The Week That Was #14: Highs & Lows

#10 posting 2.17.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #14: Highs & Lows

This week I saw 8 games in 6 days. The theme this week (at the start) was AA action. For the first four days I saw AA teams from all parts of the state. At the end of the week private schools took center stage starting with Thursday and then the MCAA tournament on Saturday.
Another theme was improvement second time around. The first two teams that won improved over the first go around. Braham was +9 better than the first go around with Hinckley-Finlayson; MN Valley Lutheran jumped +28 and went from losing to Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s to winning by 19. The shoe was on the other foot later in the week, with teams improving, but just coming a bit short. Minnetonka was beat by Hopkins in the first game by 35. The Skippers only were beat by five on Friday and improvement of +30. In the MCAA championship Maranatha lost to New Life by 18. On Saturday they lost by 6, and improvement of +12.

But it was the highs and lows, or lows and highs that grabbed my attention. Last Monday it was defense that ruled the roost in the PCG/Hopkins game. This Monday it was offensive fireworks with Albany hitting 90 against Eden Valley-Watkins. The first three games this week had the winners top 100 pp100. The fourth game would have, but MVL subbed late and fell short. But prior to that the MVL start was absolutely sizzling. The came in with 145 pp100 in the first 20 possessions. They couldn’t sustain that pace.
The day before St. Bernard’s hit the lowest pp100 in the three years I have charted these games with a 28.05.
Here are the five lowest
St. Bernards 28.05 vs Mpls Roosevelt 2008
Sauk Rapids 32.39 vs Becker 2007
Mahtomedi 33.33 vs Totino-Grace 2007
Swanville 33.33 vs Kimball 2008
Mpls Washburn 37.50 vs Bloomington Kennedy 2007

Here are the five highest
Adrian 129.73 vs SW Star 2006
Richfield 128.05 vs Mpls Edison 2008
Hopkins 125. 49 vs Cretin-Derham Hall 2006
Breck 124.00 vs Marshall 2006
Jordan 123.19 vs Mpls Roosevelt 2008

The interesting feature is Roosevelt is on the list twice for this year with their defense against St. Bernard’s and their defense against Jordan.

Also this week we heard it all with National Anthems from the two little boys at Eden Valley-Watkins doing the duet to a Jimi Hendrix tribute at Heritage before the New Life/Maranatha MCAA Championship game. That was a head scratcher since Hendrix and Heritage don’t seem to go hand in hand.

SECTIONS BEGIN
This week the sections begin. Class A and AA start as early as Tuesday. Sections 1, 2, and 3 all start in A, and 1 and 3 start up in AA. Here is a quick thumbnail of the A and AA races.
A
1 Goodhue plays in the AA Hiawatha Valley conference. They have a steady diet of Rochester Lourdes, Winona Cotter and Cannon Falls and that is why they have a sub .500 record. However they are the #1 seed in the west.
2 GHEC has size that matters. What also matters is they are undefeated.
3 Historically the winner of this section is involved somehow in the state championship. Fulda won the last two titles. RTR, Minneota are strong in the north, with Renville County West coming on strong. Adrian, and Fulda are ones to watch in the south.
4 It should come down to the MCAA championship rematch of New Life and Maranatha.
5 Barnum is the favorite in a reconstituted section. In the west Sebeka and Menahga will challenge to go to state.
6 This is by far the toughest section in the state. Ada-Borup is #1 and they move crisply on offense and is one of the best teams at blocking out. Battle Lake is undefeated and Hancock finished second in the state last year. To get there they upset Ada-Borup in the semis.
7 Wrenshall has three 1000 point scorers. Bigfork will battle from the north.
8 This used to be the most powerful section. Now Kittson Central has their line up back, but they won’t get a free pass.

AA
1 This is a brutal section with a number of teams poised to advance. Rochester Lourdes is one of the most dangerous #3 seeds in subsection play.
2 This section is not the strongest in the state. Hayfield will look to advance after falling short last year. Blue Earth seems to be ready from the west.
3 this section is divided into four sub sections. Pipestone won the AA tournament last year. Faith Tinklenberg is out with mono. The Arrows have played well without her lately, but they gotta have Faith to go to state. MVL has moved over to 3 this section. What could hold the Chargers back is their A schedule.
4 It should come down to Jordan and Minneapolis Roosevelt. Who can stay out of foul trouble and still play aggressive defense will move on to the state.
5 It looks like Eden Valley-Watkins will come out of the North and Holy Family out of the South. HF, when I watched, was more active defensively. If the two advance it should be a shoot out with Becca Friestleben of HF vs Hannah Linz of EVW.
6 Albany finished second last year and they want a crack at getting the job done this year. With the Henjum injury at New London-Spicer it makes the upset a bit harder.
7 this is the thinnest section with Braham poised to go. Virginia will be the challenger from the north.
8 This is the toughest section in AA. The West subsection is the toughest in AA. Besides #1 Crookston there is Hawley, coached by a veteran of state tournaments, East Grand Forks and DGF both with good athletes. In fact DGF lost to Crookston last Monday in overtime.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
A tough call. Arguments could be made for many teams, but Braham went on the road to Hinckley-Finlayson and did their David best to slay Goliath 67-40. HF is in 2nd place in the Great River, the most invisible conference in the state. Braham starts three junior high players, but don’t let their age fool you, they can play ball. The veteran leadership of Devin Diedrich is also a big help. Braham has athletic ability, even if they aren’t supersized. In the half court they lived up to their name of Bombers with ten 3s on the night. They also moved the ball down court quickly. Not only was Braham able to push their pp100 over 100, they held HF to only 60 pp100. Defensively Braham disrupted HF’s flow. The were quick, moved their feet and got hands on passes. Braham has yet to lose in Minnesota. Their only loss was to Osceola, Wisconsin.

Photo: Braham coach Jennifer Christofferson shouting instructions. photo by Teas

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
This was a tough another tough call this week. Devin Diedrich of Braham is a gifted athlete. She is headed to SW MN State for volleyball, but I think could have also played basketball post high school. As a 6-0 perimeter player that can jump she is able to see the floor. She handles the ball well. She gets up to snatch boards. And she delivered from behind the arc. But it is her influence on the Braham youngsters that put her over the edge. She helps raise the play of her teammates. They may have other chances to go to the show, this is her last opportunity. She isn't saving anything. photo by Teas

To make the list below I need to #1 see the player during the week. #2 player needs to have 10 possessions. #3 player needs to be north of 100 pp100, and #4 north of .500 floor %. This week there is enough for three teams (minus one).

FIRST TEAM
Kara Black, MN Valley Lutheran (08)
Devin Diedrich, Braham (08)
Kara Elofson, Hopkins (09)
Sam Larsen, Albany (08)
Holly Recht, West Lutheran (08)
SECOND TEAM
AunDreah Aune, Mpls Roosevelt (08)
Brittany Finley, Mpls Roosevelt (09)
Hannah Linz, Eden Valley-Watkins (09)
Cara Lutes, New Life (11)
Caitlin Rowland, Hopkins (08)
THIRD TEAM
Becca Dahlman, Braham (13)
Hannah Hylla, Albany (09)
Lisa Lymburner, Hinkley-Finlayson (09)
Kiara Strickland, Mpls Roosevelt (08)

these players didn’t make the list due to:
to few possessions
Danielle Schmidt, New Life
Hannah Dahlman, Braham
Sub .500 floor %
Alexis Long, Maranatha
Autumn Beasley, Heritage
Taylor Voss, Albany

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Suriya McGuire of Minneapolis Roosevelt has quickness and speed to run down dribblers, long limbs to deflect passes, and jumping ability to block shots. She showed displeasure, like dang I was close, when she did not get a steal. She was alert, and aggressive like a Tiger when confronted by a sheep. Photo: McGuire picking up a loose ball adding to her steal total. photo by kja.

FIRST TEAM
Amanda Burk, MN Valley Lutheran (09)
Devin Diedrich, Braham (08)
Sam Larsen, Albany (08)
Hannah Linz, Eden Valley-Watkins (09)
Suriya McGuire, Mpls Roosevelt (10)
SECOND TEAM
Becca Dahlman, Braham (13)
Ashley Dohrer, Minnetonka (08)
Hanna Muegge, Hopkins (08)
Jennie Noreen, Albany (08)
Jenny Ramey, New Life (09)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Becca Dahlman of Braham comes from a basketball family and she has observed plenty of championships at Braham. Her grandfather (John Kundla) coached the Lakers and the Gophers. Brothers Noah and Isaiah won between them three state championships. Older sister Hannah started last year for the Bombers. Becca is not at her full maturation obviously as a 7th grader. She will bet bigger and stronger. But she has the court sense and shows the maturity of veteran. She took a couple of hard fouls and bounced right back up and made the free throws. photo by Teas

Team
13 Park Cottage-Grove
12 Mpls South
11 Crookston
10 Centennial
9 New Life Academy
8 Long Beach Poly, CA
7 Hopkins
6 Forest Lake
5 Richfield
4 St. Paul Central
3 Mpls South
2 Hopkins
1 NDSCS CC

Player of the week
13 Jackie Voigt, Park-Cottage Grove
12 Tayler Hill, Mpls South
11 Lizzie Traxler, Holy Family
10 Becca Swalla, Riverland CC
9 Lauren Barber, Owatonna
8 Alison Johnson, St. Louis Park
7 Stephanie Sension, Hopkins
6 Hannah Linz, Eden Valley-Watkins
5 Brittnye McSparron, Eastview
4 Rachel Banham, Lakeville North
3 Courtney Boylan, Chaska
2 Megan Nipe, Centennial
1 Tanika Massey, NDSCS CC

Defender
13 Jengeih Tamba, Park Center
12 Tayler Hill, Mpls South
11 Lizzie Traxler, Holy Family
10 Kiara Allums, Centennial
9 Charmaine Cross, Minneapolis CC
8 Jasmine Dixon, Long Beach Poly CA
7 Meme Hudnell, DeLaSalle
6 Anne Berner, Forest Lake
5 DaNae Moore, Eastview
4 Brianna Mastey, Becker
3 Sarah Hintz, Woodbury
2 Madelyn Houser, North Iowa Area CC
1 Whitney Glazier, Central Lakes CC

Newcomer
13 Jacki Lode, Coon Rapids
12 Ashley Kirk, MN West CC
11 Taylor Stippel, Stillwater
10 Becca Swalla, Riverland CC
9 Brittany Monio, Minneapolis CC
8 Hope Sevlie, Red Wing
7 Ruby Harvey, St. Paul Arlington
6 Erin Schmeling of St. Croix Lutheran
5 Yaasmiyn Salahu-Din, St. Paul Como Park
4 Hannah Frost, Mahtomedi

THE WEEK TO COME
Monday, Feb. 18
Fulda at Adrian. It could be a tune up for the 3A South subsection final.
Rochester Lourdes at Cannon Falls. The Hiawatha Valley Championship. RL is #3 in the 1AA west subsection, CF is #2.
Tuesday, Feb 19
Kittson County Central at Crookston. A cross class clash.
New Life at Holy Family. Private schools that are in the top 5 in both A and AA.
Eastview at Lakeville North. LN has been on the rise after a rough January. This could be a preview of some contest in 3AAAA.
Mankato West at Owatonna. Again another important Big 9 contest.
Marshall at Pipestone. Without Tinklenberg Pipestone will have their hands full.
Hopkins at Armstrong. Important on two fronts—Classic Lake and 6AAAA.
Fergus Falls at St. Cloud Tech. Will Hannah Draxten be ready for FF?
Wednesday, Feb 20
Nada
Thursday, Feb 21
Mpls Roosevelt at Mpls South. This was a tight game before. Will Roosevelt hang around long enough to pull the upset?
Friday, Feb 22
Eastview at Bloomington Kennedy. Top notch guards McSperron vs Boler.
East Grand Forks at Hawley. Two 8AA teams that live in the shadows of Crookston, but are strong in their own right.
Eden Prairie at Lakeville North. The final tune up for the playoffs. Both will want a good launch.
DeLaSalle at Minnehaha. Two top 5 AAA teams. Minnehaha needs a win to tie for the TriMetro West title.
Woodbury at Park-Cottage Grove. Last meeting Woodbury upset PCG. The Wolfpack will be seeking revenge.
Saturday, Feb 23
DGF vs Moorhead at Concordia Moorhead. Two neighbors from different classes.
Mpls South at St. Paul Central. This is the Twin City Championship. South won going away three weeks ago at South. Central will look to stay out of foul trouble.

SEEDING THE STATE
AAAA
1. Centennial (5)
2. Mpls South (6)
3. Eastview (3)
4. St. Paul Central (4)
5. Chaska (2)
6. St. Francis (7)
7. Elk River (8)
8. Rochester JM (1)

AAA
1 DeLaSalle (6)
2 Rogers (5)
3 Minnehaha (4)
4 Fergus Falls (8)
5 Totino-Grace (3)
6 Worthington (2)
7 New Prague (1)
8 Grand Rapids (7)

Next up: Tomorrow mornint.