Current State of Girls Basketball Recruiting

#4 posting 8.6.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

Seashells and Balloons emerges from applying the Coppertone and pruning the Coleus to wax a little bit about the current state of girls basketball recruiting.

Who Holds the Power?

Now that the heat of the AAU summer is beginning to die down, I’ve taken some time to reflect on a couple of things coinciding to make me believe we could be in the dog days of girls basketball recruiting.

We all love the girls’ game….high school, college, WNBA…. that’s why you read this site. Heck, I know several people (even men!) who love women’s college basketball for all the reasons that make it different from the men’s’ game. Players share the ball, the passion seems a bit more pure for the game, less ego, less hairy legs. Okay, you know what they mean. And up until the last year or so, the girls game even seemed different in recruiting.

But several things this summer caught my eye and knitted themselves together in a crazy quilt of omens that made me think we need to keep a watchful eye on what is happening to our favorite sport. And we need to be even more vigilant when it comes to our own girls, and who really holds the power. The most recent omen was a D1 university reneging on their verbal offer to a player here in the Twin Cities. The player had an early verbal, the coaching staff changed, and in a bad sense of timing and bit of cowardice, the new coaching staff reassured early, then waited until the end of the AAU season to call not the player, but her parents. If it would have been me, what would I say? Hopefully the high road Denny Green talked about, but I can’t predict my behavior when it comes to my kids.

Hang with me, but the other omens came from places as far and wide as the days of Henry VIII and Churchill Downs.

Last spring I vowed to take some time to smell the roses after the season. As I kept my promise of trying out new things away from the basketball court, I was struck by a scene in The Other Boleyn Girl where the fate of the sisters was settled by their families and their advisors. Nobody looked out for the daughters….it was all about the family gaining status. Hopefully that doesn’t sound familiar, but I’m not so sure. The whole month of July was tournaments galore. The hopes, dreams and countless sweaty socks and uniforms seemed to weigh just as heavily on the trudging parents as they did on their players. Who’s protecting who?

I found no escape during the Kentucky Derby. As the horses were being saddled in the paddock before the race, one of the announcers went on and on about how big and muscled Eight Belles was for a filly. We heard the decision to run Eight Belles with the “big boys” was made after considering her unusual size and strength….making her more able to compete with the colts. Sadly, we all know that Eight Belles broke down after taking second. All that power maybe being a little too much for her filly-sized ankles. The outcry raged against trainers and owners trying to get the most out of their investment as quickly as possible. In the horse world, show animals are rarely ridden until age three. Most race horses have experienced at least one season by then. The horses don’t have a choice. All they want to do is win and please their owners. Coincidence? I hope not.

Let’s face it, if your kid wants to play college ball, you’ll need to get used to the idea that in most cases, they are going to be owned by someone. It’s up to you to help your kid define to what degree of ownership they are willing to experience. And be realistic as to how well they are equipped to handle it, too. Things are different between D1, DII and DIII . Emphasis varies between the big conferences, the mids and the small leagues. Some schools have tougher academics, and really do put the emphasis on student over athlete. Those are the things that should be decided as a team- the power should still reside with the player and her family.

And as the omens spread out from the telephone lines in Athens Ohio, through the race tracks of Kentucky and even in King Henry’s court, we need to be careful of what is happening to our girls and to the sport we love. Tread carefully. Coaches, players, parents, use your power wisely. And remember, it still is all about the diploma. No, it really is.

Thank you Seashells & Balloons for a timely take on the recruiting battles.

Next up: when news breaks

How to Measure Defense

#3 posting 8.6.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

DEFENSE
Rethinking Basketball looks at the all defensive team in the WNBA at the break. There are 7 different stat categories to measure defense.

OLYMPICS
The Americans beat Australia 71-67 in the FIBA Diamond Ball gold medal game. Former Lynx and Ohio State player Katie Smith had 6.

FEATURES
Kristi Smith of Iowa is setting the bar high for the upcoming year.

COACHING NEWS
Millette Green has been named assistant women's basketball coach at IUPUI.

Lisa Ryckbosch of UI Chicago has signed a contract extension out to the 2010-11 season.

Josh Carper has been named director of basketball operations for the Iowa State women's team.

SCHEDULES
New Mexico has released their non conference schedule.

Next up: The return of Seashells & Balloons

Porter Verbals, Bue & Knight Sign, Steffen's Knee

#2 posting 8.6.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

VERBAL
Tiffanie Porter of Des Moines East has verballed Northern Iowa. The 5-6 guard averaged 7 ppg for the 14-6 Scarlets last year.
Porter is the 6th player from the Iowa 2009 class to verbal. All are D1.

PRO SIGNINGS
Former Gopher and Hopkins player Leslie Knight has signed a pro basketball contract with Canti Riva Basket team in Riva, Switzerland.

Former North Dakota State and Austin player Lisa Bue has signed a pro basketball contract with Zeljeznicar a team from Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

FISH WELCOMED
New St. Cloud State coach Lori Fish met the press and community yesterday.

COACHING NEWS
Tim Connealy has been named the new women's basketball coach at Chadron State. He was an assistant at UN Kearney. From the Rapid City Journal.

HOOP IT UP
Team Basketball Plus will be playing in the Hoop It Up 3 on 3 Tournament this weekend in the Div. 17 Bracket. The team is comprised of Theairra Taylor(St. Paul Central), Cassie Rochel(Lakeville North), Hana Potter(Hopkins), Tina Fisher(Park of Cottage Grove) and Carissa Wolyniec (DeLaSalle). Action takes place near Dunwoody College August 9 and 10.

INJURIES
DePere's Claire Steffen tore an anterior cruciate ligament in a knee during a tournament in Chicago last month. The injury occured with three seconds left in a blowout. From the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Next up: more news

Randall Interview

#1 posting 8.6.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE OHIO/ELOFSON
Caleb Troop of the Athens News is working on the Ohio/Elofson story. He also has a website and looks at the developing story.

Two days before Semeka Randall pulled the Elofson offer she was a guest on the Al Woods Show. She talks about recruiting and the early recruits "ready to rock and roll." The complete interview lasts about 14 minutes.

On gprep they have a long line of reader comments on the Ohio/Elofson fiasco.

Next up: more news.

Point Guard Rankings, Recruiting, Goodenbour

#2 posting 8.5.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE OHIO FALL OUT
Women's Hoops Blog has picked up on the Elofson/Ohio verbal pull. WHB has a nationwide audience.

POINT GUARDS
Rethinking Basketball looks at the five point guard types (Lindsay Whalen is a combo). RB also has WNBA point guard rankings.

RECRUITING SPENDING
The Yankton Press & Dakotan looks at the cost of recruiting for the colleges. Some schools spend more than others.

GOLD MEDAL SPENDING
Brian McCormick looks at the cost of a gold medal, and why USA Basketball spent more on insurance than youth basketball.

18U EXPERIENCE
Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly talks about his USA 18u National Team experience.

SCHEDULE
Kansas has released their 2008-09 schedule.

Indiana State has released their 2008-09 non conference schedule.

COACHING NEWS
Molly Goodenbour has been hired as the new women's basketball coach at UC Irvine. Goodenbour coached at Chico State for the last two seasons. Goodenbour is a Stanford and Waterloo West grad.

GOPHER GOLF OUTING
The Fast Break Club raised over $50,000 at the Gopher Golf event last week.

AAU JUNIOR OLYMPICS
The Wisconsin Lady Stars finished 4th at the AAU Junior Olympics last week. From the Waukesha Freeman.

PRE OLYMPIC TUNE UPS
The Americans rolled over Russia in a pre-olympic tuneup 93-58. Former Lynx and Ohio State player Katie Smith had 8. Becky Hammon had 10. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Next up: when news breaks.

Houser Verbals, Ohio Fallout, Oostburg Hires, Veach MVP

#1 posting 8.5.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

HOUSER VERBALS
KK Houser of Lincoln Southeast has verballed Purdue. The 5-5 guard averaged 13.4 ppg for the 26-1 state champion Knights.
Houser plays with the Nebraska CSS Bison AAU team during the summer.
Minnesota was one of the schools under consideration.
Houser is the third player from the Nebraska 2009 class to verbal, and the third to verbal a D1 school.
Houser is the second player from LSE to verbal. Marissa Kastanek verballed North Carolina State last year.
From the Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star.

Purdue also has a verbal from Sam Ostarello of Stanley County, SD.

Photo: Houser driving the lane against the Alegent Crusaders in the Dakota Showcase in late June.

OHIO FALLOUT
I received a lot of emails yesterday about the Elofson/Ohio situation.
This email is from Adam DeJoode, coach of IBCA Select Red:

thanks for posting this about Ohio and the verbal from the Metro Stars player (Kara Elofson). We talk about the etiquette all the time and I will go out of my way to share this story with everyone in our program for future reference in case Ohio is interested in our players. I don't condone this behavior and with 35 Division I players over the past 5 years, I can't imagine having to counsel one of our players through an unfortunate circumstance like this.

This incident will reverberate around the basketball community.

Here is the NCAA guidelines and resources for parents and players. Here is the NCAA Recruiting information.

ALL STAR GAME
You can't spell MVP without the V. Emma Veach of Grand Haven was chosen MVP of the Michigan AB All Star game with 18 points including the game winner Saturday. The West beat the East 91-88. From the Grand Haven Tribune.

COACHING NEWS
Lisa Immel has been hired as the new girls basketball coach at Oostburg, Wisconsin. Former coach Tom DePagter retired after an championship undefeated season and 461-97 career record. From the Fond du Lac Reporter.

Former Olivet, Michigan boys coach Rob Fleming has been hired to coach the girls. From the Lansing State Journal (last item).

Former Dakota Prairie, ND girls basketball coach Curt Herman is now the head men's basketball coach at Lake Region State. From the Devils Lake Journal.

OLYMPICS
Becky Hammon is getting ready for the Beijing Games. From the Rapid City Journal.

NEW EMAIL
If you have news, or need to get a hold of me, I have a new email kja8067@gmail.com

I appreciate all the help the readers give this site.

Next up: more news

Tobin Verbals

#3 posting 8.4.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TOBIN VERBALS
Michelle Tobin of Eden Prairie has verballed Winona State. The 6-1 forward averaged 7.8 ppg last year for the 14-13 Eagles.
Tobin plays her summer ball with the MN Fury 16 team.

Tobin is the 16th player overall in the 2009 Minnesota class to verbal, and the 8th to verbal a D2 school. Fury teammate Emily Kaus earlier verballed Bemidji State.

"Congratulations to Michelle and her family from the Minnesota Fury AAU Club. Throughout the summer, Michelle’s work ethic, strong play, and positive attitude have been a great representation of our program. We look forward to watching a successful senior season at Eden Prairie and a great career with the Warriors!" from Nicholas Storm, Fury 16u coach.

photo: Michelle Tobin with the Fury in the Summer Jam tournament at Bloomington Jefferson. photo by kja

Next up: when news breaks, or tomorrow. I will get back to the Saturday out & abouts now.

Smiths X 2

#2 posting 8.4.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE FISH TALES
The St. Cloud State University Chronicle has an article on the new women's basketball coach Lori Fish.

TRIPPIN
Gopher Assistant Barb Smith is looking forward to seeing the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

OLYMIPIAN
Katie Smith, former Lynx and Ohio State player (current Shock player) had five assists when the Americans beat Latvia 84-74 in the FIBA Diamond Ball tune up prior to the Olympic games.

Next up: The rest of the day I will be updating the five Sweet 16 games I saw over the course of the weekend. The semifinals and championship games are finished. I will now get to the Saturday games later in the day.

Ohio Pulls Offer

#1 posting 8.4.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

OHIO PULLS OFFER
Kara Elofson of Hopkins and Metro Stars Black had her offer pulled by Ohio on August 1st.

Elofson verballed Ohio back on January 14, 2008. In the meantime the previous coach Sylvia Crawley moved from Ohio to Boston College.

New coach Semeka Randall was hired. She assured Elofson that the scholarship offer was good back in April.

Here are the problems with what Ohio did:
#1. Their word is not worth anything. IF Randall would have said in April they were going to re-evaluate all early verbals, that would have been fine. BUT to reassure and the then pull the trigger later, it shows poor professional judment. These things will come back to haunt, and it will make recruiting difficult in this area.

#2. They made no effort to get game tape from Hopkins to evaluate during April/May.

#3. They watched the Metro Stars Black team late in the evaluation process. IF they knew that Elofson wasn't the right fit, they should have told her earlier in the summer. That way colleges would have put Elofson back on the radar.

#4. The coaching staff did not have the courage to tell Elofson herself. They dropped the news to her parents.

"I'm not sure if I have ever coached a player who has worked harder, complained less, and done more of the little things in big game situations than Kara Elofson," said Metro Stars Black coach Andy Meinhardt. "She is as close to a complete team player as any coach can ask for."

I am sure Elofson will find a new school and will be fine. Her work ethic and character will rise above the situation.

Karma has a funny way of working out.

Being honest upfront and being good to your word will get rewarded.

Next up: more news

Sweet 16 Out & About: Bloomington Kennedy/New Prague

#5 posting 8.3.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
CHAMPIONSHIP
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY eagles 47,
NEW PRAGUE trojans 40

If you asked the average fan Kennedy would not have been their first choice to win the Sweet 16 tournament this weekend. However Kennedy capped off the weekend by claiming the title despite injuries and absences. The unlikely champs used their grit and determination to seize the crown. They didn't back down from any challenge and proved to the basketball community that Kennedy has a few players that can rise to the occasion.

New Prague had been racing to fast starts in their other games in this tournament. In the championship Kennedy played a 2-3 zone and NP struggled from the floor at the start. Kennedy imitated NP's fast starts with six straight points on their first three possessions. NP didn't score until their 6th possession. At the quarter it was JFK up 11-5.

In the second stanza NP cut the margin to 14-13 after a Maggie Weiers basket with 4:17 to go. That was as close as NP would get the rest of the night. Kennedy was stuck in a 1/8 sequence at the time. Kennedy finished the half strongly with a 9-3 run. Aubrey Davis capped the half with a coast to coast spinning lay up at the buzzer for a 25-16 lead at the break.

Both teams were anemic to start the second half. NP was the only team to score in the first 12 combined possessions. Also Kneeland started to find the range from behind the arc to cut the margin to 27-21. Brittany Zins did one better drilling twice from behind the line to push the Kennedy lead out to 35-23.

In the last nine minutes NP made another charge to close the gap to 39-35 after another Kneeland three. Kennedy met the challenge, handled the pressure, converted on five of their last seven possessions to take the title. NP down the stretch sputtered with only two scores in seven chances.

Bailey Lund of Kennedy had 18 points in the win.

you can see the entire Bloomington Kennedy vs New Prague photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. Coach Teas is behind the camera.

key: player, year, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
STARTERS
Aubrey Davis, so 6,11, 54.5, .364 handled the point guard responsibilities. controlled the pace/tempo of the game. went to the line to four times. finished the half with a full court spinning lay up at the buzzer.
Bailey Lund, jr 18, 12, 150.0, .667 was the "4", gritty, hard hat type. went to the line five times. always seemed to be in the scrums on loose balls. makes sure she has space
Kaylani Edwards, so 4, 7, 57.1, .286 the "5" uses her physicality.
Raven Boone, so 5, 7, 71.4, .286 guard. did make a three.
Brittany Zins, sr 10, 7, 142.9, .571 the "3" and can also shoot the 3. likes the left corner. Made back to back threes in the third quarter to give JFK space. All her points came in the second half. Needs to keep awareness and eyes on the big prize and not get caught up in minor sideshows. needs to stay balanced on defense, keep hands to herself.
BENCH
Kim Campbell, fr 4, 5, 80.0, .400 guard
Jade Martin 8th 0, 5, 0.0, .000 young post type. needs to get stronger with the ball against high school competition. when she didn't get a call she did have a foot stomping incident.
Tanisha Duwearachi, fr 0, 2, 0.0, .000 small guard
Shamara Duwearachi, so 0, 0, 0.0, .000 small guard
Heather Bachman, fr 0, 1, 0.0, .000 taller reserve post
Tonoia Wade, 7th 0, 0, 0.0, .000 guard

NEW PRAGUE
STARTERS
Maggie Weiers, jr 8, 12, 66.7, .333 fluid post player. needs to stay balanced on shot, drifts at times. Defensively gets looked up and caught behind.
Brit Rynda, sr 5, 7, 71.4, .286 "3" perimeter player, can feed inside.
Rena Kneeland, jr 8, 8, 100.0, .375 handled the point, made two 3s in the second half after being shut out in the first half.
Hannah Strop, jr 4, 11, 36.4, .273 big perimeter player. can go inside too. main rebounder for NP. shots were short.
Amanda Wagner, sr 7, 7, 100.0, .429 guard. tough nosed scrapper. prefers to drive. did hit one three. picks up some useless back court fouls.
BENCH
Kayla Gill, sr 2, 3, 66.7, .333 perimeter
Molly Tikalsky, sr 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000 perimeter
Maggie Seter, so 0, 5, 0.0, .000 taller point guard.
Taylor Rookaird, so 0, 1, 0.0, .000 perimeter

TRENCH PLAYER
Bailey Lund

BY THE NUMBERS
Bloomington Kennedy 47, 57, 82.4, .386
New Prague 40, 57, 70.2, .333
made 3s/&1s: BK 3/1; NP 4/1
ftm/fta-ft%: BK 16/25-.640; NP 6/13-.462
Turnovers: BK 22, NP 14
bench: NP 8, BK 4

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
Bailey Lund 9.5
Brittany Zins 7
Aubrey Davis 5
Kaylani Edwards 3.5
Jade Martin 3
Raven Boone 2
Kim Campbell 1
totals: 31

NEW PRAGUE
Hannah Strop 6
Brit Rynda 3
Amanda Wagner 3
Maggie Seter 3
Maggie Weiers 2
Rena Kneeland 2
Molly Tikalsky 2
Taylor Rookaird 1
totals: 22

ASSISTS
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
Aubrey Davis 4
Raven Boone 3
Brittany Zins 3
Jade Martin 3
Bailey Lund 2
Kim Campbell 2
Kaylani Edwards 1
totals: 18

NEW PRAGUE
Brit Rynda 5
Rena Kneeland 3
Maggie Seter 3
Amanda Wagner 2
Hannah Strop 1
Kayla Gill 1
Taylor Rookaird 1
totals: 16

Next up: backfilling both today's and yesterday's games.

Sweet 16 Out & About: Bloomington Kennedy/DeLaSalle

#4 posting 8.3.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
Semifinals
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY eagles 51,
DE LA SALLE islanders 43

Kennedy bumped off DeLaSalle in the second semifinal 51-43. DLS had a plus 8 differential in turnovers, but that wasn't the deciding factor. DLS had four more assists, but that wasn't the deciding factor. Even second chancers were tied at 14 apiece. The difference in this game came down to the free throw line. BK had 30 free throw attempts. DLS only 6 for the entire game. Kennedy was more aggressive to the basket, and once the fourth quarter rolled around they milked the line for over half their points in that quarter. BK attempted 12 in that quarter alone.

The Eagles scored 9 unanswered points in the first quarter to take an 11-6 lead. It was 18-13 at the quarter. DeLaSalle needed a GPS device to find the basket in the early part of the second quarter as they were caught in a 10 possession drought. At half time Kennedy led 27-19.

The Eagles maintained that advantage most of the second half. DeLaSalle did mount a serious challenge closing to 47-43 with under a minute left. A key rebound by Brittany Zins after a missed Bailey Lund free throw gave JFK some insurance points. Zins added a pair of free throws on the next possession to ice the game.

You can see the entire Bloomington Kennedy vs DeLaSalle photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. Coach Teas is behind the camera.

key: player, year, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
STARTERS
Brittany Zins, sr 14, 14, 100.0, .500 huge put back when the Islanders were closing gave Kennedy breathing room. had a double/double with 13 d stops.
Bailey Lund, jr 8, 12, 66.7, .417 physical player. played inside, but has also played out. not afraid of contact. went to the line four times.
Aubrey Davis, so 16, 17, 94.1, .471 steady point guard fill in. Usually spots up for the 3.
Raven Boone, so 5, 3, 166.7, .667 smaller guard. made a three
Kaylani Edwards, so 0, 5, 0.0, .000 post player. needs to improve jumping ability
BENCH
Jade Martin, 8th 6, 9, 66.7, .444 has good length already, moves like a perimeter player. is alert defensively. needs to be aware of defense on drives.
Shamara Duwearachi, so 0, 1, 0.0, .000 small guard
Heather Bachman, fr 0, 1, 0.0, .000 reserve post
Tonoia Wade, 7th 1, 0, infinity, .000 young perimeter. made one free throw and then missed the second. Kennedy got the rebound so was never charged with a possession. That is why her pp100 is infinity.
Kim Campbell, fr 1, 2, 50.0, .500 guard.

DE LA SALLE
STARTERS
Tori Rule, so 14, 12, 116.7, .583 explosive leaper. iconic snatch and grab rebounder. likes the drive.
Jamelia Hudnell, sr 7, 13, 53.8, .308 guard. forced to play inside a bit. exposed the ball,
Chelsey Jacox, so 4, 8, 50.0, .250 guard, handled some point duties. on defense fell before contact exposing flop.
Carissa Wolyniec, jr 13, 11, 118.2, .455 shooting guard. strong second half with 11 points. made three 3s on the day.
Michelle Harris, sr 0, 3, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Tanny Britts, so 5, 5, 100.0, .400 guard. did make a three.
Kendal Giacomini 0, 6, 0.0, .000
Diamond Lane, so 0, 4, 0.0, .000 small guard
Chanel Dickenson, so 0, 1, 0.0, .000 lanky post. needs to grow into body and get stronger.

TRENCH PLAYER
Brittany Zins

BY THE NUMBERS
Bloomington Kennedy 51, 65, 78.5, .431
DeLaSalle 43, 63, 68.3, .317
made 3s/&1s: BK 3/0, DLS 4/0
ftm/fta-ft%: BK 15/30-.500, DLS 3/6-.500
turnovers: BK 18, DLS 10
bench: BK 8, DLS 5

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
Brittany Zins 13
Aubrey Davis 4.5
Bailey Lund 4
Jade Martin 2.5
Raven Boone 2
Kaylani Edwards 2
Heather Bachman 2
Kim Campbell 2
Shamara Duwearachi 1
totals: 33

DE LA SALLE
Tori Rule 11.5
Carissa Wolyniec 5.5
Tanny Britts 2.5
Daimond Lane 2
Chelsey Jacox 1.5
Jamelia Hudnell 1
Kendal Giacomini 1
Steph 1
totals: 25

ASSISTS
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
Aubrey Davis 5
Jade Martin 2
Brittany Zins 1
Bailey Lund 1
Raven Boone 1
Kaylani Edwards 1
Shamara Duwearachi 1
Heather Bachman 1
totals: 13

DE LA SALLE
Jamelia Hudnell 6
Tori Rule 4
Chelsey Jacox 2
Tanny Britts 2
Diamond Lane 2
Steph 1
totals: 17

Next up: Sweet 16 championship.

Sweet 16 Out & About: New Prague/Centennial

#3 posting 8.3.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
Semifinals
NEW PRAGUE trojans 62, CENTENNIAL cougars 57

The New Prague Trojans used a hot start, and a hot finish to upend defending Sweet 16 champ Centennial 62-57. Rena Kneeland connected on four 3s in the first quarter, three in the first four possessions, as the Trojans got off to a 12-2 lead. NP led at the end of the first quarter 21-14 and at half 39-32. Megan Nipe was doing the heavy lifting for Centennial with 18 first half points.

The momentum shifted to the Cougars early in the third quarter when Hannah Strop went down hard on her back and had to leave the game. For the next 14 possessions NP mustered up only one point, a single digit 7 pp100 in that span. Megan Waytashek had 8 points in the third quarter to help the Centennial cause. Centennial tied the game at 47 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 1:54 left Centennial led 56-52. Maggie Weiers started NP's comeback with a one of free throws after she was fouled on a second chancer. Amanda Wagner stole the ball and Kneeland converted off the NP press to cut the margin to 53-56. Another Centennial turnover gave NP a chance. Weiers cashed as NP regained the lead 57-56. Bridget Schuneman made one free throw to tie it back up at 57. Hannah Strop cashed in twice at the line to put NP back in front 59-57. Again Centennial coughed up the ball. Wagner was fouled and she knocked in both for a 61-57 advantage with 59 seconds left. Schuneman missed her pair of free throws. Kneeland did the same at the NP end. Waytashek was fouled for the Cougars and she converted once. Kneeland mirrored her for a 62-57 advantage. With 11 seconds left Nipe missed a pair of free throws and both teams traded turnovers as time expired.

Rena Kneeland had 20 for NP. Megan Nipe had 22 points to lead all scorers.

you can see the entire New Prague vs Centennial photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. Coach Teas was the man behind the camera today.

key: player, class, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
NEW PRAGUE
STARTERS
Rena Kneeland, jr 20, 13, 153.8, .692 laser beam shooting eye in the first half propelled NP to victory.
Maggie Weiers, jr 7, 12, 58.3, .333 athletic post, probably more 4ish. runs the floor. was aggressive on the boards. turnovers sliced into her pp100 score. has a habit of picking up fouls due to position.
Hannah Strop, jr 8, 12, 66.7, .333 big perimeter. a Jackie Voigt type. does her share of the rebounding
Brit Rynda, sr 4, 5, 80.0, .400 taller perimeter. feeds well.
Amanda Wagner, sr 7, 9, 77.8, .444 plays with reckless abandon. a tasmanian devil on the offensive boards
BENCH
Kayla Gill, sr 6, 7, 85.7, .429 perimeter. mixes it up inside, strong.
Taylor Rookaird, so 5, 5, 100.0, .600 perimeter
Molly Tikalsky, sr 2, 2, 100.0, .500 perimeter
Maggie Seter, so 3, 2, 150.0, .500 taller point guard. cashed in old fashioned three.

CENTENNIAL
STARTERS
Kahla Becken, so 5, 12, 41.7, .167 guard. shots weren't falling. needs to keep vision up.
Megan Waytashek, jr 12, 15, 80.0, .467 lean 3ish player. went to the line six times in the second half. only three first half possessions. needs to play with the sense of urgency she did in the second half the whole game.
Hannah Steele, sr 1, 4, 25.0, .250 small guard
Megan Nipe, sr 22, 21, 104.8, .524 main shooter. quick release. went to the line five times. competitive.
Bridget Schuneman, sr 15, 13, 115.4, .615 inside force. led team in defensive rebounds and stops. went to the line seven times. not shy around contact. Now needs to be consistent at the line.
BENCH
Holly Hofland, jr 0, 1, 0.0, .000 small guard

TRENCH PLAYER
Rena Kneeland

BY THE NUMBERS
New Prague 62, 67, 92.5, .448
Centennial 55*, 66, 83.3, .439
made 3s/&1s: NP 4/2; Centennial 1/2
ftm/fta-ft%: NP 23/33-.697; Centennial 22/35-.629
turnovers: NP 20, Centennial 16
bench: NP 17, Centennial 0
*the final score was 57, but at some point in the second quarter the scoreboard listed Centennial with two extra points. I couldn't find these phantom points in my records.

An intersting look at the turnovers: NP had 4 of theirs in the fourth quarter, while Centennial had a critical 7 in the final frame.

The big difference came on second chancers. NP had a 17-7 advantage on that stat. Three times NP scored three points on a second chancer including the first two of Kneeland's threes.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
NEW PRAGUE
Hannah Strop 10
Maggie Weiers 9
Rena Kneeland 4
Brit Rynda 4
Amanda Wagner 3
Maggie Seter 2
Kayla Gill 1
Totals: 33

CENTENNIAL
Bridget Schuneman 11
Megan Waytashek 10
Megan Nipe 5.5
Hannah Steele 2.5
Holly Hofland 2
totals: 31

ASSISTS
NEW PRAGUE
Brit Rynda 7
Amanda Wagner 6
Maggie Weiers 4
Hannah Strop 2
Maggie Seter 2
Rena Kneeland 1
Kayla Gill 1
Taylor Rookaird 1
Molly Tikalsky 1
totals: 25

CENTENNIAL
Kahla Becken 5
Megan Waytashek 5
Hannah Steele 4
Holly Hofland 4
Megan Nipe 3
Bridget Schuneman 2
totals: 23

next up: Kennedy vs DeLaSalle.

Kennedy Sweet 16 Champs

#2 posting 8.3.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

KENNEDY SWEET 16 CHAMPS
Bloomington Kennedy beat New Prague 47-40 in the finals of the Sweet 16 today at the College of St. Benedict. Kennedy, coming into the tournament, was not given much chance by many to take the title due to key injuries to Shakila Boler and Alexis Holt. However youthful Kennedy looked for ways to win the tournament, made adjustments to the opposition, played scrappy defense and, in the words of the immortal Jesse Ventura, "Shocked the World."

New Prague reached the title game with a 62-57 win over defending Sweet 16 champ Centennial. Kennedy beat DeLaSalle 51-43 to get to the finals.

Of course the other big news of the day---Coach Teas came out of Hibernation. He did not see his shadow, so we will have 6 more weeks of Summer. This was Coach Teas' first tournament in over two months. It was also his first time with the new lens.

I will have more on the individual games.

Here is how the brackets played out today
1-4 SEMIS
New Prague 62, Centennial 57
Bloomington Kennedy 51, DeLaSalle 43
5-8 CONSOLATION
Eden Valley-Watkins 46, Hayfield 32
Becker 46, Lakeville North 40
9-12 CONSOLATION
Woodbury 55, New Life 53
Adrian 69, New London-Spicer 52
13-16 CONSOLATION
Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 54, Princeton 52
Howard Lake-W-W 67, Bigfork 36

15TH PLACE
Princeton 60, Bigfork 45
13th PLACE
Howard Lake-W-W 59, CMC 53
11th PLACE
New Life 52, New London-Spicer 50 (Cara Lutes made a key block at the end of the game to preserve the win for NL).
9TH PLACE
Adrian 54, Woodbury 52 (Adrian won on a shot with two seconds left. The Dragons trailed late in the game before tying the game at 52. Sam Lynn penetrated the lane and dished off for the game winning assist).
7TH PLACE
Lakeville North 63, Hayfield 40
5TH PLACE
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Becker 35
3rd PLACE
Centennial 88, DeLaSalle 44
CHAMPIONSHIP
Bloomington Kennedy 47, New Prague 40

Here are the results by class
AAAA 11-5 .688
AAA 8-8 .500
AA 7-9 .438
A 6-10 .375

Here is the complete results from the Sweet 16 site.

Next up: More details on each of the semis, and championships to follow

Camping, Schonrock, Two American Tales

#1 posting 8.3.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SUMMER HOOPS SERIES
The Eau Claire Leader Telegram continues their Summer Hoops series with a look at the College Camp experience. Included is an article on how the coaches prepare for the camp season, and the myriad of options players have during the summer. One college assistant bemoans the fact that "No one works on fundamentals anymore."

COACHING NEWS
Former Gopher Shannon Schonrock has been hired as full time assistant at Winona State. Schonrock played her high school ball at Blue Earth and has been an assistant at Wayzata. She was part time at WSU last year. From the Mankato Free Press.

CONFERENCE NEWS
The Wausau Daily Herald looks at the changes in the area high school conferences including the new Great Northern Conference.

ILLNESS UPDATE
Jackson Lumen Christi player Kelcie Wilson has been removed from a ventilator and is breathing on her own. Wilson has meningitis. From the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

AN AMERICAN IN RUSSIA
Becky Hammon only scored three points in her Russian debut in a 75-69 loss to Latvia. The Siuox Falls Argus Leader looks at Hammon's path from South Dakota to Russia. Also from the Star Tribune.

AN AMERICAN AT HOME
The Grand Forks Herald looks at Lindsay Whalen's response to being inexplicably left off the American Olympic roster.

SUMMER BREAK
The North Tartan coaches are enjoying vacation time with their families after a full summer of basketball. They are also busy with the phone calls from colleges enquiring about players.
You can contact North Tartan by email during the break.

SWEET 16
I will get to the numbers and more stories from the Sweet 16 later today, and probably Monday. I had to get some shut eye after the midnight hour.

Next up: Sweet 16 semis and finals later today

Sweet 16 Out & About: DeLaSalle/Lakeville North

#7 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news 7 information

SWEET 16
quarterfinals
DE LA SALLE islanders 55,
LAKEVILLE NORTH panthers 48

DeLaSalle grabbed an early 7-2 lead and used their defensive intensity to take down larger school Lakeville North 55-48 in the Sweet 16 quarterfinals. LN did close to 21-19 late in the second quarter, but a 7-0 run in the last three possessions right at the end of the half propelled the Islanders to a 28-19 half time lead.

LN did close to 38-31 late in the third quarter. A five possession drought to end the quarter gave the Islanders an opportunity to expand their lead. A three by Jamelia Hudnell gave DLS a 41-31 advantage headed into the fourth quarter. LN closed once again to 41-35 in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws by Kaiya Sygulla. The LN surge seemed to awaken the DLS offense. The Islanders scored on the next three possessions on a 7-0 run to lead 48-35. DLS held on to that advantage the rest of the game.


you can see the entire DeLaSalle vs Lakeville North photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, class, points, possession, pp100, floor %
DE LA SALLE
STARTERS
Michelle Harris sr 8, 4, 200.0, 1.000 perimeter/inside player. good decisions.
Jamelia Hudnell, sr 7, 14, 50.0, .214 guard, sometimes played inside. needs to make better passing decisions.
Tori Rule, so 12, 15, 80.0, .400 guard, looks to go to the basket when given a choice. has 3 range. passes are snappy.
Carissa Wolyniec, jr 17, 13, 130.8, .462 three point shooter. delivered three on the day. developing drive game. Working offensive boards. had five assists too.
Chelsey Jacox, so 5, 9, 55.6, .222 guard. Needs to make better decisons. had five turnovers. picked up a charge.
BENCH
Diamond Lane, so 3, 2, 150.0, .500
Tawny Britts, so 0, 8, 0.0, .000
Jaerica Toussant 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Kayla L 3, 3, 100.0, .333
Chanel Dickenson, so 0, 0, 0.0, .000

LAKEVILLE NORTH
STARTERS
Rachel Banham, so 3, 10, 30.0, .200 perimeter. had the first four LN possessions. coming off achilles stretch.
Ashley Prather, jr 5, 7, 71.4, .429 post.
Kelsie Ammann, sr 3, 4, 75.0, .250 three point shooter.
Jess Braaten, jr 10, 9, 111.1, .556 post, lefty. strong frame. needs to get quicker
Kaiya Sygulla, sr 11, 15, 73.3, .400 point guard. looks to penetrate.
BENCH
Mackenzie Hoelman, fr 6, 6, 100.0, .500 post player. lean, lanky.
Taylor Stewart, 8th 5, 9, 55.6, .222 guard. aggressive attacking attitude. has 3 range. needs to sharpen passing decisions.
Hannah Hughes, so 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Jamie Montgomery, sr 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000 guard
Tallie Berkvam, jr 3, 2, 150.0, .500 guard. made a three.

TRENCH PLAYER
Carissa Wolyniec

BY THE NUMBERS
DeLaSalle 55, 69, 79.7, .348
Lakeville North 48, 67, 71.6, .358
made 3s/&1s: DLS 7/1; LN 3/1
ftm/fta-ft%: DLS 10/18-.556; LN 11/21-.524
turnovers: DLS 19, LN 17
bench: LN 16, DLS 6

DEFENSIVE WRAP
DE LA SALLE
Tori Rule 6
Carissa Wolyniec 5
Jamelia Hudnell 3
Tawny Britts 3
Chelsey Jacox 3
Michelle Harris 2
Kayla L 2
Diamond Lane 1
Jamela Tousant 1
Chanel Dickenson 1
totals: 27

LAKEVILLE NORTH
Kaiya Sygulla 9
Ashley Prather 7
Jess Braaten 5
Hannah Hughes 5
Rachel Banham 2
Kelsie Ammann 2
Jamie Montgomery 2
Tallie Berkvam 2
Taylor Stewart 1
totals: 35

ASSISTS
DE LA SALLE
Tori Rule 5
Carissa Wolyniec 5
Jamelia Hudnell 3
Diamond Lane 1
Michelle Harris 1
Tawny Britts 1
Chelsey Jacox 1
Jamela Toussant 1
Kayla L 1
totals: 19

LAKEVILLE NORTH
Kaiya Sygulla 5
Tawny Britts 3
Jamie Montgomery 3
Rachel Banham 1
Ashley Prather 1
Kelsie Ammann 1
Jess Braaten 1
Hannah Hughes 1
totals: 16

Next up: tomorrow morning. I will back fill these Saturday games later Sunday and Monday

Sweet 16 Out & About: Centennial/Hayfield

#6 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
quarterfinals
CENTENNIAL cougars 59, HAYFIELD vikings 17

Defending Sweet 16 champion Centennial had their transition game in high gear in a 59-17 win over Hayfield in the quarterfinals. Hayfield actually led 2-0 in this game. By the end of the first quarter Centennial led 13-2. That lead grew to 30-11 at halftime. Hayfield only had two points from the floor in the first half. The next time Hayfield scored from the floor came with under a minute to go in the third quarter. At that time the score was 42-14. The fourth quarter was more of the same for the Cougars with a 17-3 run.

Centennial only allowed two 2 point field goals all game. Hayfield had droughts of 12 in the first half and 9 and 13 in the second half.

you can see the entire Centennial vs Hayfield photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, class, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
CENTENNIAL
STARTERS
Megan Waytashek, jr 4, 7, 57.1, .286 perimeter--3
Kahla Becken, so 16, 10, 160.0, .700 guard, scored in transition, had a three. made four steals.
Bridget Schuneman, sr 5, 5, 100.0, .400 post player. did her damage inside. can find the open perimeter when double team comes.
Megan Nipe, sr 15, 11, 136.4, .545 steady standard performance.
Hannah Steele, sr 7, 7, 100.0, .429 guard. scored off the dribble
BENCH
Holly Hofland, jr 0, 2, 0.0, .000 guard
Kayla Bilderback 4, 6, 66.7, .333 runs the floor. crashes the offensive board
Moriah Miller, sr 2, 4, 50.0, .250 guard
Celia Berg, so 4, 5, 80.0, .400 post

HAYFIELD
STARTERS
Megan Leckness, sr 0, 5, 0.0, .000
Jordyn Krekling, jr 8, 12, 66.7, .333 perimeter. all her points came at the line.
Renee Stier, jr 3, 9, 33.3, .111 point guard
Kiley Severson, jr 5, 8, 62.5, .375 post player. led Hayfield with two field goals. Only one other player scored from the floor. needs to improve her quickness and speed.
Beth Felten, jr 1, 9, 11.1, .111 had more assists that any other Hayfield player.
BENCH
Alyssa Selk, fr 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Kayla Garness, jr 0, 5, 0.0, .000
Destry Heide, jr 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Genessa Heide, sr 0, 2, 0.0, .000
turnovers, phys

TRENCH PLAYER
Kahla Becken

BY THE NUMBERS
Centennial 57, 57, 100.0, .439
Hayfield 17, 55, 30.9, .164
made 3s/&1s: Centennial 2/1; Hayfield 1/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Hayfield 10/13-.769; Centennial 3/7-.429
turnovers: Hayfield 23, Centennial 11
bench: Centennial 10, Hayfield 0

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
CENTENNIAL
Kahla Becken 8
Holly Hofland 7
Bridget Schuneman 6
Megan Nipe 4
Hannah Steele 2
Megan Waytashek 1
Moriah Miller 1
totals: 29

HAYFIELD
Jordyn Krekling 7
Beth Felten 5
Kayla Garness 3
Kiley Severson 2
Alyssa Selk 2
Megan Leckness 1
Genessa Heide 1
Katelyn Kramer 1
totals: 22

ASSISTS
CENTENNIAL
Holly Hofland 6
Megan Waytashek 4
Kahla Becken 4
Bridget Schuneman 3
Hannah Steele 2
Megan Nipe 1
Kayla Bilderbeck 1
Moriah Miller 1
totals: 22

HAYFIELD
Beth Felten 4
Jordyn Krekling 1
Renee Stier 1
totals: 6

next up: DeLaSalle vs Lakeville North

Sweet 16 Out & About: Becker/Bigfork

#5 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
first round
BECKER bulldogs 53, BIGFORK huskies 50

This was the tightest game I charted today with Bigfork having a last second chance to tie the contest at the buzzer.

Becker held a 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter thans to a three at the buzzer by Heather Fahsl. The Bulldogs started the second quarter with an 0/8 sequence. Becker seized a 27-20 lead late in the second quarter after Bigfork went on a 1/11 sequence. The Bulldogs led 29-23 at the break.

Bigfork trailed 38-31 with 3:44 left in the third quarter. They struggled from the floor with a 1/9 sequence. The Huskies tied the game up at 40 with a 9-2 run to close the quarter. Becker led most of the fourth quarter, with their largest margin 51-46 with 1:40 left in the game. Two quick scores by Bigfork cut the margin to 51-50. Becker missed a pair of free throws, but Bigfork couldn't convert on their next three possessions and Becker added two free throws in their last two possessions to move on to the quarterfinals.

you can see the entire Becker vs Bigfork photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, class, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
BECKER
STARTERS
Rey Robinson, sr 15, 19, 78.9, .421 perimeter player. is more assertive and aggressive. Is more active on the defensive stops. crashed the offensive boards hard.
Heather Fahsl, sr 14, 15, 93.3, .467 feisty guard. hit big shots at the end of the quarter. wants the ball.
Rachel Gilbert, sr 4, 4, 100.0, .500 point guard.
Nicole Cody, jr 8, 7, 114.3, .429 post
Kayla Gudmonson, sr 4, 9, 44.4, .222
BENCH
Leah Senger, jr 7, 7, 100.0, .429
Whitney Paulson, so 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Nicole Anderson, fr 1, 1, 100.0, 1.000
Amanda Kangas, jr 0, 1, 0.0, .000

BIGFORK
STARTERS
Annalise Klamm, jr 4, 9, 44.4, .222 needs to improve passing. add fakes, shorten passes.
Megan Powell, jr 13, 15, 86.7, .400 made a 3. 11 of her points came in the second half.
Theresa Stewart, jr 4, 4, 100.0, .500
Shelby Goble, sr 15, 15, 100.0, .467 quick guard. most aggressive offensively. has 3 range. runs the floor.
Adrianna Ivanovic, jr 8, 13, 61.5, .308 active on the defensive boards. needs to make better decisions with the ball.
BENCH
Julia Nelson, so 2, 2, 100.0, 1.000
Carolyn Thurston, so 4, 4, 100.0, .500

TRENCH PLAYER
Rey Robinson

BY THE NUMBERS
Becker 53, 65, 81.5, .400
Bigfork 50, 62, 80.6, .403
made 3s/&1s: Becker 2/2; Bigfork 4/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Bigfork 12/16-.750; Becker 11/20-.550
turnovers: Becker 10, Bigfork 18
Bench: Becker 8, Bigfork 6

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
BECKER
Rey Robinson 11
Leah Senger 4
Kayla Gudmonson 4
Heather Fashl 3
Nicole Anderson 2
Rachel Gilbert 1
Nicole Cody 1
Sammy Flyck 1
totals: 27

BIGFORK
Adrianna Ivanovic 14
Teresa Stewart 5
Shelby Goble 5
Annalise Klamm 4.5
Julia Nelson 3
Megan Powell 2.5
Carolyn Thurston 2
totals: 36

ASSISTS
BECKER
Rachel Gilbert 3
Nicole Anderson 3
Rey Robinson 2
Heather Fahsl 2
Nicole Cody 2
totals: 12

BIGFORK
Annalise Klamm 4
Shelby Goble 4
Adrianna Ivanovic 3
Megan Powell 2
Carolyn Thurston 1
totals: 14

next up: Centennial vs Hayfield.

Sweet 16 Out & About: Bloomington Kennedy/New London-Spicer

#4 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
FIRST ROUND
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY eagles 45
NEW LONDON-SPICER wildcats 39

This game had rallys, comebacks, physical play and defense. In the end Kennedy, despite playing without starting point guard, and future Gopher, Shakila Boler and starter Alexis Holt beat New London-Spicer 45-39.

JFK won the race to ten with a 10-2 lead. NLS tied the game at the end of the first quarter with an 8 point flurry in their last three possessions of the quarter. Justine Dammermann and Taylor Thompson hit back to back 3s to narrow the gap. NLS had a 13-10 lead in the second quarter. That margin was the biggest by either teams. Kennedy knocked down a three on their last possession of the second quarter to lead 21-20 at the break.

Kennedy used that momentum at the start of the third quarter to build a 27-20 lead. NLS turned the tables with a 6/7 offensive sequence and 14-2 run. Michelle Hanson had six of the NLS points in that run. The momentum shifted at the quarter break. JFK scored the first six times of the fourth quarter on a 14-4 run. NLS closed to 41-39 with under four minutes left. That would be as close as they would get as they didn't score their last five possessions.

you can see the entire Bloomington Kennedy vs New London-Spicer photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, class, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
STARTERS
Brittany Zins, sr 7, 15, 46.7, .200 struggled in the first three quarters. delivered in the fourth.
Audrey Davis, so 9, 13, 69.2, .385 took over as point guard. is usually the 3 shooter. She did that, plus assisted others. her tough defense prevented NLS from getting free for their 3s. could get side tracked in sideshows.
Raven Boone, so 4, 1, 400.0, 1.000 small guard with big numbers. She made an &1, but missed the free throw so doesn't get a possession that time.
Bailey Lund, jr 6, 4, 150.0. .500 tough nosed battler. used inside, small for post hs.
Kaylani Edwards, so 8, 6, 133.3, .667 post player. ignited the fourth quarter rally with a put back and then a post up on two consecutive possessions.
BENCH
Tonoia Wade 7th 3, 4, 75.0, .250 small guard. needs to get physically stronger.
Jade Martin, 8th 6, 12, 50.0, .167 taller perimeter/post. has perimeter ability. needs to get used to playing at the faster, more physical pace. will look to drive.
Heather Bachman fr. 0, 1, 0.0, .000 post
Tanisha Duwearachi fr., 2, 2, 100.0, .500 small guard

NEW LONDON-SPICER
STARTERS
Justine Dammermann, jr 7, 8, 87.5, .375 3 point shooter. made faces to the ref when she felt the call should have gone her way. physical play bothered her.
Kelsey Cors, sr 0, 5, 0.0, .000 guard
Taylor Thompson, jr 3, 9, 33.3, .111 guard. did make a three.
Karli Wendlandt, jr 6, 11, 54.5, .364 a battler. mixed it up with Zins most of the day. doesn't back down from physical play. went to the line four times. All her points came at the line.
Michelle Hanson, sr 6, 6, 100.0, .500 all her points came in the third quarter.
BENCH
Hannah Setterberg, jr 1, 4, 25.0, .000
Brogen Lothert, so 9, 8, 112.5, .500 scored on a 3, drive, at the line, and on second chancers.
Karsee Knutson, so 5, 3, 166.7, .667 made a three
Lauren Bennewitz 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Marin Setterberg 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000

TRENCH PLAYER
Aubrey Davis

BY THE NUMBERS
Bloomington Kennedy 45, 58, 77.6, .328
New London-Spicer 39, 56, 67.9, .339
made 3s/&1s: BK 2/0; NLS 2/0
ftm/fta-ft%: BK 9/18-.500; NLS 11/19-.579
turnovers: BK 18, NLS 17
bench: NLS 17, BK 13

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
Aubrey Davis 6
Bailey Lund 5
Brittany Zins 4.5
Kaylani Edwards 4
Heather Bachman 4
Raven Boone 3.5
Jade Martin 3
totals: 30

NEW LONDON-SPICER
Karsee Knutson 5
Michele Hanson 5
Justine Dammmrmann 4
Brogen Lothert 4
Taylor Thompson 3
Kelsey Cors 2
Karli Wendlandt 2
Marin Setterberg 2
Hannah Setterberg 1
Michaela Bengtson 1
totals: 30

ASSISTS
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
Aubrey Davis 8
Brittany Zins 2
Bailey Lund 1
Kaylani Edwards 1
Tonoia Wade 1
Jade Martin 1
totals: 14

NEW LONDON-SPICER
Taylor Thompson 5
Kelsey Cors 4
Justine Dammermann 3
Brogen Lothert 1
Karsee Knutson 1
totals: 14

next up: Becker vs Bigfork

Sweet 16 Out & About: New Prague/Woodbury

#3 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
FIRST ROUND
NEW PRAGUE Trojans 59, WOODBURY royals 38

due to the volume of games, these reports will be shorter and I will come back to fill in the gaps. Thanks for your patience.

New Prague defeated bigger class Woodbury 59-38.
The Trojans quickly jumped out to a 14-3 lead with a 7/8 offensive sequence. NP scored the first five times they had the ball. Brit Rynda and Maggie Weiers each had six points of the first 14 for NP. Woodbury put the clamps on NP toward the end of the first quarter. After an initial 175 pp100 in their first 8 possessions, NP cooled considerably with a 27.3 pp100. Woodbury tied the game up at 19 with two free throws by Jessica Thone. Amanda Wagner made one free throw to finish the half with New Prague clinging to a 20-19 lead.

In the second half NP had a slight advantage in the first half of the third quarter, but put the pedal to the metal with five straight scores including two threes in a 11-4 run. NP won the quarter 21-9 to lead 41-28. Woodbury couldn't climb out of that hole as NP again won the quarter 18-10. Rena Kneeland had 12 points to lead NP.

you can see the entire New Prague vs Woodbury photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, class, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
NEW PRAGUE
STARTERS
Brit Rynda, sr 10, 8, 125.0, .625 runs the floor, range 15ft., quietly gets the job done.
Maggie Weiers, jr 8, 4, 200.0, 1.000 lanky athletic post. perfect from the floor. on defense is out of position and picked up enough fouls to sit on the pine.
Rena Kneeland jr 12, 8, 150.0, .625 point guard. 3 point shooter, likes the top of the key.
Hannah Strop jr 7, 10, 70.08, .300 taller perimeter. converted one of two &1 situations.
Amanda Wagner, sr 6, 11, 54.5, .273 scrapper. has 3 range. preferred method of attack is off the drive.
BENCH
Maggie Setter, so 3, 3, 100.0, .333 back up point guard
Taylor Rookaird, so 4, 5, 80.0, .400 perimeter
Kayla Gill, sr 9, 9, 100.0, .556 perimeter. went to the line three times.
Molly Tikalsky, sr 0, 2, 0.0, .000 perimeter

WOODBURY
STARTERS
Jessica Thone sr 7, 11, 63.6, .364 guard. will make expressions of disbelief and plead her case to refs when call doesn't go her way.
Carrie Lang, sr 0, 6, 0.0, .000
Hannah Betz, sr 2, 2, 100.0, .500 worker
Sarah Hintz, sr 10, 10, 100.0, .600 competitive inside player. coming back after knee surgury. crashes offensive boards.
Megan Stromen, jr 6, 6, 100.0, .500 perimeter. strong frame.
BENCH
Michelle Young, so. 7, 8, 87.5, .375 point guard
Mary Kroening, jr., 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Katie Hagberg, fr. 0, 6, 0.0, .000
Nicole Ellson, jr 7, 8, 87.5, .375 guard
Kelly Graves, jr 0, 1, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Brit Rynda

BY THE NUMBERS
New Prague 59, 60, 98.3, .467
Woodbury 39, 60, 65.0, .333
made 3s/&1s: NP 4/2; Woodbury 2/0
ftm/fta-ft%: NP 11/17-.647; Woodbury 12/18-.667
turnovers: NP 11, Woodbury 13
bench: New Prague 16, Woodbury 14

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
NEW PRAGUE
Rena Kneeland 6
Brit Rynda 5
Amanda Wagner 5
Maggie Weiers 4
Kayla Gill 4
Hannah Strop 4
Molly Tikalsky 2
Maggie Seter 1
Taylor Rookaird 1
totals: 32

WOODBURY
Jess Thone 6
Sarah Hintz 5
Michelle Young 3
Carrie Lang 2
Hannah Betz 2
Megan Stromen 2
Kelly Graves 2
Mary Kroening 1
Taylor Moquist 1
totals: 24

ASSISTS
NEW PRAGUE
Amanda Wagner 5
Kayla Gill 4
Maggie Seter 4
Rena Kneeland 3
Hannah Strop 2
Taylor Rookaird 2
Maggie Weiers 1
Molly Tikalsky 1
totals: 22

WOODBURY
Michelle Young 4
Hannah Betz 3
Jess Thone 1
Carrie Lang 1
Sarah Hintz 1
Taylor Moquist 1
totals: 11

Next up: Bloomington Kennedy vs New London-Spicer

Sweet 16 Day 1

#2 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16 RESULTS
The Sweet 16 finished day one with big schools in the hunt for the championship. AAAA teams Centennial and Bloomington Kennedy plus AAA teams New Prague and DeLaSalle are in the semis. Most of the day the larger school beat the smaller school. Two first round upsets took place, if you consider smaller classes beating larger classes. New Prague beat Woodbury 59-38 while Hayfield beat Princeton 44-36. In that game Princeton led 36-30 going into the fourth quarter. Hayfield outscored the Tigers 14-0 in the fourth.

Many of the schools didn't have full rosters there. New Life missed one of the Schmidt sisters. DeLaSalle's 6-2 Menzel was gone. 6-4 Cassie Rochel was in Wisconsin, while Rachel Banham was coming back after a stretched achilles. Bloomington Kennedy didn't have two starters from last year--both Shakila Boler and Alexis Holt both have knee injuries. Becker's Jessie Althoff was also missing.

FIRST ROUND
New Prague 59, Woodbury 38
Eden Valley-Watkins 46, Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 28
Hayfield 44, Princeton 36
Centennial 85, New Life 60
DeLaSalle 57, Howard Lake-W-W 43
Lakeville North 59, Adrian 49
Bloomington Kennedy 45, New London-Spicer 39
Becker 53, Bigfork 50

CONSOLATION ROUND
Woodbury 62, Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 49
New Life 52, Princeton 43
Adrian 71, Howard Lake-W-W 46
New London-Spicer 59, Bigfork 44

QUARTERFINALS
New Prague 54, Eden Valley-Watkins 31
Centennial 59, Hayfield 17
DeLaSalle 55, Lakeville North 48
Bloomington Kennedy 53, Becker 44

Next up: Some of the first round action out & abouts (I saw five contests today).

Sweet 16, Rookie Rankings

#2 posting 8.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16
Today the Sweet 16 tournament takes place at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Action tips off at 10:30 am this morning. Centennial will look to defend their title. Here is today's schedule.

PRESS CONFERENCE
New St. Cloud State coach Lori Fish will hold a press conference Tuesday at 4:30 pm. From the St. Cloud Times.

BEIJING BOUND
Marquette's Lauren Thomas-Johnson is in Beijing as an ambassador of the British Basketball Federation.

ROOKIE RANKINGS
Rethinking Basketball continues the ranking of WNBA rookies series.

FREE THROW LANE CHANGE
There will be changes in the high school free throw alignments this year. HS will follow the college rules. From the Holmen Courier.

MENINGITIS
Kelcie Wilson, a player from Jackson Lumen Christi in Michigan, is still in intensive care with Meningitis. She came down with the infection July 24. From the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Next up: later today with the results from the Sweet 16

The Week that Was #18: Fantasyland

#3 posting 8.1.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

The Week That Was #18: Fantasyland

The NCAA viewing window has shut for the summer. That means summer basketball is coming to a close. The summer leagues, the summer tournaments have wrapped up their seasons. The Minnesota Sweet 16 tournament this weekend marks the official end of tournaments in the upper Midwest. There may be a few stray tournaments that I don’t know, but the heavy hitters have packed up their gym bags for the summer season.

FANTASYLAND
The Olympics are just around the corner and this leads to my constant summer wish—to see an Olympic style event with all the states involved in a truly national tournament. I am sorry but there are about 1001 “national” champions running around after the summer is done. I look at the tournament fields and usually there is a whole section of the country missing in action. How can you claim to be national champ without a California team or Florida or Texas team?

I would have the American Olympics divided by high school graduating class. At this point I would run 2009s, 2010s, 2011s and 2012s. I would have this event the culminating event of the summer. Every state would have a team. You may play for AAU teams in the early part of the summer, but for this weekend it would be state, not club based. The best players in the state would be on one team. There would be no line jumping (Becky Hammon thinking she is a Russian). If you live in Minnesota and go to school somewhere in Minnesota, you play for Minnesota.

The games would all be in air conditioned comfort, with real seating for fans.

The tournament would run the course of a eight days. There would be 10 pools of 5. (50 states—DC would be in the Maryland orbit. There would only be one game per day for each team. Pool play would run from Saturday to Wednesday. The 10 winners would then move on to a single elimination round. There would be a play in round on Thursday. Quarters would be on Friday, Semis on Saturday, with the grand finale on Sunday.

An example of the pools
A
Alabama
California
Delaware
South Dakota
Wisconsin

B
Colorado
Maine
New Hampshire
Texas
Virginia

C
Alaska
Iowa
Nebraska
New York
North Carolina

D
Hawaii
Kentucky
Minnesota
New Mexico
Pennsylvania

E
Arizona
Kansas
Montana
Nevada
Ohio

F
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Mississippi
New Jersey
North Dakota

G
Georgia
Idaho
Maryland
Oklahoma
Vermont

H
Arkansas
Indiana
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Washington

I
Connecticut
Michigan
Tennessee
Utah
West Virginia

J
Florida
Illinois
Missouri
Oregon
Wyoming

If Canada and other nations can run similar national events, why can’t the USA? It is time for USA Basketball to get control of the summer and start making it work for all parties involved.

Right now the system is broken. It does not favor athletes, or coaches. It is not uncommon for a team to go from one “national” tournament to another “national” tournament the very next day. The thinking is “if X is good 10X is ten times as good.” It ain’t necessarily so. (Don’t send me the proper phrasing here, I know it). The pace of summer ball is not found at either the high school or college level. The NCAA tournament stretches out over a month, not over two days. Summer teams don’t prepare for games like college or high school teams. There is almost no advanced scouting (unless you are playing a team from your own area). You have almost no clue on your opponents, their tendencies, or their flaws. Decisions are being made on players in a false environment.

I know of a situation where a kid went to an “exposure” camp. She had a “supernova” experience, but reverted back to the plow horse when the high school season rolled a round. The college didn’t know the real player.

Players are NOT playing at peak performance at the end of summer from what I see. How can they be? They are tired. If it is Tuesday it must be Bardstown. Pace, space and balance are critical. I stumbled across an East German training book when I was at college dealing with training and peak performance. In a nutshell you trained to reach optimal performance at the end of the event cycle. You don’t get that with the current system.

The current system shows how a player competes against similar (you hope) athletes. Some times those athletes are players, sometime those athletes aren’t athletes. That is a roll of the dice. And this is when decisions are made. A lot of those decisions are wrong. At least 33% of all the 2007 players from Minnesota high schools have left D1 schools, and there is still three years left for that class to graduate. From the 2006 class the number is at least 38%.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
What happens when two All Americans from the Memphis tournament are missing? If you are NC Heat you win the North Tartan Meltdown. NCH was undefeated in the summer in Minnesota. For the fourth time this summer they beat a solid MN Stars Borowicz team for the title. How strong was MSB? They went on to win the Summer Slam in Cincinnati. The special ingredient in NCH’s success is they are quicker and their chemistry is good. They have core players and players that compliment others. The Heat executes and is aware of what is happening.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tayler Hill of NC Heat takes this honor to no one’s real surprise. In the championship game against MN Stars Borowicz she struck for 21 points in the first half. She also had five threes in the game showing off a consistency from behind the arc. Hill also involved her teammates in the offense. She doesn’t get the attention on her passing or defense, but she has skills just as sharp as her scoring prowess.

For those that don’t know or aren’t familiar with how to make this list.1. I need to see the player during the week.2. Player needs to have at least six possessions3. Player needs to be north of 100 pp100 and floor % north of .5004. If I see a player multiple times the average possessions need to crack six. Hot and cold performances are averaged out. I am searching for consistency.

FIRST TEAM
Bethany Doolittle, Midtown Lady Monarchs (Hill-Murray)
Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
Alyssa Kerkhoff, MN Stars Carlisle (New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva)
Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
Sam Mehr, Metro Stars Black (Eastview)
SECOND TEAM
Nicole Anderson, MN Stars Smith (Cannon Falls)
Kahla Becken, MN Stars Carlisle (Centennial)
DeAirra Goss, Indy Gym Rats (Indianapolis Ben Davis)
Janae Burich, North Tartan Crosby (Roseville)
Tempestt Wilson, NC Heat (Elk River)
THIRD TEAM
Lindsey Johnson, Dakota Schoolers (Harrisburg, SD)
Diamond Lane, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
Kirstee Rotty, Metro Stars Black (Farmington)
Devyn Smith, North Tartan Crosby (Roseville)
Brittany Thiesfeld, MN Stars Smith (Glencoe-Silver Lake)
FOURTH TEAM
Lindsey Fix, MN Stars Carlilse (Coon Rapids)
Lindsey Munger, Omaha Lakers (Omaha Marian)
Katie Pettit, MN Suns 16s (Howard Lake-W-W)
Hannah Strop, North Tartan 15 (New Prague)
Grace Veker, Metro Stars 15 (Edina)

If you look closely you will not see one MN Stars Borowicz player on the list, and only one North Tartan 15 player. It is all about the rules as listed above.

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
With 16 defensive wraps in one game it is obvious that Tori Rule of the Midtown Lady Monarchs is the proper choice. Rule ruled on defense for the Monarchs and for everyone else that matter. She leaps up and snatches the ball like a comic book superhero. She has quick hands and has plenty of steals as well. She makes life miserable for offenses.

FIRST TEAM
Gabby Boever, North Tartan 15 (Worthington)
Erica Gress, Metro Stars 15 (Apple Valley)
Cassie Hooten, MN Stars Smith (Moorhead)
Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
SECOND TEAM
Jes Bolgar, Omaha Lakers (Papillon-LaVista South)
Alyssa Cegelske, MN Stars Carlisle (GHEC)
Jasmine Mendes, MN Suns 16s (Hopkins)
Janay Morton, MN Stars Martin (Osseo)
Theairra Taylor, MN Stars Borowicz (St. Paul Central)

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE WEEK
Tayler Hill doesn’t get a lot of love in this category. Today she does. See above.
FIRST TEAM
Kahla Becken, MN Stars Carlisle (Centennial)
Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Mpls South)
Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
Morgan Van-Riper Rose, North Tartan 15 (Eden Prairie)
Katy Winge, North Tartan 15 (Minnetonka)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
DeAirra Goss of the Indy Gym Rats played with the intensity coaches like to see. Goss in a perimeter type that is a battler. She has speed and quickness. Plus she plays without fear and doesn't back down from a challenge.

POLLS
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. Team WI Select Samuels
3. MN Stars Borowicz
4. Nebraska CSS Bison
5. IBCA Select Red
6. Metro Stars Black
7. North Tartan Larson
8. Nebraska Twisterz
9. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
10. Sioux Falls Warriors
11. Metro Stars White
12. Fury
13. Iowa Elite
14. North Tartan Crosby
15. Kansas City Hustle
16. All Iowa Attack Red
17. MN Stars Smith
18. IBCA Select White
19. MN Suns
20. Team WI Select Doucette
16u/MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Nebraska Judds
3. Metro Stars
4. Fury
5. MN Suns Arbogast
6. All Iowa Attack Red
7. Team Iowa
8. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. Midtown Lady Monarchs
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Seter
6. MN Stars Collins
7. IBCA Select Blue
8. Fury Livers
9. Fury Haugen
10. MN Stars Hested

13u
AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. North Tartan
3. All Iowa Attack
4. MN Stars Martin
5. MN Jazz
6. MN Fury
MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Stars Farview
4. MN Suns

HIGH SCHOOL
SUMMER LEAGUE/SUMMER TOURNEYS
School, Summer League
1. Centennial
2. Lakeville North, LNSL
3. Hopkins, LNSL
4. Minnetonka, CPSL
5. Minnehaha, CSPSL
6. Eastview, LNSL
7. Maple Grove, CPSL
8. Champlin Park, CPSL
9. White Bear Lake, CSPSL
10. Benilde-St. Margaret’s

Next up: tomorrow

Fish, Gohl, Draxten, McDowell, Moss, Fox & Smith

#2 posting 8.1.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COACHING NEWS
FISH IN ST. CLOUD, GOHL IN MANKATO
St. Cloud native Lori Fish has been hired as the next St. Cloud State women's basketball coach. Here is a longer version of the St. Cloud Times story. Pam Gohl has been named interim coach at MSU Mankato.

SKILL & TOUGHNESS
Hannah Draxten of Fergus Falls "has all the makings to have a fantastic freshman season for the University of Iowa women's basketball team," says Randy Larson of the Game Time League. From the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

MC DOWELL READY
New Western Michigan women's basketball Tasha McDowell is ready for the season. From the Kalamazoo Gazette.

THE ITALIAN TRIP
Gopher Emily Fox is looking forward to the Lake Como portion of the trip to Italy.

POSTING UP
Illini Jenna Smith (formerly from Bloomington Kennedy) has her 3rd blog posting up

RANKING ROOKIES
Rethinking Basketball ranks the rookies in the WNBA.

ALL STAR GAME
Michigan holds their coaches association (BCAM) all star game this weekend at Brighton High School. The CD all star game is at 11 am, the AB at 1 pm.

MORE SUMMER TOURNAMENTS
Washington, Iowa reached the semifinals at the North American Youth Sports Summer Nationals in Chicago. From the Washington Journal.

Pinnacle Bank won four games at Las Vegas yesterday including holding a team to 7 (seven) points. From the Omaha Herald.

RANDY MOSS' DAUGHTER
Sydney Moss played last year Ryle high school as an 8th grader. She is continuing to turn heads on the summer circuit. From USA Today.

Next up: later today with the week that was.

Summer Slam, Nike National Wrap

#1 posting 8.1.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SUMMER SLAM WRAP
MN Stars Borowicz won the Summer Slam as was reported last night with a 70-65 win over Indiana Elite Central.

17U Elite Blue Division
NE Judds CSS 15's 65, Queen City Jaguars 59
Carly Grenfell (York) had 24 points including 6 threes and Tina Fantroy (Lincoln Southwest) had 14 to lead the Judds to Finals of the 17U Blue Division.

Top Recruit (NY) 49, NE Judds CSS 15's 45
Carly Grenfell (York) had 14 points and Kyley Simmons (Council Bluffs Lewis Central) had 11 to lead the Judds to the 2nd place finish. This game featured 19 lead changes, with the lead changing for the final time with 41 seconds to play, as the Judds loss a heartbreaker.

The Judds Finished 34-15 (best record in Judds history), and won 11 out of the final 12 games they played. All 9 players for the Judds are eligible to return next year (no graduating seniors)

17U Elite Red Division
NE Bison CSS 56 Detroit Motor City 42
Marissa Kastanek (Lincoln Southeast) McKenzie Fujan (Bishop Nuemann) had 10 to lead the Bison Consolation Championship.

NE Bison CSS 84 Kentucky Extreme 59
KK Houser (Lincoln Southeast) 14 Kelsie Lliteras (Chadron) has 13 points to lead the Bison.
The NE Bison CSS 17's finished 44-6 (best record in Bison History) and never lost more then one game at any tournament.

The Bison will miss the graduating players of Marissa Kastanek (Committed to NC State) KK Houser (Undecided) Kelsie Lliteras, and Brooke Wehle (both undecided).

Cornhusker Shooting Stars 13U finished in 2nd place losing to the Motor City Top Ten 14's 59-55.

NIKE NATIONALS
Kayla Hirt had 19 points for North Tartan Larson in a loss to Tennessee Flight. Tennessee Flight won Nike Nationals with a win over Boo Williams.

During the tournament NTL's Amanda Zimmerman may have strained her MCL in a game vs Boo Williams.

Next up: more news