroit Chadsey 27 vs Detroit Cleveland 64-51
Katie Ross, Clawson 26 vs Lutheran Westland 49-42
Kristen Greene, Brown City 25 vs Reese 42-41
Chanahl Putnman, Almont 24 vs Imlay City 54-41
Jordan Mueller, Farmington Hills Mercy 23 vs Warren Regina 57-46
Kelsi Fulmer, Yale 22 vs Capac 62-28
Sam Justice, Parchment 22 vs Maple Valley 55-52

Next up: College reports

Weather Blasts Wisconsin

#5 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

WISCONSIN REPORTS
You may have missed it yesterday, but the storm messed up plenty of schedules. Fond du Lac, Appleton, Wausau, Manitowoc, Racine and Chippewa Falls papers all deal with the reschedulers.

Also storming the courts this year is Kimberly. The Papermakers are 18-0. From the Appleton-Post Crescent.

Independence relies on defense as they build on their 14-0 record. From the Winona Daily News.

A big game on the horizon: Wausau Newman vs Edgar rematch. From the Wausau Daily Herald.

next up: Michigan reports

Iowa Snowed Under

#4 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

IOWA REPORTS
The blizzard that disrupted southeast Minnesota action also messed up Iowa schedules. From the Quad City Times.

A few CIML games were played in the Des Moines Area. From the DM Register.

POINT PARADE
Megan Cameron, Urbandale 25 vs Des Moines North 72-31
Miley Hunziker, Okoboji 22 vs West Lyon 72-45

next up: Wisconsin

Huron Takes Yankton in Overtime

#3 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & infomation

SOUTH DAKOTA REPORTS
Sioux Falls O'Gorman beat Brookings 45-35. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Huron beat Yankton 40-33 in overtime. From the Yankton Press & Dakotan.

Tripp-Delmont/Armour beat Ethan 49-37. Plus other results in the Mitchell Daily Republic.

Hill City beat Lead-Deadwood 58-46. From the Rapid City Journal.

Miller beat Aberdeen Roncalli 49-39. Faulkton outlasted Eureka Bowdle 62-55 in two overtimes, plus other results from the Aberdeen American News.

POINT PARADE
Brittany DesLauriers, Doland-Conde 29 vs Northwestern 53-63
Samantha Kleinsasser, James Valley Christian 29 vs Hitchcock-Tulare 82-48
Maggie Malloy, Parkston 27 vs McCook Central 76-67
Kelli Fiegen, Parkston 27 vs McCook Central 76-67
Kela Cihak, Avon 26 vs Menno 63-24
Kally Paulsen, McCook Central 25 vs Parkston 67-76
Cami Koehn, Colman-Egan 24 vs Flandreau 58-38
Alicia Brown, Vermillion 23 vs Beresford 53-51
Vanessa Johnson, West Central 23 vs TriValley 66-58
Alexis Yackley, Sully Buttes 22 vs Jones County 82-31

Next up Iowa Reports

South Edges Shanley

#2 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NORTH DAKOTA REPORTS
A
Mandan powered past Bismarck Century 80-51. From the Bismarck Tribune.

Bismarck stopped Minot 66-39. From the Minot Daily News.

Fargo South edged out Fargo Shanley 56-52. From the Fargo Forum.

POINT PARADE
B
Paige Anderson, Watford City 25 vs Parshall 60-46
Heather Brown, Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 24 vs Kulm 84-41
Tana Trotter, Killdeer 23 vs Richardton-Taylor 55-50
Sage Whitman, Sheridan County 23 vs Washburn 48-44

Next up: South Dakota
Jada Meiklejohn, LaMoure 22 vs Central Prairie 51-33
Jamie Stepak, New Salem 22 vs Underwood 53-34

Kimman 1000

#1 posting 1.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA REPORTS
There were plenty of postponed/cancellations yesterday with the blizzard closing roads in southeast Minnesota.
AAAA
1. #2 Hopkins zoomed past #6 Armstrong 72-48 in a key Classic Lake battle. Nicole Dooher of Armstrong has a foot injury that may keep her out the rest of the season. She does a Q&A with the StarTribune.

2. Teresa Thour scored the game winner for Wayzata with 20 seconds left in a 39-37 defensive grinder against Edina.

3. #8 Chaska beat Burnsville 62-47 with Courtney Boylan on the sidelines.

4. #1 Centennial continued their offensive fireworks with a 80-51 win over Coon Rapids. They had 53 points by half.

5, #3 Mpls South beat Mpls Southwest 72-50 with Tayler Hill knocking down 26 points.

Champlin Park beat Elk River 71-57. Cambridge-Isanti beat Zimmerman 52-37. From the Elk River Star News.

Northfield broke a five game losing streak with a 41-36 win over Shakopee.

Moorhead beat West Fargo 59-50. From the Fargo Forum.

AAA
1. As I reported in last night's out & about, Princeton beat St. Michael-Albertville 50-49 in a game that saw four lead changes in the last 1:30.

2. TriMetro powers continued to romp. #1 DeLaSalle beat Concordia Roseville 93-32. #4 Minnehaha beat Mounds Park 88-22.

3. Defense rulled in a pair of Mississippi 8 powers. #2 Rogers beat Monticello 54-22. From the Elk River Star News. #3 Becker shut down Annandale 56-33.

4. #5 Totino-Grace was tied with Cooper at half, and broke free in the second half with a 49-38 victory.

#5. #6 Worthington beat Jackson County Central 77-69. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Waconia beat Litchfield 64-50. From the West Central Tribune.

AA
1. Katie Kimman of Pierz reached the 1000 point mark with 19 points in a 55-45 win over Mora, plus other recaps in the St. Cloud Times.

2. Sauk Centre beat #8 New London-Spicer 47-42

3. #1 Crookston was an eyelash from the century mark in a 97-39 win over BGMR.

4. #2 Albany shut down Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 67-27

5. #9 Braham crushed Rush City 96-26.

ACGC beat Montevideo 57-44 plus other results in the West Central Tribune.

Minnesota Valley Lutheran beat McLeod West 75-32. GFW beat Wabasso 80-53, plus other results from the New Ulm Journal.

A
1. #2 New Life bounced back from their loss to Goodhue with a 70-52 at #6 Maranatha.

2. GHEC is stil undefeated with a 75-57 win over LCWM.

3. #9 Minneota beat Lincoln HI-Lake Benton 78-36. plus other games in the Marshall Independent.

4. Cedar Mountain-Comfrey beat New Ulm Cathedral 59-44. From the New Ulm Journal.

5. Red Rock Central beat Edgerton 60-49. plus other games in the Worthington Daily Globe.

KMS beat Dawson-Boyd 62-55. plus other results from the West Central Tribune.

Park Christian beat Barnesville 56-32. From the Fargo Forum.

Underwood beat Ulen-Hitterdal 53-30. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.


POINT PARADE
AAAA
Ari Johnson, Tartan 28 vs Richfield 54-66
Tayler Hill, Mpls South 26 vs Mpls Southwest 72-50
AAA
Holli Aggen, Worthington 29 vs Jackson County Central 77-69
Colleen Raune, Benilde-St. Margaret's 26 vs Chisago Lakes 62-49
Katie Loberg, Princeton 25 vs St. Michael-Albertville 50-49
AA
Julianne Mitchell, Mpls Edison 34 vs Mpls Roosevelt 60-99
Abby Busch, GFW 32 vs Wabasso 80-53
Kayla Hulsebus, St. Croix Lutheran 30 vs St. Paul Academy 59-54
Kiara Strickland, Mpls Roosevelt 29 vs Mpls Edison 99-60
Faith Tinklenberg, Pipestone 27 vs Luverne 72-57
A
Brooke Kramer, Ellsworth 30 vs Fulda 63-70
Ehrich, Concordia Bloomington 28 vs Providence 30-50
Autumn Beasley, Heritage Christian 27 vs Lester Prairie 60-47
Audra Schmidt, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 26 vs Round Lake-Brewster 66-44

Next up: North Dakota Reports

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Out & About: Princeton/St. Michael-Albertville

#9 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

PRINCETON tigers 50,
ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE knights 49

Princeton rallied from five down in the second half to beat St. Michael-Albertville in a dramatic Mississippi 8 contest. Gopher recruit Katie Loberg poured in 25 points in the nip and tuck battle. There was four lead changes in the last 1:30 as both teams scored on eight of the last ten possessions. Princeton won their 4th in a row and is now 13-6, and STMA is now 14-6 on the year. STMA is 7-3 in the conference and Princeton 6-5.

First off, Coach Teas, for some unknown reason, flew out of the state today, so I was flying solo. He went out to sunny Renton, Washington while I toil in -14 temps. I barely made the tip off and I couldn't point the finger at Coach Teas this time. I went left instead of right and took a tour of the deserted warehouse district of Princeton. Luckily I arrived prior to the tip.

I might be the angel of injuries this week. Brittani Wiese went down in the first 1:30 for STMA.

Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm in the first half. Princeton struck first up 4-0. STMA scored three times in a row and the score was tied at 6. STMA broke free from a 9 all tie with a 12-4 run to lead 21-13. At this point Princeton hit for 25.0 pp100 and had a floor % of .188 in those 16 possessions. Much of this time Loberg was on the bench. Free throws were a big part of first half with each team hitting 8. Loberg had 9 points at half, 7 at the line. STMA led at half 25-21.

The first 8 combined possessions in the second half were empty. Princeton took their first lead at 30-29 with 11 minutes to go. It was a 12-4 run with Loberg providing 7 of the points. STMA had a seven possession drought in this stretch. In their first 13 possessions STMA was 30.8 pp100. Princeton was in at 85.7. The lead didn't last very long. Lauren Kessler tied it up at 31. That started a four possession scoring string for STMA. That also led to a 39-34 lead with 7:11 left. As quickly as STMA heated up, they cooled off. Their next seven possessions were empty. With the STMA offense in hiatus, One Princeton sequence had Nicole Dehn make her first free throw, but missed her second. Mariah Clarin got the rebound for the Tigers and she too went to the line. She too made the first and missed the second. The ball remained with Princeton when Loberg rebounded the miss. They didn't score any more, but it highlighted the board power of Princeton. The Tigers did take a 40-39 lead on the next possession when Kadie Savage drained two free throws. This set up the dramatics give and take in the last two minutes. Loberg scored again from the floor to make it 42-39 Princeton. STMA's Maria Berning drove the baseline and hit the shot to cut the margin to one. Krista Koebnick was fouled as Princeton was in the delay game. She missed both free throws and Kessler made sure Princeton didn't get another crack at scoring. Berning drove the lane, scored and was fouled. She missed the "&1" portion but STMA was back in front 43-42. Koebnick then knocked down a three from the left side with 54.8 seconds left for a 45-43 Princeton advantage. A time out by STMA set up their own three by Angy Gavere in the right corner. STMA was now up 46-45 with under 40 seconds left. Loberg delivered once again with a basket &1 to put the Tigers in front 48-46 with 31.5 left. Anna Valerius was fouled for STMA but her front end free throw didn't find the mark. Loberg gathered the rebound and Dehn was fouled. She converted both with 16.3 seconds left for a 50-46 lead. STMA did get another three at the buzzer from Valerius to end the game 50-49.
photos: #1 Maria Berning of STMA is on her knee passing out of the lane surrounded by Tigers. #2. Katie Loberg goes airborne by Lauren Kessler on her way to 25 points. photos by kja

key: player (grad year) points, possessions, pp100, floor %
PRINCETON
STARTERS
Allie Johnson (08) 4, 7, 57.1, .429 wing player. strong, opened scoring with a basket, but didn't score from the floor the rest of the night. picked up a back court foul.
Nicole Dehn (08) 7, 16, 43.8, .188 point guard. aggressive defensively and a pest getting her hands in the way disrupting STMA's offense. threw a soft, creamy pass that was snatched against the press.
Katie Loberg (09) 25, 17, 147.1, .765 post. headed to the Gophers. for real. can run the floor. was the total focus with a Loberg sandwich most of the night with one STMA player in front and another behind. went to the line seven times. was 11/13 at the line. finds the open spot on cuts. came up big in the end with essential 3 point play and then key defensive rebound.
Krista Koebnick (08) 6, 7, 85.7, .286 made two threes. perimeter player.
Kadie Savage (11) 3, 3, 100.0, .667 perimeter player. was nice and low on defense.
BENCH
Mariah Clarin (11) 5, 7, 71.4, .286 post reserve. rebounded on the defensive end. had a nice reverse lay up.
Brooke Karst (11) 0, 6, 0.0, .000
Trista Meyer (08) 0, 0, 0.0, .000

ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE
STARTERS
Lexi Thompson (08) 0, 6, 0.0, .000 guard. fouled out, ball handling skills/decisions need polish.
Angy Gavere (08) 8, 10, 80.0, .300 bigger perimeter player. made two 3s on the night. doesn't leave her follow through up long enough.
Lauren Kessler (08) 16, 15, 106.7, .533 post player. has elbow range. Set a screen Janel McCarville would have been proud off. needs to square up every time. She also fouled out.
Kaitlyn Baldridge (08) 0, 2, 0.0, .000 needs to chin the ball.
Brittani Wiese (09) 0, 0, 0.0, .000 injured in the first 1:30.
BENCH
Maria Berning (09) 6, 10, 60.0, .400 Late in the game provided key driving baskets. missed a chip shot early. was a force rebounding in the first half with six d boards, zero in the second half.
Courtney Barthel (09) 10, 8, 125.0, .625 guard. had 8 points in the first half, went in and challenged Loberg in the paint.
Anna Valerius (09) 9, 12, 75.0, .333 anticipates well on defense. hit the buzzer beater. needs to convert at the line.

TRENCH PLAYER
Katie Loberg

BY THE NUMBERS
Princeton 50, 63, 79.4, .397
StMA 49, 63, 77.8, .381
made 3s: STMA 3, Princeton 2
ftm/fta-ft%: Princeton 20/29-.690; STMA 9/16-.563
bench: STMA 25, Princeton 5
There were 8 traveling calls tonight, not as bad as 13, but still 6 too many for this late in the season.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
PRINCETON
Katie Loberg 6
Mariah Clarin 6
Nicole Dehn 4
Kadie Savage 4
Allie Johnson 3
Brooke Karst 3
Krista Koebnick 2
Trista Meyer 1
totals: 29

ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE
Angy Gavere 6
Maria Berning 6
Lauren Kessler 6
Anna Valerius 6
Lexi Thompson 2
Courtney Barthel 1
Kaitlyn Baldridge 1
totals: 28

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Princeton used both man and 2/3. They opened man and went back and forth.
STMA used 2/3 most of the night. They also had a 2/2/1 press that morphed into 2/3
match ups: (STMA off/Princeton def) Thompson/Johnson; Kessler/Loberg; #23/Dehn; Gavere/Savage; Baldridge/Koebnick

IN OTHER GAMES
Chaska picked up a big win tonight with an all around team effort. The Hawks beat Burnsville 62-47 at Burnsville (without Courtney Boylan). Brooke Brown led the scoring for Chaska with 19 points.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Grab Bag: Polls, Good Teams, Awards, Disasters, AAU

#8 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

POLLS
Here is a look at the MaxPreps Monday poll.
Minnesota: Centennial
Iowa: Waukee
Michigan: Rochester
North Dakota: Bismarck
South Dakota: Sioux Falls Washington
Wisconsin: Cuba City

Here is how the local teams do in the national ranking
1 Centennial, MN #6
2 Mpls South, MN #16
3 St. Paul Central, MN #33
4 Rochester, MI #37
5 Hopkins, MN #42
6 Grosse Pointe North, MI #47
7 Eastview, MN #48
8 Bismarck, ND #55
9 Detroit Community, MI #81
10 Waukee, IA #82
There are 5 Minnesota teams, 3 Michigan, 1 North Dakota and 1 Iowa.

In the North Dakota B poll Bottineau is still at the top. From the Jamestown Sun.

OLD TEAMS = GOOD TEAMS
This is from True Hoop which looks at the age and winning in the NBA. If you take a look at the top teams in Minnesota at least you will find they are chock full of veterans with players some times starting three years or more.

CANCELLATIONS/POSTPONEMENTS
The blizzard down in Iowa has altered the schedule. Here are some games that have been changed. From the Des Moines Register.

GAME AT A TIME
Iowa is taking the season one game at a time. Joann Hamlin or the Hawkeyes has a Q&A.

AWARDS
Michigan Tech's Kate Wysocky (Whitefish Bay, WI) was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division Player of the Week. It is her third time this season.

MSU Moorhead's Allison Swenson (Golden Valley-Dodge-Halliday, ND) was named player of the week in the Northern Sun.

Mayville State's Laura Big Crow (Pine Ridge, SD) was named player of the week in the Dakota Athletic Conference.

SEASON SWITCH
In Michigan they are still bemoaning the season switch. The Monroe News calls it a "Disaster"

AAU NEWS
Here is the Minnesota Fury 2008 Coaching Staff:

16U: Nick Storm
Coach Storm is the co-director and co-founder of the club and was the coach of their 15U team last season. This winter, he is a Varsity Assistant at Apple Valley High School. Nick is a graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and currently works as a Grain Trader at US Commodities in Downtown Minneapolis.

15U: Justin Morris
Justin is the other co-director and co-founder of the club, and he coached the 14U team to an impressive 24-9 record last summer. Coach Morris is in his second year at Mahtomedi High School as the 10th grade coach, and Varsity Assistant. Justin is student at the University of Minnesota working to finish his business degree.

14U: Kendrick Livers
Coach Livers is the 10th grade boys coach and varsity assistant at Apple Valley High School. For the last ten years or so, Ken has directed and coached his MN Quest Program to several tournament championships.

13U: Andy Cerisier
For the last two winters, Coach Cerisier has served as an Assistant at the University of St. Thomas under Head Coach Ruth Sinn. Prior to that, Andy worked as an Assistant Coach at Minneapolis DeLaSalle High School for five years. He is a Minneapolis native graduated from DeLaSalle and studied Sociology at the University of Minnesota.

The Fury are actively seeking players for their 13U and 14U teams. They are especially in need of a couple Forward/Post type of players for their 14U (9th grade) team. You can inquire about these spots by sending an email to Nick Storm (nstorm@minnesotafury.com). If you would like to learn more about the program, please visit their website at http://www.minnesotafury.com/

LATE RESULTS
SOUTH DAKOTA
Sturgis beat Lead-Deadwood 72-42. Sully Buttes rolled over White River 80-55 plus other results in the Rapid City Journal.

MINNESOTA
You can listen to the audio of the Jordan/Roosevelt game on Minneapolis Hoops.

Next up: another in the frozen out & abouts. The temp is plummeting. Yesterday at this time it was a tropical 42. Now we are in the middle of the ice block -5 and falling.

Ohio State Rolls, Summit Battles, Awards

#7 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D1
BIG 10
Ohio State beat Penn State 89-53. Tamarah Riley (Detroit DePorres) had 8 for OSU. Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids) had 6 for PSU. It was OSU's coach Jim Foster's 650th career win.

Coach Lisa Stone of Wisconsin held her normal Monday press conference yesterday.

SUMMIT LEAGUE
IPFW beat Western Illinois 69-57. Samantha Edwards (Okemos, MI) had 4 for IPFW. Lindsey Wutt (Waterford, WI) had 5 for WIU.

IUPUI beat Oakland 64-61. Melissa Jeltema (Grand Rapids Christian, MI) had 16 for Oakland.

Oral Roberts beat UMKC 67-63. Alyssa Klein (Okoboji, IA) had 20 for UMKC. Marta Waalen (St. Paul Central) added 7 to UMKC's total.

WEST
Boise State beat Fresno State 82-62. Sierra Moeller (Pierre, SD) had 2 for Boise State.

AWARDS
Lauren Dybing (St. Croix Lutheran) of Drake was named player of the week in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Lizzie Boeck (Milwaukee Lutheran) of Northern Iowa was named newcomer of the week in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Krystal Ellis (Racine St. Catherine) of Marquette was named to the Big East Honor Roll.

Gustavus' Jess Vadnais (Hudson, WI) was named player of the week in the MIAC.

HIGH FIVE
In little play last night it was Michigan coming out on top in the team portion, and Iowa taking the individual crown.
Michigan now has a leading 27 team wins, 10 more than 2nd place Wisconsin.
Iowa is in 4th place with 13 individual titles, 9 off leader Michigan's 22.
This is Klein's 3.5 time leading the high five, the most of any Iowa player.

MICHIGAN--45
Melissa Jeltema, Oakland (Grand Rapids Christian) 16 vs IUPUI 61-64
Jessica Pike, Oakland (Clawson) 11 vs IUPUI 61-64
Tamarah Riley, Ohio State (Detroit DePorres) 8 vs Penn State 89-53
Shavelle Little, Ohio State (Ann Arbor Huron) 6 vs Penn State 89-53
Samantha Edwards, IPFW (Okemos) 4 vs Western Illinois 69-57
Aubrey Freshour, Oakland (L'Anse Creuse) 4 vs IUPUI 61-64
Charlese Greer, Oakland (Pontiac Northern) 4 vs IUPUI 61-64

IOWA---20
Alyssa Klein, UMKC (Okoboji) 20 vs Oral Roberts 63-67

MINNESOTA---13
Marta Waalen, UMKC (St. Paul Central) 7 vs Oral Roberts 63-67
Janessa Wolff, Penn State (Park Rapids) 6 vs Ohio State 53-89

WISCONSIN--5
Lindsey Wutt, Western Illinois (Waterford) 5 vs IPFW 57-69

SOUTH DAKOTA--2
Sierra Moeller, Boise State (Pierre) 2 vs Fresno State 82-62

Next up: later this afternoon with a grab bag

Mattawan Rallies

#6 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MICHIGAN REPORTS
Mattawan rallied to beat Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 68-65. from the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Flint Powers Catholic beat Flint Northern 64-47. From the Flint Journal.

Marysville beat Port Huron Northern 64-43. From the Port Huron Times Herald.

North Dickinson beat Mid Peninsula 59-20. Bark River-Harris beat Stephenson 51-43 in overtime. From the Escanaba Daily Press.

POINT PARADE
Julianna Dobney, Marysville 34 vs Port Huron Northern 64-43
Tricia Principe, Mattawan 27 vs Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 68-65
Tavelyn James, Detroit Mumford 26 vs Detroit University Prep 72-13
Antonice Strickland, Willow Run 26 vs Garden City 50-59
Hilary Melin, Bark River-Harris 22 vs Stephenson 51-43 OT
Mya Johnson, Detroit Community 22 vs Saginaw Buena Vista 68-20

Next up: College reports

Playing with ACL, Oakfield Fall Out

#5 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

WISCONSIN REPORTS
Marshfield Columbus knocked Edgar from the ranks of the undefeated ranks 64-55.

Princeton hit ten 3s on their way to a 49-40 win over Fall River. From the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.

Wisconsin Rapids Assumption beat Marathon 58-40. From the Wausau Daily Herald.

Lomira beat Laconia 51-41. From the Fond du Lac Reporter.

Freedom rang out over Fox Valley Lutheran 57-30. From the Appleton Post Crescent.

ACL & PLAYING
Here is a story from the Sheboygan Press about Sarah Schroeder of Sheboygan South, how she injured her knee and how she is able to continue to play despite the injury.

OAKFIELD FALL OUT
The Fond du Lac Reporter looks at males coaching girls basketball after the Oakfield walk out. First up is Aaron Olson of Lomira.

POINT PARADE
Carissa Wiersma, Cambria-Friesland 24 vs Oshkosh Lourdes 47-43 OT
Rachael Dauman, Fall River 22 vs Princeton 40-49
Liz Neitzel, Lomira 22 vs Laconia 51-41
Rayelle Diedrich, Omro 22 vs Ripon 47-58

Next up: Michigan

No Pass, No Play

#4 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NO PASS, NO PLAY
Iowa has a state wide policy of No Pass, No Play. Some students have been caught in the undertow. The Des Moines schools want to modify the plan taking away some of the teeth. Schools are debating the merits of the rule. Urbandale only has 7 in the school that have been benched. From the Des Moines Register.
My take: It is basically pretty simple: show up and turn in the work. If you do that you will be fine. As for students opting to take the easier classes---That is their option. My guess is it is not honor students that are tanking classes anyway. It is kids that think going to class and turning in work are choices. I know in Minneapolis there are appeals, but usually it comes down to: being there and doing the work.

Johnston has won four in a row as their confidence grows. From the Des Moines Register.

Marshalltown beat Newton 51-29. From the Marshalltown Times-Republican.

Next up: Wisconsin

Brandon Valley Rides Roosevelt

#3 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SOUTH DAKOTA REPORTS
AA
Brandon Valley beat traditional power Sioux Falls Roosevelt 62-51. Plus other results from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

POINT PARADE
Cami Koehn, Colman-Egan 33 vs Dell Rapids St. Mary's 73-38
Caitlin Benson, Hurley 28 vs Alcester-Hudson 46-54
Nicole Ahlers, Brandon Valley 23 vs SF Roosevelt 62-51
Melissa Hagemann, Oldham-Ramona-Rutland 23 vs Florence 56-37
Karissa Vasek, Andes Central 22 vs Dakota Christian 48-50

Next up; Iowa

3 Class Proposal DOA

#2 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NORTH DAKOTA REPORTS
B
Fairmount-Campbell-Tintah beat Central Cass 58-46. From the Fargo Forum.

Des Lacs-Burlington beat Bishop Ryan 53-44. From the Minot Daily News.

3 CLASS
The three class proposal is done and the Jamestown Sun is glad.

POINT PARADE
B
Kali Luick, FCT 23 for Central Cass 58-46

Next up: South Dakota Reports

MVL Gets Revenge

#1 posting 1.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA REPORTS
AAAA
1. Brainerd beat St. Cloud Apollo 59-56. plus other results from the St. Cloud Times.

AAA
1. #2 Rogers beat Mahtomedi 54-28.

AA
1. #7 Jordan beat Minneapolis Roosevelt 85-66 in a 4AA battle full of offensive fireworks as I reported in last nights out & about.

2. MVL beat Fairmont in a revenge game a year in the making 75-61. From the New Ulm Journal.

3. #4 Hayfield beat Blooming Prairie 52-42

YME beat Lac Qui Parle Valley 62-35 plus other results in the West Central Tribune and the Marshall Independent.

Luverne beat Edgerton 55-39. plus other results from the Worthington Daily News, you will need to scroll.

A
1. #1 Ada-Borup beat Norman County East 79-37

2. #5 Granada-Huntley-East Chain beat United South Central 59-35

3. #8 Hancock beat Hillcrest 63-40. from the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

LATE REPORTS
Hutchinson was hot in their win over Northfield. From the Hutchinson Leader.

Goodhue knocked off #2 New Life in class A on Saturday. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

AWARDS
Katie Loberg of Princeton is one of the StarTribune's Athletes of the week. Tempestt Wilson of Elk River also makes the list.

POINT PARADE
AAAA
Brooke Dunsmoor, St. Cloud Apollo 25 vs Brainerd 566-59
AA
Kara Black, MN Valley Lutheran 31 vs Fairmont 75-61
Brittany Chambers, Jordan 28 vs Mpls Roosevelt 85-66
Hannah Jacobs, St. John's Prep 28 vs Ascension 66-43
Sam Sherwood, International Falls 26 vs Mt Iron-Buhl 47-60
Leslie Wilson, Hayfield 25 vs Blooming Prairie 52-42
A
Tomi McDonald, Ely 41 vs Silver Bay 72-41
Kelsi Kiecker, Win-E-Mac 30 vs Mahnomen 53-37
Brooke Sauskojus, Stephen-Argyle 29 vs EGF Sacred Heart 71-42
Charlotte Overbye, Mt Iron-Buhl 27 vs International Falls 60-47
Cassie Columbus, Red Lake Falls 27 vs Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 55-43
Kayla Blom, AlBrook 25 vs Carlton 41-39

Next up: North Dakota

Monday, January 28, 2008

Out & About: Jordan, Mpls Roosevelt

#6 posting 1.28.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

JORDAN jaguars 85, MINNEAPOLIS ROOSEVELT teddies 66

This was a tight contest when two Roosevelt players, Brittany Finley and AunDreah Aune, collided and left the game. Finley left on a stretcher. Aune needed 12 stitches. There was a 30 minute delay before the EMTs arrived. Jordan led at that point 52-50. Roosevelt went to their thin bench and competed as best they could, even taking another one point lead at 54-53, but Jordan eventually pulled away with a 27-8 run the last 8 minutes.

This could may have been a preview of the 4AA finals. Both teams appear to be the #1 seeds in the West (Jordan) and East (Roosevelt). Fans saw a three point barrage with a combined 19 on the night. Roosevelt cashed in 9 in the first half, 11 for the game. Jordan had 5 in the second half. For the second time in less that a week Jordan was in the out & about spotlight. This game they showed a much more intense, hustling, sense of urgency attitude compared to the passive performance at Holy Family. Roosevelt matched the intense, physical play.

Jordan started off up 4-0 after two second chance baskets. Roosevelt soon matched that total on a pair of Kiara Strickland baskets. The game was tied at 7 when Jordan went on a 12-3 run to lead 19-10. Brittany Chambers had 8 points in the burst including two 3s. The Jordan lead moved from 9 to 4 with the last nine point lead coming at 35-26 with 2:51 to go in the first half. Roosevelt finished the half with a 12-0 run. Roosevelt was maximizing their possessions with the 3 ball. They struck for 9 3s in the first half led by AunDreah Aune connecting on four. On top of that they had an old fashioned "&1." So 30 points came on 10 possessions. Roosevelt made four 2point field goals in the first half and two of those were second chancers. Roosevelt took a 38-35 lead on Suriya McGuire's 3. Roosevelt was hitting on 111.8 pp100 for the half, but their floor % was only .412. Jordan was at 100.0 pp100, and .486.

Roosevelt picked up right where they left off with another 3bomb, this time from Brittany Finley. That made the 5th Roosevelt starter to connect from beyond the arc. It also gave the Teddies a 41-35 lead. Jordan connected on 6/7 possessions as they nosed in front 48-47. It was the Dietel sisters leading the charge with 11 of the 13 points. Leah had 6 and Amanda 5. The lead seesawed back and forth with three lead changes and one tie. Emily Clark scored off a Chambers pass to put Jordan up 52-50. On the next Jordan possession the game took a turn. Finley and Aune were putting the squeeze on Chambers. She passed the ball to Laura Dietel, who was fouled by McGuire (her 4th). All of a sudden Roosevelt lost 40% of their starters with one teetering on the edge. After the 30 minute delay the game continued. Roosevelt again struck gold from behind the arc with a trey by Tyesha Wright to tie the game at 53. A combined five possession dry spell gave the ball back to the Teddies. Strickland stole the ball and was fouled. She made one free throw and Roosevelt had their last lead at 54-53. More Jordanaires were getting involved as Michelle O'Malley hit a three. McGuire tied it up at 56 with a drive. The game last was tied at 58 when Roosevelt's emotional gas tank came up empty. They had six empty trips in a 2:20 stretch. Jordan took the lead for good on a three by Amanda Dietel. That kicked off a 12-0 run. From 8:30 on Jordan scored 27 points on 16 possessions, a 168.8 pp100 mark and a floor % of .750. Amanda Dietel was on target three times three. She ended up with 11 of the last 27.

These two could meet in the section finals. I am sure it will be an action packed, physical contest with plenty of emotional subcurrents. The team that tightens up their defense and prevents the other from second shots and easy looks behind the arc will move on to the State tournament.

Here is hoping to a speedy recovery for both Aune and Finley. Aune had 12 stitches and will play against Edison tomorrow. Finley went off to HCMC for more treatment.

photos: #1. Finley #20, and Aune after their collision. You can see the bleeding above Aune's right eye. #2. Kiara Strickland goes up for two. #3. Leah Dietel draws the charge on Suriya McGuire. photos by Teas.

key: player (grad year) points, possessions, pp100, floor %
JORDAN
STARTERS
Michelle O'Malley (09) 13, 10, 130.0, .600 scored late on transition. had 8 points on lay ups. Did can a three from the right wing. Needs to get more than one defensive wrap.
Brittany Chambers (09) 28, 22, 127.3, .591 ramped up her game tonight. had 22 points by half time. was alert and aware. Strong. handled bumps while remaining focused. has good body control. tough. also has 3 range from a variety of spots. can hit pull ups, runners. and works the offensive boards. kept composure against double teams. got up for defensive boards. when she missed at the line she was short. needs to use legs.
Leah Dietel (09) 22, 21, 104.8, .571 also stepped up from last week. attacked Strickland inside. went to the line four times. good stroke. aggressive after loose balls. hustle floor burns. good size and mobility. also strong under pressure/contact.
Emily Clark (10) 6, 8, 75.0, .375 perimeter. hit a corner shot.
Amanda Dietel (08) 16, 6, 266,7, 1.000 automatic from behind the three on the left wing. yet didn't get cooking until the second half. No first half possessions. All second half action. Likes to play against zones. Jordan will need strong performances from her and Clark and O'Malley to advance to the promised land.
BENCH
Kelsey Kes (08) 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Jordan, as a whole, was much more active, played with more urgency, and got to loose balls much quicker than last Tuesday.

MINNEAPOLIS ROOSEVELT
STARTERS
Suriya McGuire (10) 16, 17, 94.1, .412 perimeter player, likes to drive, creative, behind the back pass to Strickland was a crowd pleaser. is fluid. Needs to get stronger. could pick up charging fouls.
Kiara Strickland (08) 20, 20, 100.0, .450 left handed perimeter. athletic. good passer. Is more aggressive offensively this season. is looking for her shot more. doesn't like to go right.
Brittany Fuller (09) 3, 6, 50.0, .167 steady. had a three. one of the iron five. Injured.
AunDreah Aune (08) 12, 9, 133.3, .444 three point bomber. In the first half connected four times, many from the left wing. A threat to launch if given a window. needs to be more active on defense.
Tyesha Wright (10) 13, 12, 108.3, .417 another three point bomber. brought the ball up.
BENCH
Corrin Cook (10) 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Tatewi Killsinwater (11) 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Roosevelt has some good shooters if left alone. They faced adversity with the double injury and came out and battled. The emotions were raw, and they soldiered on. That resilience is worthy of admiration.

TRENCH PLAYER
Brittany Chambers


BY THE NUMBERS
Jordan 85, 69, 123.2, .580
Mpls Roosevelt 66, 68, 97.1, .397
made 3s: Roosevelt 11, Jordan 8
ftm/fta-ft%: Jordan 11/16-.688; Roosevelt 3/4-.750
bench: Roosevelt 2, Jordan 0
Without Aune Roosevelt had one less perimeter weapon. They will need to develop their bench to get stronger.
Jordan had the 2nd highest pp100 so far this year. Only Richfield topped out with 128.1 vs Edison. Also Jordan is 2nd in floor %, also to Richfield.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
JORDAN
Brittany Chambers 13
Leah Dietel 8
Amanda Dietel 5
Emily Clark 4
Michelle O'Malley 1
totals: 31

MINNEAPOLIS ROOSEVELT
Kiara Strickland 10
Suriya McGuire 9.5
Tyesha Wright 3.5
Brittany Finley 1
totals: 24

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Jordan played man.
Roosevelt opened man and slipped into 2/3 most of the night.
match ups: (Roosevelt off/Jordan def) Strickland/Leah Dietel; Wright/Chambers; McGuire/O'Malley; Aune/Amanda Dietel; Finley/Clark
(Jordan off/Roosevelt def) O'Malley/McGuire; Amanda Dietel/Aune; Chambers/Wright; Leah Dietel/Strickland; Clark/Finley

This rematch will be a doozy.

Next up: Tomorrow morning

Grab Bag: Braun's Paper, Convert, No Three

#5 posting 1.28.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AFTERNOON GRAB BAG
Last week I linked a story in the Green Bay Press Gazette on Seymour senior Katie Braun and her paper for English Class. The GBPG also has a prep blog and you need to scroll to check out the Jan. 24 posting. It speaks to plenty of issues on players, coaches, parents, and the current state of high school athletics.

AWARDS
Emily Fox of Minnesota was named player of the week in the Big 10.

Columbia's Chelsea Frazier (Breck) was named player of the week in the Ivy League.

Ohio's Lauren Kohn (Adrian, MI) was named MAC East Player of the Week

Augustana's Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, SD) was named player of the week in the North Central Conference.

Hillsdale's Katie Cezat (Plymouth Canton, MI) was named player of the week in the GLIAC South Division.

CONVERT
Dave Raymond is a convert to the girls basketball game. From the Monroe News.

NO TO THREE
North Dakota schools voted not to go to a three class format. ND currently has a two class system. From the Jamestown Sun.

LATE REPORTS
MINNESOTA
Rochester Mayo beat Faribault 58-45. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

I reported on the Crookston/Winona Cotter game on Saturday. Now here is the Crookston Times with their article.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Lake Region State beat United Tribes 71-52. From the Devils Lake Journal.

Thanks to the readers of the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

next up: Later tonight with another out & about