Tournaments, Transfers and Guilty

#2 posting 7.26.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

FIBA AMERICAS TOURNAMENT
2008 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team beat Canada 72-56 in the FIBA Americas championships in Argentina on Thursday. Friday the Americans beat Puerto Rico 116-36.

NABI TOURNAMENT
The BBall Divas of South Dakota lost to the e-LEMON-ators of Shiprock, NM 69-65 on Thursday in the Native American Basketball Tournament in Phoenix. From the Rapid City Journal.

TRANSFER
As reported here earlier Emily Neal has left Colorado State and has transfered to Wisconsin. She will be eligible for two more years starting in the 2009-10 season.

LEGACY
Western Michigan looks at which player (or team) has left the biggest legacy. For some reason hockey starts off the article.

POLICE BLOTTER
Former Concordia Moorhead janitor Steven James Sopko was found guilty of seven counts of interfering with privacy for placing a camera in a locker room that captured nude images of the women's basketball team. He will be sentenced September 2.

Next up: later today with results from the Meltdown tournament at Bloomington Kennedy. You will need to bring a jacket I am told. They are piping AC into the facility.

Hankinson Turmoil, Off to Sweden, Champlin Park on Target

#1 posting 7.26.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COACHING NEWS
Coach Gravalin has left Hankinson for Pelican Rapids. Still the controversy continues apparently. The Geffre family has released a statement to the Hankinson, ND School board. They interviewed former assistants. The main points: inappropriate touching, inappropriate comments, locker room visits and coaching style. From the Wahpeton Daily News.

INTERSTATE BATTLE
Champlin Park topped Sioux Falls Roosevelt 49-44 in a spirited game at the Target Center on Friday before the Lynx game.

The teams played two 22 minute halves with stop time the final 2 minutes of each half. It was a very competitive contest.

GOPHER TEAM CAMP
Hopkins beat Eden Prairie in gopher team camp Friday morning 29-20. Today the championship takes place at 12:30 pm at Williams Arena.

PRO SIGNING
Former SW MN State player Michelle Bruns has signed to play basketball in Sweden. Bruns has been an assistant at Adams State in Colorado. She is from Hecla, SD.

PRO FANS
The StarTribune looks at the Lynx attendance and why there aren't more fans in the stands.

Next up: more news

The Week that Was #17: Differentiating

#6 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #17: DIFFERENTIATING
This was the second big week of the summer events around the nation. The power teams continued their strong showing throughout the country. NC Heat won the diamond bracket in the River City Classic before falling to the eventual champ Cal Swish Black. Nebraska’s CSS Bison took revenge on IBCA Select Red in the Battle of the Plains. North Tartan finished second in the Super Soph Invite in Orlando despite not being at full strength. In the best of the Midwest MN Stars Jihad (Lady Cats) took that title.

Next up is the final event week of July with the North Tartan Meltdown at Bloomington Kennedy and more tournaments in Chicago. Nike Nationals start Sunday. There are events in Las Vegas and in Cincinnati too. The MIT takes place this weekend. The summer ends next weekend with the Sweet 16.

DIFFERENTIATING
While watching a bazillion players over the course of a weekend, many times the players start to morph into one faceless mass. I am sure if after a contest I asked the players if they worked hard they all would say yes. However there are some players that out work the rest. They are the ones that snap my head, rivet my eyes, grab me by the throat and force me to pay attention to their game. I am not talking about wasted motion and energy. Those players are basically spazzes, basically shouting without saying anything worth remembering.
Earlier in the week I linked a couple of articles on talent evaluation. A couple points in case you missed it.
#1. in these events players are basically showing what they can NOT do. Players that are aware of their strengths, play to their strengths-- with great energy, will succeed. Those that experiment or don’t know their limitations will be washed upon the shores of broken dreams.
#2 A player may dominate at one level, but thrown into a new mix with athletes may struggle. It might be shyness, or trying to fit in. Whatever you want to call those players---the invisible, the ghosts, the phantoms-- they are usually the kind of players I have to double check to see if they really were on the floor. I remember one time at Osseo a player wanted to go 5-5 in some of the player evaluations. “5-5?” I said, “right now you disappear in 3-3. Are you in a witness protection program?” Carpe diem my friends.
#3. The higher you climb in the talent ladder, the better the athlete. There are many good athletes, but they may not be good basketball players. I can think of 21 off the top of my head. The thing that will separate a contender from a pretender is the grounding of the basics. It might not be glamorous, but the repetitive grounding of the fundamentals is where champions are forged.
#4. Enthusiasm, and joyful passion can be displayed, but rarely are. That kind of energy draws players. Once upon a time I had a player (Kate Townley) that had that certain Joie de vivre. It was contagious and we had players from other teams every year wanting to be part of that experience. Too often I see players trudge off to the mines like the workers in the movie Metropolis with their hands bowed, shuffling off to what seems to be their execution. Pure joy is rare. Enjoy the whole experience. You have your whole life to be grim.

HISTORY LESSON
The benefit of doing this blog for three years I can now look back and compare the past players and games. Here is what has happened at the Minnesota Elite All Star Game the last three years:
2006: Gold beat Maroon 49-43 in overtime. Angel Robinson was named the trench player of the game. Others that played in the contest—Kiara Buford, Cassie Rochel, Alex Montgomery, Leah Dietel, Bri Zabel
2007: Gold beat Maroon 58-47. Kelsey Jacobson was named the trench player of the game. Others that played in the contest—Cassie Rochel, Tyisha Smith, Kiara Strickland, Emily Becken, Shelly Stemper.
Earlier today the Gold won for at least the third year in a row 54-42. Erica Gress was the trench player of the game.

Here is the pp100 of the teams
2006 Gold 75.4
2006 Maroon 67.2
2007 Gold 89.2
2007 Maroon 71.2
2008 Gold 88.5
2008 Maroon 68.8
So you can see that 2008 is pretty close to the average only 0.7 behind last year's 89.2 for the winning gold.

FAST FACT:
Did you know that Abby Busch of GFW has played in the All Star game for the third straight year?
Players making their second straight appearance in the All Star game: Megan Waytashek, Annessa Hicks.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Centennial came out and dominated Princeton in the championship at Rogers. Centennial set the tempo and pace early and never looked back. At one point the Cougars led 32-4. Centennial used a deep bench. They also continued their transition game. They have a core group returning. I read in one of the preseason football magazines that New England had an unsuccessful 19-1 season last year. Centennial is looking to rectify their New England situation. This was a convincing step.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Megan Nipe was not at full strength last Saturday, but you would be hard pressed to point out where the flaws were. She had a pp100 of 211.1 and a floor % of .889. Not only a major force and gamer on the offensive end, she also made some hustle plays and used Princeton players to save balls a couple of times. Nipe is aware.

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 possessions
3. Player needs to be north of 100 pp100 and floor % north of .500
4. 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
Rachel Banham, Lakeville North
Erica Gress, Liberty (Apple Valley)
Megan Nipe, Centennial
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Jaime Rust, Esko
SECOND TEAM
Laura Bruce, Lynx (Hopkins)
Roz Chromy, Shock & Esko
Cara Lutes, Fever (New Life)
Megan Waytashek, Sparks & Centennial
Cassie Ziemer, New London-Spicer
THIRD TEAM
Alexa Clausen, Storm (Wayzata)
Sam Dengerud, New Ulm Cathedral
Josie Dillon, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Jen Field, Maple Grove
Hannah Steele, Centennial

DEFENSIVE TEAM
This is truly a team of warriors and winners. They fought tooth and nail for every loose ball. They threw their bodies into the fray with abandon. They are willing to taste hardwood going for a ball. All that they get is another floor burn for their hustle. All these players are willing to go through the wall if it will help the team win.
If you want to know the defensive wraps, as I have looked at it, indicate which players are more aggressive. Wall flowers and mall girls need not apply. These are the True Trench players. They have your back.

The first among equals this week is Jade Geif of Lakeville South. She is lanky, long and can defend both in and out. She has good leaping ability. Constant effort is her tune. She deflects passes, making life miserable for perimeters. On the inside she is physical enough to play bigger than her listed 6-0.
FIRST TEAM
Abby Busch, Sun (GFW)
Mariah Clarin, Sparks & Princeton
Jade Geif, Fever (Lakeville South)
Chiamaka Okonkwo, Osseo
Bridget Schuneman, Lynx (Centennial)
SECOND TEAM
Ashley Allevan, Monarchs (Fairmont)
Sarah Bingea, Storm (Delano)
Stormy Nesbit, Lynx (Roseville)
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Cassie Ziemer, New London-Spicer

DISTRIBUTOR
Kelli Rengo was the engine driving Esko. Last Saturday she had the Eskomos running on high octane. She got the ball to the posts and had 10 assists for the day. Rengo’s contributions to the 131.8 pp100 and .614 floor % need to be acknowledged.
FIRST TEAM
Justine Dammerman, New London-Spicer
Annessa Hicks, Mystics (St. Paul Humboldt)
Kelli Rengo, Esko
Hannah Steele, Centennial
Kaiya Sygulla, Lakeville North

NEWCOMER
Esko's Jaime Rust is another player that dominated on Saturday at Rogers. She too topped the 200 pp100 mark which doesn't happen too often when scoring 17 points. Rust was a well oiled scoring machine inside. She was able to score when hit and formed part of a dual post offense with Roz Chromy.

Remember to be a newcomer I need to see the player for the first time that week.

You can find the whole summer award winners here.

POLLS
19sAAU
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. North Tartan Larson
3. Team WI Select Samuels
4. Nebraska CSS Bison
5. IBCA Select Red
6. MN Stars Borowicz
7. Metro Stars Black
8. Nebraska Twisterz
9. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
10. Sioux Falls Warriors
11. Metro Stars White
12. Kansas City Hustle
13. All Iowa Attack Red
14. Fury15. Iowa Elite
16. MN Stars Smith
17. IBCA Select White
18. North Tartan Crosby
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. MN Suns Arbogast
4. All Iowa Attack Red
5. Team Iowa
6. Metro Stars
7. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
8. Fury
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. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs

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

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

SUMMER LEAGUE
School, Summer League
1. Lakeville North, LNSL
2. Hopkins, LNSL
3. Minnetonka, CPSL
4. Minnehaha, CSPSL
5. Eastview, LNSL
6. Maple Grove, CPSL
7. Champlin Park, CPSL
8. White Bear Lake, CSPSL

Next up: tomorrow

NC Heat Falls

#4 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

RIVER CITY RESULTS
NC Heat lost to Cal Swish Black in the semis of the River City Classic. Here are the final results. They will name their all tournament later.

Next up: the week that was.

Minnesota Elite Camp: All Star Game

#4 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP ALL STAR GAME
GOLD 54, MAROON 42

The Gold beat the Maroons in the Minnesota Elite Camp All Star game 54-42. The Golds used an 8-0 run to start the second half to build a 36-25 lead and maintained that advantage the rest of the way. The Golds had five players with five or more points led by Erica Gress with 11. Alyssa Hagen added 10 for the Golds behind three 3s. The Maroons only had two players with more than five points. Maroon Megan Waytashek led both teams with 18 points.

If you look at the numbers down below you will see that the Maroons had the leading scorer (Waytashek), leading D stops (Ashley Allevan) and leading assister (Annessa Hicks). They also had more D stops and assists as a team. So where did it fall apart for the Maroons? Part of the explanation is the offensive boards. The Golds had 18 points on second chancers compared to 12 for the Maroons. Some of the answer is in the turnover totals. The Golds held a five point advantage on that fact. The main culprit was the droughts. After scoring on their first two possessions the Maroons failed to score on the next 8. To start the second half the Maroons were shut out seven times. The Maroons had to endure another 7 drought later in the second half. That was part of a longer 1/13 stretch.

The Golds behind aggressive rebounding took control early 12-4. Erica Gress had the first four points for the Golds. The Maroons weren't the only team to stumble on offense. The Golds had an 8 possession drought in the first half. The Maroons took advantage of that down time with a 10-0 run. The Maroons were scoring at a 7/8 sequence in a 13-2 stretch. If they kept that up the entire game they would be stroking at 162.5 pp100. Without that portion of offense the Maroons would have been checking in with a cold 54.7 pp100. Leading the charge was Megan Waytashek with six points in the burst. The biggest Maroon lead came at 21-16. Four straight Golden scores put them up to stay. Alyssa Kerkhoff scored on a second chancer for a 24-23 lead. By half time Gold led 29-25. Again it was Erica Gress that closed the half with five points including an &1.

The drought at the start of the second half proved to be fatal for the Maroons. Gold scored four straight possessions again. This time Michelle Starkweather delivered five straight Golden points. The Maroons did cut the margin to 41-34 after a pair of free throws by Sam Waletich with 14 minutes left in the game. On the very next Gold possession Alyssa Hagen drilled a trey, her second of three, and the Golds were up 44-34. This is when the next Maroon drought struck. With under four minutes to go Gold led 54-36, again after a Hagen three. That was to be the end of the Gold scoring. Maroon closed the game with six unanswered points which made the score 54-42.

Odd fact: Gold had three pairs of teammates: Apple Valley, Lakeville South and NRHEG (a combo school south of Owatonna). The Maroons only had one pairing--Fairmont.

There was a second all star game going on at the same time. I don't have the numbers on that since I was charting the first all star game. I do have all the photos of the All Stars down below.
Here are the camp winners:
Event, player, school
1 on 1: Erica Gress, Apple Valley
3 point shooting: Rachel Leitz, Champlin Park
3 on 3: Rachel Leitz, Champlin Park; Kendra Harris, Cretin-Derham Hall; Heather Kamps, Stillwater
team champ: FEVER
Jolene Blood, Irondale
Stephanie Comer, Minnetonka
Kelsey Erickson, Mora
Caitlin Gangelhoff, Bemidji
Kayla Gill, New Prague
Mindy Howard, Pequot Lakes
Megan Lueck, Winona
Cara Lutes, New Life
Amaber Mehr, Eastview
Teresa Thour, Wayzata
Jade Geif, Lakeville South

You can see the entire All Star game photo gallery, plus the entire all star rosters, and camp winners at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key, player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
GOLD
STARTERS
Alyssa Kerkhoff, NRHEG 6, 4, 150.0, .500 point guard. speedy. has quick hands. made a very nice save with her leaping ability at midcourt.
Erica Gress, Apple Valley 11, 12, 91.7, .417 post player. plays at least two inches bigger than frame. is a warrior especially on the offensive boards. Establishes the tone of the game with her effort.
Abby Busch, GFW 4, 7, 57.1, .286 a perimeter version of Gress. Seems to be in the thick of things.
Kendra Harris, Cretin-Derham Hall 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000 smaller version of Ashley Ellis-Milan. strong and physical inside.
Roz Chromy, Esko 0, 4, 0.0, .000 is a tweener with decent range.
BENCH
Jade Geif, Lakeville South 4, 7, 57.1, .286 very athletic, active and alert player. Can play defense on both inside and outside. long arms, lanky, good feet. gets off the ground.
Shannon Thompson, Apple Valley 2, 4, 50.0, .250 point guard. quick straight line speed.
Alyssa Hagen, NHREG 10, 11, 90.9, .364 perimeter shooter. made three 3s. however also lives life on the edge with four turnovers, mostly on passing--forcing passes and trying to pass to teammates too far away.
Michelle Starkweather, Lakeville South 5, 5, 100.0, .600 an interesting player not on many radars. She is a 6-0 perimeter player that has range, and moves like a guard. Her ball handling is all right. Made aggressive moves to the basket. Stock, unlike Wall Street, is rising.
Cara Lutes, New Life 8, 5, 160.0, .800 strong 4ish player. can play with back to the basket and facing. good touch, nice left hand move. finishes.

MAROON
STARTERS
Sarah Bingea, Delano 2, 3, 66.7, .333 a tweener. more 4 than 3.
Kate Warmack, East Grand Forks 2, 7, 28.6, .143 strong post. however needs to get in better shape, needs to jump rope and work on vertical. Also needs to use her strength and maintain position. Can do this by getting lower when posting, holding arms up when defenders try to jostle for position. Warmack has good hands, but also needs to make the offensive moves at a faster pace.
Samantha Zopfi, Providence 4, 7, 57.1, .286 perimeter player. nice shooter. made a 3
Sam Waletich, Fairmont 4, 8, .500, .250 point guard. needs to keep elbow tighter to body on dribble. forced some passes
Ashley Allevan, Fairmont 3, 7, 42.9, .286 another warrior type inside. can face the basket and go.
BENCH
Annessa Hicks, St. Paul Humboldt 0, 3, 0.0, .000 small point guard. delivered the ball. got into jams trying to drive among the trees.
Megan Waytashek, Centennial 18, 14, 128.6, .643 a lanky, lean perimeter. has 3 range, runs the floor and the attacking attitude. went to the line four times. likes baseline corner shots. has very good upside.
Mariah Clarin, Princeton 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000 will fight tooth and nail. gives tremendous energy on both ends.
Jessica Benson, Grand Meadow 2, 5, 40.0, .200 perimeter, three point shooter. needs to get more physical and assert herself on offense.
Taylor Stippel, Stillwater 5, 6, 83.3, .500 active, probably more 3ish. made a pull up. not afraid of contact. can also pass.

TRENCH PLAYER
This was a tough call, but call goes out to Erica Gress among many tough players.

BY THE NUMBERS
Gold 54, 61, 88.5, .410
Maroon 42, 61, 68.8, .361
made 3s/&1s: Gold 4/1; Maroon 1/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Gold 10/13-.769; Maroon 15/21-.714
Turnovers: Gold 14, Maroon 19
bench: Gold 29, Maroon 27

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
GOLD
Jade Geif 7
Alyssa Hagen 5
Alyssa Kerkhoff 4
Kendra Harris 4
Roz Chromy 3
Abby Busch 2
Michelle Starkweather 2
Erica Gress 1
totals: 28

MAROON
Ashley Allevan 8
Sam Waletich 5
Megan Waytashek 5
Mariah Clarin 3
Taylor Stippel 3
Sarah Bingea 2
Annessa Hicks 2
Samantha Zopfi 1
Jessica Benson 1
totals: 30

ASSISTS
GOLD
Abby Busch 3
Alyssa Hagen 3
Kendra Harris 2
Michelle Starkweather 2
Cara Lutes 2
Alyssa Kerkhoff 1
Jade Geif 1
Shannon Thompson 1
Roz Chromy 1
totals: 16

MAROON
Annessa Hicks 5
Taylor Stippel 4
Sam Waletich 3
Ashley Allevan 2
Jessica Benson 2
Kate Warmack 1
Samantha Zopfi 1
Mariah Clarin 1
totals: 19

Next up: the week that was.

Improve Shooting, Scholarship Costs, Brawling Part III

#3 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

IMPROVE YOUR SHOOTING
David Friedman of 20 Second Time Out writes on how Chris Paul improved his shooting. The last paragraph is key.

SCHOLARSHIPS
Mark Hyman has blog called Youth Sports Parent. One of the posts on that blog deals with scholarships and would parents do it all over again if they could. The Dallas Morning News looks at the cost of scholarships.

BRAWL AFTERMATH
The suspensions are in for the WNBA brawl and superstars get special treatment. Candace Parker gets one game off, while bench players get two. Why? Paying fans go to see Parker. If Parker doesn't play, fans don't pay. Casual fans don't pay to see bench players, therefore they can be made an example. To paraphrase George Orwell's Animal Farm "Some players are more equal than others."
Here are some postings on the RebKell's board calling the suspensions a sham, also what is the value of a punch? and Special treatment for Parker.
Rethinking Basketball also looks at which team gets hurt the most by the suspensions.

Next up: later today with one more look at the MN Elite camp, and then the week that was.

Three Verbals, Esko to Finland, Divas Romp

#2 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

VERBALS
Rachel Messer, a shooting guard from ThunderRidge, CO, has verballed Utah. Also verballing Utah is Diana Rolniak, a 6-4 center. Both play with Mile High Magic. From the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Jasmine Godbolt, a 6-0 forward from Garland Naaman Forest, TX, has verballed North Texas. From the Dallas Morning News.

COACHING NEWS
Ryan Larsen has been hired as an assistant at South Dakota. From the Yankton Press & Dakotan.

TRIPS
Esko will travel to Kotka, Finland for a 12 day trip of basketball and sightseeing. Last Saturday Esko won one of the Breakdown Rogers Divisions. From the Duluth News Tribune.

Gopher Katie Ohm is looking forward to seeing the Pantheon during Minnesota's upcoming trip to Italy.

TRANSFERS
Former Mount Vernon player Jessica Deinhart may transfer from Northern State to Dakota Wesleyan. From the Mitchell Daily Republic.

SCHEDULES
Nebraska has released their 2008-09 schedule.

FIBA TOURNAMENT
Marquette coach Terri Mitchell has posted her 5th blog on her experience with the 18u National Team. The Americans beat Venezuela 112-49 in the first game.

NABI TOURNAMENT
The SD BBall Divas beat 100-18 win over Shiprock, NM. From the Rapid City Journal.

SUMMER SCHOOL
Texas State has their new players in class. One of the newcomers is Megan Homan of Remsen, IA.

Next up: one more look at the news

Lady Cats Best in Midwest, Fall League, Midtown Y Results

#1 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MN STARS LADY CATS BEST OF THE MIDWEST CHAMPS
The MN Stars Lady Cats won the Best of the Midwest Tournament by first toasting Madison, WI Bulls Elite 43-31 and then taking care of the Lady Lightening Gold 38- 26 in the championship game. This is the fourth time this Summer the Cats have reached the finals in a National tournament and the second time they've walked away with the Championship.

Tyisha Smith-Mpls. South & Brianna Williams -Hopkins were both selected to the all-tournament team by Tournament coordinator Mac Irvin.

MN Stars Martin reached the championship game but was overwhelmed by Maywood, IL Dribblers 59-38. MSM finished runner up with a 5 - 1 tournament record.

BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
IBCA Blue played KC Lady Pioneers in the Battle of the Plains in Lincoln. The game was competitive for the first half as the contest went back and forth. The game was tied at half time, but KC Lady Pioneers came out shooting threes, must have hit 7 in the 2nd half. The Blues had a dry spell in scoring and was lost 65-40. The KC Lady Pioneers went on the the championship game to win the title in the high school division.

Here are some IBCA photos in the Battle of the Plains with Red, White and Blue teams. Also here are some photos from the Kearney and Chicago tournaments.

FALL LEAGUE
The Breakdown Fall League will now be at Bloomington Kennedy instead of Lakeville South. Due to the amount of teams that will be participating and interest level, we need to have the 8 wood courts. Becker is remaining the same. Interested teams should contact us right away if they are planning to participate. 9th, SO/JV, and Varsity divisions.

Also, we will be running a 7th and 8th Grade Fall League in STMA HS and Middle School. This is also at the request of many organizations. Both League will be sponsored by the Minnesota T-Wolves and Lynx.

You can go to our website or here is the registration forms for the Fall League and the 7th-8th Grade League.

MIDTOWN YWCA RESULTS
Here are this week's Midtown YWCA results
5:00 pm games
Whirled Peas - 51, Carleton - 46
Sweet Sensation - 64, UW Superior - 41
MSU Purple - 52, UST #2 - 30
5:55 games
St. Mary's - 61, GAC #1 - 54
Concordia St. Paul - 78, Anoka-Ramsey - 36
MSU Gold - 77, Augsburg - 22
6:50 Games
UM Crookston - 54, Northwestern - 46
7:45 Games
Northern St. - 56, St. Kate's - 36
UW River Falls - 58, The Hub - 54 (overtime)
8:40 Games
St. Cloud St. - 64, St. Cloud/Mankato Alumni - 54
The Finishers - 83, Hamline - 46
9:35 Games
GAC #2 - 47, St. Olaf - 35
St. Ben's - 58, UST #1 - 45

Next up: more news

First & Second

#7 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NC HEAT WINS MEMPHIS
NC Heat beat Mission Rec Blue to take the Diamond Division in the River City Classic. They will now play the platinum winners Cal Swish Black tomorrow morning.
No other details available.

NORTH TARTAN 15S 2ND
North Carolina flight beat North Tartan 15s 71-51 in the finals of the Super Soph tournament in Orlando.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Bison Revenge, NC Heat, Super Sophs, Stars in Chicago, Nike Nationals

#6 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
Elite Championship--NE Bison CSS 59 IBCA Red 55
The Bison avenged a previous defeat to IBCA by defeating them in a thrilling championship game. Leading scorers were Taylor Moore from Milford with 14 and KK Houser from Lincoln Southeast with 13. The Bison Overcame a 12 point deficit to defeat the Iowa AAU State Champs. IBCA Select Red won the Dakota Showcase in late June.

In the semifinals NE Bison CSS beat MO Team Excel 55-33. Emily Cady from Seward had 21 and Marissa Kastanek from Lincoln Southeast had 10 to lead the Bison.

Elite 7th Place Game
NE Judds CSS 63 Kansas Dream Team 57
Kyley Simmons (Council Bluffs Lewis Central) had 17, and Morgan Dority (Lincoln Christian had 11) to lead the Judds.

NE Judds CSS 63 MO Team Excel 67- Double Overtime
Excel edged out the Judds on a last second shot, Alex Grant from Lincoln Pius X had 12, and Rachel Thrash from Omaha Marian had 19 to lead the Judds

RIVER CITY CLASSIC
NC Heat will play for the championship in the River City Classic tonight. They beat High Intensity in the Diamond bracket. They face Mission Rec Blue tonight.

SUPER SOPH
North Tartan 15s are playing for the championship at the Super Soph 16 team tournament in Orlando. NT15 beat Georgia Elite 54-50 for the right to play in the championship. They are facing North Carolina Flight.

BEST OF THE MIDWEST
MN Stars-Martin got by the Lady Fire 60-51 with Phyliss Webb (Park Center) carrying the bulk of the load with 32 points 11 Boards 3 Blocks

Lady Cats moved past the Michigan City Hurricanes 38-24. Aubrey Davis (Bloomington Kennedy) played well with 12pts.
Martin played at 3 pm against Aurora Lady Lightening. The Cats went against the Lady Fire at 2 pm.

NIKE NATIONALS
North Tartan Larson will be headed to the Nike Nationals at North Augusta, SC July 28-31. Joining NTL will be NT15 players Kayla Hirt, Rachel Banham, Bree Holleman, and Ameshia Kearney.
Here is a list of the 24 teams involved in Nike Nationals.

Next up: tomorrow morning.

Minnesota Elite Camp: Sun/Sparks

#5 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP
West vs East
SUN 37, SPARKS 32

The Sun scored the last 8 points of the game to beat the Sparks 37-32. The Sparks didn't connect on their last 14 possessions. This was a physical contest with a lot of jostling, bumping, bodies fighting to establish position. This was reflected in the the pp100s with the Sun at 61.6 pp100. Also the Sparks were only able to score five two point field goals all game. The Sun dominated the free throw line with a nine point advantage there. The Sun bench also was stronger than the Sparks with a 10 point differential. The game within the game featured two similar players working against each other most of the game--Abby Busch of the Sun who had 13 points to lead both teams, and Mariah Clarin of the Sparks who ended up with 8. They were in battles royale all game.

The Sparks struck first with a Shawnna Sperber three, her first and only points for the game. The Sparks led 5-1 when the Sun scored on their 9th possession from the floor, and that a second chancer by Busch. The Sun led 9-8 after a put back by Betsy Smith. The Sparks then took over with 8 unanswered points as the Sun set for nine straight possessions, a continuing feature of this camp. Kayla Thom added three free throws to finish up the scoring to make it 16-12 Sparks at the break.

The Sun shook off their slumbering offensive in the second half with five straight scores as they grabbed the lead 21-19 after a 9-3 run. Karlee Erickson had four points in that run. The Sparks reclaimed the lead at 26-23 with a 7-2 run. The intensity of the game spilled over to the sidelines with the ref stopping play to discus issues with Coach Mayclin of the Sun. Meghan Molitor knocked down a three with nine minutes left to give the Sparks a 32-29 lead. That was to be their final points of the game. They didn't have any spark the last 14 possessions, seven of which were turnovers. The Sun finished up with eight unanswered points with Busch scoring four.

Interesting fact ---only 19 assists (and this is a liberal interpretation) is waaaay to small. The passing on display here has not been stellar. That is one reason the pp100s are fairly low. Good passing leads to easy baskets. It comes down to execution and awareness.

You can see the entire Sun vs Sparks photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
SUN
STARTERS
Amy Van Hulzen, Park Center 5, 7, 71.4, .429 perimeter. went to the line twice.
Kelsie Ammann, Lakeville North 2, 6, 33.3, .167 3 point shooter. led team with assists
Betsy Smith, East Grand Forks 2, 3, 66.7, .333 guard
Michelle Starkweather, Lakeville South 2, 5, 40.0, .200 a six footer that can play on the perimeter. decent frame
Kayla Thom, Mayer Lutheran 7, 11, 63.4, .364 strong frame, inside player. went to the line four times.
BENCH
Lisa Lymburner, Hinckley-Finlayson 0, 4, 0.0, .000 taller perimeter.
Abby Busch, GFW 13, 14, 92.9, .500 a tweener, each possession was a battle with Clarin. it appeared each relished the contact. The more the contact the harder Busch went after the ball. If there was a turnover, Busch redoubled her efforts and just grabbed the ball away from a Spark to score.
Madeline Johnson, Minnetonka 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Alexandria Love, Bloomington Kennedy 2, 6, 33.3, .167 guard
Karlee Erickson, Mora 4, 3, 133.3, .667 guard

SPARKS
STARTERS
Shawnna Sperber, Stewartville 3, 10, 30.0, .100 3 point shooter that went cold after the first shot.
Tess Lueders, Stillwater 3, 5, 60.0, .200 made a three
Mariah Clarin, Princeton 8, 14, 57.1, .286 physical, athletic forward type. a warrior battle with Busch was the highlight of this game.
Meghan Molitor, PACT 9, 10, 90.0, .400 provided hustle on the perimeter. Floor burns a reward for effort on loose balls.
Catavia Jones, St. Paul Central 0, 2, 0.0, .000 post. needs to work on basic offensive skills.
BENCH
Abby Rothenbuehler, Mankato West 0, 10, 0.0, .000 at 6-2 has the height. built for the perimeter, but needs to gain weight. shots not falling. Passes somewhat forced. needs to make a bigger impact on defense.
Abby Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 2, 3, 66.7, .333 guard.
Micaela Trainor, Winona Cotter 7, 4, 175.0, .750 perimeter. knocked down a three. has speed.
Niambi Mitchell, St. Paul Academy 0, 2, 0.0, .000 guard. can jump.

TRENCH PLAYER
Abby Busch, the will to win

BY THE NUMBERS
Sun 37, 60, 61.6, .333
Sparks 32, 60, 53.3, .233
made 3s/&1s: Sparks 6/0; Sun 0/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Sun 13/20-.650; Sparks 4/5-.800
bench: Sun 19, Sparks 9

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
SUN
Abby Busch 8
Amy Van Hulzen 5
Betsy Smith 3
Michelle Starkweather 3
Kayla Thom 3
Kelsie Ammann 2
Madeline Johnson 2
Alexandria Love 2
Karlee Erickson 2
Lisa Lymburner 1
totals: 31

SPARKS
Mariah Clarin 7.5
Meghan Molitor 7
Abby Rothenbuehler 4
Micaela Trainor 4
Tess Lueders 3.5
Catavia Jones 1.5
Niambi Mitchell 1.5
Shawnna Sperber 1
totals: 30

ASSISTS
SUN
Kelsie Ammann 3
Lisa Lymburner 3
Amy Van Hulzen 2
Abby Busch 1
Michelle Starkweather 1
totals: 10

SPARKS
Abby Hoganson 3
Tess Lueders 2
Abby Rothenbuehler 1
Meghan Molitor 1
Micaela Trainor 1
Niambi Mitchell 1
totals: 9

next up: tomorrow morning, unless news breaks

Minnesota Elite Camp: Lynx/Storm

#4 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP
East vs West
LYNX 63, STORM 50

The Lynx held the Storm scoreless for 21 possessions in the first half breaking free from a 14 all tie to calm the Storm 63-50. The Lynx scored 21 unanswered points and had their biggest lead at 35-14. Carly Rothstein had 15 points to lead the Lynx. She was matched by Alexa Clausen of the Storm.

The Lynx led early at 5-0, but the Storm did have an early lead at 9-8. That Storm lead lasted two possessions before the Lynx regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Ellen Edison. The Storm tied the game at 14 on a three by Amy Waterman. Then the Storm disappeared for 21 straight possessions. It may have been due to the morning start time and the players had too much sleep in their eyes to see the basket. There were five turnovers in that stretch, some of the quick, bang bang turnovers where the teams looked like they were playing pinball instead of basketball. On some of their possessions the Storm had multiple clangs at the rim. With no clouds in the sky the Lynx enjoyed a 21 point run. The only reason the drought ended was because Julia Dysthe made a steal, lay up &1. Late in the half the Lynx scored four points in about five seconds as the Storm couldn't get the ball in cleanly against a two person press. At half time it was 39-17 for the Lynx.

The biggest lead for the Lynx in the second half came at 21 points a couple of times, the last time 43-22. Then it was the Lynx turn to go dry. It wasn't as massive as the 21 possession drought, but the 9 possession drought was severe enough to let the Storm think they had a chance to come back. The Storm cut 11 points off the deficit to 43-33 with 11 minutes remaining. The Lynx regained their balance enough to maintain that spread the rest of the way. The Storm was charged up with seven scores in nine possessions. Sam Walletich led the charge with six straight points for the Storm. Sarah Bingea then scored the next four points for the Storm. The score keepers missed a three pointer, only counting it as a deuce so the real final should be 63-50. With that bonus Storm point the margin did drop below double digits with 7 minutes to go after a three by Alexa Clausen. The Lynx had one final push to stretch their margin (on the official scoreboard) 60-45.

At this point of the schedule the remaining four teams were not playing each other, so the Lynx had the benefit of being charted again.

You can see the entire Lynx vs Storm photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
LYNX
STARTERS
Bridget Schuneman, Centennial 9, 12, 75.0, .333 rugged battler inside. nose for the ball.
Carly Jensen, White Bear Lake 5, 10, 50.0, .200 3 shooter. again canned an early shot, but then only had one more the rest of the way.
Carly Rothstein, St. Michael-Albertville 15, 13, 115.4, .538 taller perimeter. quick aggressive. has 3 shot, strong calves.
Ellen Edison, Maple Grove 4, 6, 66.7, .333 handled the point guard.
Kayla Dallmann, ACGC 0, 5, 0.0, .000 the "4"
BENCH
Brooke Karst, Princeton 4, 5, 80.0, .400 scored all her points on second chancers.
Laura Bruce, Hopkins 11, 9, 122.2, .556 can go in and out. put her body on the floor for loose balls. good energy. was able to convert an &1.
Alyssa Kerkhoff, NRHEG 7, 9, 77.8, .333 quick guard.
Stormy Nesbit, Roseville 8, 11, 72.7, .364 very high athletic ability. worth tracking progress during the season. played with abandon. Needs to channel, and polish her fundamental offensive game, keep her balance. needs to focus on her inside game.

STORM
STARTERS
Julia Dysthe, White Bear Lake 6, 17, 35.3, .118 made two & 1s with her steals. needs to be stronger in the half court game.
Sarah Bingea, Delano 8, 13, 61.5, .308 played post. has speed, and looks to drive.
Rachael Moen, Burnsville 2, 6, 33.3, .167 point guard. needs to improve acceleration and speed.
Amy Waterman, Anoka 9, 6, 150.0, .667 more post. deadly at the line.
Alexa Clausen, Wayzata 15, 10, 150.0, .600 3 point shooter. made three on the day. was strong with the ball.
BENCH
Jenna Brekke, NRHEG 0, 8, 0.0, .000 guard
Emily Youngstrom, Cook 0, 7, 0.0, .000 guard
Sam Waletich, Fairmont 11, 11, 100.0, .364 point guard. sparked the rally in the second half. speed and grit. made two 3s.

TRENCH PLAYER
Carly Rothstein

BY THE NUMBERS
Lynx 63, 80, 78.8, .363
Storm 51, 78, 65.4, .269
made 3s/&1s: Storm 6/2; Lynx 3/1
ftm/fta-ft%: Storm 11/Lynx 4/8-.500
bench: Lynx 30, Storm 11

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
LYNX
Bridget Schuneman 9
Stormy Nesbit 8
Carly Jensen 6
Laura Bruce 6
Alyssa Kerkhoff 6
Carly Rothstein 4
Kayla Dallmann 3
Brooke Karst 1
Ellen Edison 1
totals: 44

STORM
Julia Dysthe 12
Sarah Bingea 12
Jenna Brekke 5
Sam Waletich 4
Rachael Moen 4
Amy Waterman 2
Alexa Clausen 2
Emily Youngstrom 1
totals: 42

ASSISTS
LYNX
Carly Rothstein 5
Carly Jensen 4
Ellen Edison 4
Laura Bruce 4
Alyssa Kerkhoff 3
Bridget Schuneman 1
Brooke Karst 1
Stormy Nesbit 1
Kayla Dallmann 1
totals: 24

STORM
Rachael Moen 3
Alexa Clausen 3
Emily Youngstrom 3
Sam Waletich 2
Julia Dysthe 1
Sarah Bingea 1
Jenna Brekke 1
totals: 14

next up: Sun vs Sparks

Brawl Aftermath, More Talent Evaluation

#3 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

BRAWL AFTERMATH
Shock player Cheryl Ford is out for the season with an ACL injury trying to prevent teammate Plenette Pierson from fighting in Tuesday. The WNBA is reviewing the entire incident. From the Detroit Free Press.
Mechelle Voepel of ESPN weighs in on "hot heads," "Bad Girls," and women going down the same "dark path" as the men.

NATIVE AMERICAN BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL
The B-Ball Divas from Pine Ridge, SD are 1-1 in the NABI tournament in Phoenix. From the Rapid City Journal. The results are on the NABI site. Look for team 28. Also team 26 is from SD.

EYE VS NUMBERS PART IV
David Friedman of 20 Second Time Out continues his discussion with Fran Fraschilla on talent evaluation. Today the discussion centers on the difference in talent level from the NBA to college. In other words what works at one level will not necessarily translate to the next level.

Next up: later today with more MN Elite camp information

Memphis Heat, St. Cloud State Interviews, Martin to Ireland

#2 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

RIVER CITY CLASSIC
NC Heat is in the semis of the diamond bracket in the River City Basketball tournament in Memphis. They face High Intensity today.

MIT TOURNAMENT
Crookston will be playing in the MIT tournament in St. Cloud this weekend. From the Crookston Times.

TEAM CAMP
Devils Lake hosted a team camp last weekend. From the Devils Lake Journal.

COACHING NEWS
The St. Cloud Times looks at St. Cloud State coaching candidate Paula Krueger. Krueger is the coach at Colorado Mines now.

Adam Esses has been chosen as the graduate assistant coach at UN Kearney. From the Grand Island Independent.

Joe Eastman has been hired as the girls basketball coach at Marinette, Wisconsin. He once was the girls coach at Marinette Catholic. From the Peshtigo Times.

PRO SIGNING
Jill Martin of Drake has signed to play pro basketball in Ireland. Martin averaged 16.8 ppg last year. Martin played her high school ball at Norwalk, Iowa.

RELEASE
Erica Brown has been released from her LSU letter of intent. She did not qualify academically. From USA Today.

FIBA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Northern Illinois coach Carol Owens is coaching the 18u national team in Argentina.

Next up: more news

Battle of the Plains, Best of Midwest Results

#1 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TOURNAMENT RESULTS
BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
Cornhusker Shooting Stars Results
NE Bison CSS 66 Kansas Hoopsters 47
NE Judds CSS 54 SD Lightning 58
First Round Tournament Elite Division
NE Judds CSS 73 Sanford Center 60

IBCA Blue has a tough match up in the morning. They will play KC Lady Pioneers in the semis, They beat IBCA Blue in Kearney but Blue has been very consistent this tourney in Lincoln and everyone is playing well.

IBCA Red team also won four. IBCA White team lost the first game in pool play and won the next two pool games. They lost the first bracket game.

Here are the high school elite, high school select, and the open results.

BEST OF THE MIDWEST
Stars - Martin 13U & Stars - Lady Cats 15U both won their pools and advance to the Championship round. Martin rolled past Team Summit 55-24, and declawed the Illinois Wolves 45-31. The Cats got going early against Lady Lightning 38-21, and outlasted the very scrappy East Chicago Wolverines 46-33.

Martin plays at 9 am against the host team Lady Fire. The Cats will go at 11 am against Fort Wayne, Ind. All-Stars. The Championship round will be held at the Schuamburg Sports Center

SUNS GREG
MN Sun's-Greg 15U team finished in 2nd place in the classic bracket behind the Florida Rams in Kings Island, Ohio last week at the DI U15 National Tournament. The Rams finished 3rd in the country at last years U14 Nationals. The Sun's had a very strong pool with 3 of the top 9 teams from last year and came out in the classic bracket. In bracket play, they defeated the New Jersey Knights, the Indiana Rebels, the Maryland Lions, and the Tennessee Wings to get to the championship game. There they lost a tough fought battle to a very quick and strong defensive Florida Rams team. This year's Sun's team is very young with 7 players that could play U14 and 1 that could play U13. They will be playing up in the U16 bracket at the North Tartan Melt Down Tournament this weekend.

CAMPING
The Cedar Rapids Warriors will be at the Iowa City team camp this coming weekend and the University of Northern Iowa (where KK Armstrong and Kaitlin Oney will play this fall) team camp the following week.

Next up: more news

Minnesota Elite Camp: Sparks/Monarchs

#5 posting 7.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP
West Division
SPARKS 47, MONARCHS 36

The Sparks ruled the Monarchs 47-36 in a west division match up in the Minnesota Elite Camp Wednesday morning. The Sparks took care of the ball better, and had more chances to score. Sparking the Sparks was Mariah Clarin of Princeton with 10 points. Matching her point total on the Monarchs side was Ashley Alleven.

Both teams had 11 players so the sub patterns made it hard to get into rhythm.

Oddly enough the Monarchs started off with the 10-2 lead as the Sparks started off with a 1/13 sequence. They didn't find the bottom of the basket until their sixth possession. That gave them a bone chilling 15.4 pp100. After that, for the rest of the game, the Sparks were at a much more comfortable 86.8 pp100. The Sparks didn't take their first lead until a put back by Mariah Clarin at 17-16. At the half the Sparks led 21-17 after scoring on their last four possessions.

Both teams needed a GPS device to find the basket at the start of the half. They both combined for 12 empty trips. It lasted quite a bit longer for the Monarchs however. They misfired on their first 10 possessions. The Sparks scored on four straight possessions before the Monarchs found the bottom of the basket. The Sparks led 29-17 at that point. Stretching back to the first half it was a 12-0 run. The Sparks maintained that margin the rest of the way. The biggest lead was 11 at a variety of times.

You can see the entire Sparks vs Monarchs photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com.

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
SPARKS
STARTERS
Micaela Trainor, Winona Cotter 0, 5, 0.0, .000
Abby Rothenbuehler, Mankato West 4, 8, 50.0, .250 intriguing player. has good instincts. quick movements. has perimeter mentality in a 6-2 frame. teammates weren't ready for the ball at times. needs to get stronger and add weight to the frame if she is to compete at the more physical levels of college ball. needs to keep the ball tighter to the body when going up for a shot.
Faith Berg, Fall Creek, WI 6, 10, 60.0, .300 post player, strong frame.
Shawnna Sperber, Stewartville 8, 5, 160.0, .600 point guard. nice 3 point shot.
Tess Lueders, Stillwater 0, 2, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Catavia Jones, St. Paul Central 4, 10, 40.0, .200 raw post. is active defensively. needs to polish offense
Mariah Clarin, Princeton 10, 8, 125.0, .625 flying all over. strong, persistent on the boards. runs the floor with energy. needs to keep vision up when handling the ball.
Meghan Molitor, PACT 7, 6, 116.7, .500 guard
Niambi Mitchell, St. Paul Academy 6, 6, 100.0, .500 guard. deep range
Abby Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 0, 1, 0.0, .000 guard, shot some 3s.
Megan Waytashek, Centennial 2, 5, 40.0, .200 lanky perimeter player. is stronger than Rothenbuehler. needs to take better care of the ball.

MONARCHS
STARTERS
Ashley Alleven, Fairmont 10, 9, 111.1, .556 strong, aggressive player. Listed as post, but may have to be more 3ish post high school. takes the ball hard to the basket.
Hannah Hogenson, Roseau 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Capreice Ogris, Cooper 1, 4, 25.0, .250 point guard. went down with an ankle in the second half.
Alyssa Niss, Fairmont 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Kyli Van Klei, Stillwater 7, 7, 100.0, .571 long frame on the perimeter.
BENCH
Kahla Becken, Centennial 2, 7, 28.6, .143 guard
Hanna Iaizzo, White Bear Lake 2, 5, 40.0, .200 post more 4ish. good feet. active on defense.
Alyssa Hagen, NRHEG 8, 10, 80.0, .400 guard. made a 3, and will also go inside to board.
Whitney Tinjum, Chisago Lakes 4, 5, 80.0, .600 another lanky perimeter
Angela Euerle, Litchfield 2, 8, 25.0, .125
Ashley McAlpine, Princeton 0, 5, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Mariah Clarin

BY THE NUMBERS
Sparks 47, 66, 71.2, .333
Monarchs 36, 66, 54.5, .303
made 3s/&1s: Sparks 3/0; Monarchs 1/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Monarchs 7/12-.583; Sparks 0/0-.000
bench: Sparks 29, Monarchs 18

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
SPARKS
Catavia Jones 6
Mariah Clarin 5.5
Abby Rothenbuehler 4
Tess Lueders 4
Abby Hoganson 3.5
Shawnna Sperber 3
Faith Berg 2
Meghan Molitor 2
Niambi Mitchell 2
Micaela Trainor 1
Megan Waytashek 1
totals: 34

MONARCHS
Hanna Iaizzo 6
Ashley Alleven 3
Alyssa Niss 3
Alyssa Hagen 3
Ashley McAlpine 3
Capreice Ogris 2
Kyli Van Klei 2
Angela Euerle 2
Kahla Becken 1
Whitney Tinjum 1
totals: 26

ASSISTS
SPARKS
Abby Rothenbuehler 3
Shawnna Sperber 3
Tess Lueders 3
Meghan Molitor 2
Abby Hoganson 2
Megan Waytashek 2
Catavia Jones 1
Mariah Clarin 1
totals: 17

MONARCHS
Ashley Allevan 3
Capreice Ogris 3
Ashley McAlpine 3
Alyssa Niss 2
Alyssa Hagen 2
Hannah Hoganson 1
Kahla Becken 1
totals: 15

The action has been updated.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Minnesota Elite Camp: Fever vs Fire

#4 posting 7.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP
East Division
FEVER 42, FIRE 41

Day two of the Minnesota Elite Camp started this morning with a down to the wire contest with the Fever edging the Fire 42-41. Stephanie Comer, fresh off Minnetonka's championship win in the Champlin Park Summer League last night, led the balanced Fever with 8. Reaching double digits for the Fire was Megan Larson of Bemidji who connected for 10.

Despite their names neither team was on fire or had a high fever. As the first game of the day there may have been some cobwebs in the game. The Fire didn't connect until their 7th possession when they trailed 5-0. The pendulum switched over to the Fire's direction with a 9-3 run. The inevitable switch put the Fever back up with a 18-8 run of their own. The Fever was hot during this stretch with a 8/9 scoring sequence. Comer connected on two 3s in this burst of activity. Without that run the Fever's pp100 would have only been 52.2 for the game. The Fire regained momentum with a 8-2 run to close the half, but the Fever reigned 28-25 at the break.

The Fire continued their hot streak by scoring the first three times out in the second half to lead 32-28. The combined run was 15-2 over two halves. Yet another momentum shift occured in favor of the fever with a 13-5 run as they staked out a 41-37 lead. Neither team budged off their numbers for 10 straight possessions. Morgan Mathison edged the Fire closer with a three 41-40. On the next Fever possession Cara Lutes made one free throw with 3:34 to go to make it 42-40. With under 2:30 to go Chelsey Frydenlund made one more free throw for the Fire for the final margin. That wasn't the end of the possessions as each team had one more crack. The Fever milked the clock, in that stretch they had three one and one front ends, three times they missed, twice they got their own rebound. Three on a match is never a good idea. Lauren Graham broke the cycle with a Fire rebound. eventually the ball came back to her and her 3 didn't fall at the buzzer.

You can see the entire Fever vs Fire photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
FEVER
STARTERS
Kayla Gill, New Prague 4, 8, 50.0, .250 perimeter
Stephanie Comer, Minnetonka 8, 7, 114.3, .429 point guard. made a couple 3s in the key push early. needs to convert at the line late in the game. needs to keep hand up, hold follow through
Cara Lutes, New Life 7, 8, 87.5, .500 strong frame, post--more 4ish. scored four points off second chancers
Amber Mehr, Eastview 2, 2, 100.0. .500 youngster. tall perimeter.
Mindy Howard, Pequot Lakes 0, 4, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Megan Lueck, Winona 3, 4, 75.0, .250 perimeter
Jade Geif, Lakeville South 3, 3, 100.0, .667 fast post. active and quick
Jolene Blood, Irondale 7, 7, 100.0, .429 lanky perimeter, looks to drive, quick passer. has 3 range. moves without the ball.
Caitlin Gangelhoff, Bemidji 6, 6, 100.0, .500 did score four points on second chancers.
Kelsey Erickson, Mora 2, 6, 33.3, .167 point guard

FIRE
STARTERS
Chelsey Frydenlund, East Grand Forks 6, 6, 100.0, .500 point guard. will look to shoot 3.
Megan Larson, Bemidji 10, 10, 100.0, .500 jumped center on the opening tip. is more perimeter oriented. has 3 range.
Kirsten Goodroad, Blaine 5, 9, 55.6, .222 lanky perimeter. moves without the ball.
Lauren Graham, Crookston 0, 2, 0.0, .000 post, needs to keep balance when nudged and bumped.
Morgan Mathison, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 3, 2, 150.0, .500 made a three
BENCH
Jaime Birr, Holy Angels 0, 5, 0.0, .000 post, needs to improve quickness. foot speed.
Jessica Benson, Grand Meadow 9, 7, 128.6, .571 lanky perimeter player with nice scoring touch. has 3 range.
Cheyenne Briese, GFW 3, 4, 75.0, .500 guard
Morgan Zabel, Northfield 3, 7, 42.9, .286 active perimeter with a strong frame.
Alison McArthur, Minnetonka 2, 3, 66.7, .333 perimeter

TRENCH PLAYER
Stephanie Comer

BY THE NUMBERS
Fever 42, 55, 76.4, .364
Fire 41, 55, 74.5, .364
made 3s/&1s: Fever 4/0; Fire 4/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Fever 4/11-.364; Fire 7/12-.583
bench: Fever 22, Fire 17

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
FEVER
Kayla Gill 5
Mindy Howard 4
Megan Lueck 3
Jade Geif 3
Cara Lutes 2.5
Caitlin Gangelhoff 2.5
Stephanie Comer 2
Jolene Blood 1.5
Kelsey Erickson 1
Amber Mehr 0.5
totals: 25

FIRE
Morgan Zabel 4
Chelsey Frydenlund 3
Jaime Birr 3
Jessica Benson 3
Alison McArthur 3
Megan Larson 2
Kirsten Goodroad 2
Lauren Graham 2
Morgan Mathison 2
Cheyenne Briese 1
totals: 25

ASSISTS
FEVER
Kelsey Erickson 3
Mindy Howard 2
Jade Geif 2
Kayla Gill 1
Stephanie Comer 1
Cara Lutes 1
Megan Lueck 1
Jolene Blood 1
Amber Mehr 1
totals: 13

FIRE
Chelsey Frydenlund 5
Morgan Zabel 4
Morgan Mathison 3
Jaime Birr 2
Kirsten Goodroad 1
Jessica Benson 1
Cheyenne Briese 1
Alison McArthur 1
totals: 18

next up: Sparks vs Monarchs

Talent Evaluation, Wisdom, Humiliation, & Brawls

#3 posting 7.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TALENT EVALUATION
What is better the eye or the numbers? David Friedman of 20 Second Time Out looks at this question in part three of an interview with Fran Fraschilla.

WISDOM, and HUMILIATION
In another 20 Second Time out article John Thompson gives out 7 pearls of wisdom---points 1, 3, 5, and 7 are definitely good points for players and coaches.

True Hoop looks at joy, understanding and humiliation.

JUST LIKE THE BOYS
There was a brawl in Detroit last night between the Shock and the Sparks. "Malice at the Palace." From the Detroit Free Press.
In case you haven't seen it check out YouTube via ESPN. About 3:37

LATE SIGNINGS
Dickinson State has eight late signees. From the Dickinson Press.

TRIPPING
The Gophers are set to visit Italy later this summer. Coach Pam Borton has been to Italy five times before and will be able to be a tour guide around Florence.

TRANSFER
Tamika Nurse has left Oregon for Bowling Green. She is a 5-8 point guard from Hamilton, Ontario.

MORE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
Here are the CSS Bisons & Judds leading scorers from the Battle of the Plains. From the Omaha World Herald.

MORE ALL STAR
Here is the Aberdeen American News report on the South 81-79 win over the North in the South Dakota All Star game.

SUPER SOPHS
North Tartan 15s are 2-0 in the Super Soph tournament in Orlando. They beat Maryland 90-37 and edged the Kansas Belles 65-64.

Next up: more information

Gravalin's New Job, SD All Stars

#2 posting 7.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COACHING NEWS
Embattled Hankinson coach Shawn Gravalin has resigned and has accepted the girls basketball job at Pelican Rapids. From the Fargo Forum.

Mary Vielbig has been hired as the girls basketball coach at Fowlerville, Michigan. She has had some collegiate coaching experience. From the Livingston Daily.

ALL STAR GAME
The South beat the North 81-79 in the South Dakota All Star Game. Vanessa Johnson of West Central had 16 for the South. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

BREAKFAST CLUB
There are many high schools that have breakfast clubs (basketball early in the morning like 7 am to 9 am). Northfield is one and the Northfield News looks at the action.

OFF SEASON IMPROVEMENT
Acceleration Minnesota started off as a hockey conditioning business, but they have expanded to other sports since speed, strength, and quickness are universally needed in all sports. White Bear Lake players have noticed improvements in their basketball game. From the StarTribune.

PACESETTER WINNERS
Osakis won the 6th grade division in the Minnesota Pacesetter Open tournament on July 12.

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Battles in Lincoln, Chicago, & Alex Summer League

#1 posting 7.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TOURNAMENT RESULTS
BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
Here are some results from the Battle on the Plains in Lincoln, NE July 22nd-24th.
The Bison were 2-0, The Judds 1-1
NE Bison CSS 84, Sanford Center 53
NE Bison CSS 71, IBCA Select White 49
IBCA Select Red 80, NE Judds CSS 51
NE Judds CSS 75 NEN Extreme 52

BEST OF THE MIDWEST-CHICAGO
On Tuesday MN Stars Martin 13U Started out great with a win over the Bolingbrook Panthers W/Jade Martin (Brooklyn Park) leading the way 63 - 35. Stars -Martin will play today at 2 pm & 4 pm at Elgin Community College.

MN Stars Jihad- Lady Cats 15U stumbled out of the blocks against a very game Maywood, IL Dribblers 16U during the Second half the Cats regained their balance and took care of the Dribblers 52 - 40. The Cats will go at 4 & 7 pm at Judson University.

SUMMER LEAGUES
ALEXANDRIA LEAGUE
The Hancock Owls defeated Sauk Centre 3-0 on June 9th with scores of 27-18, 15-10, and 14-10. Bree Holleman led the scoring with 32 points, followed by Hannah Newhouse with 8 points, Lindsie Cunningham with 7 points, Illissa Koehl with 6 points and Kaylee Voorhees with 3 points

On June 11th the Owls defeated Osakis 3-0 with scores of 30-9, 16-10, and 13-9 for an overall score of 59-28. Bree Holleman led the scoring with 31 points, followed by Hannah Newhouse with 6 points, Kendra Schmidgall with 11 points, Illissa Koehl with 7 points, Lindsie Cunningham with 4 points.

On June 16th, the Owls defeated Alex II with scores of 17-15, 15-12, and 23-11 for an overall score of 55-38. Lindsie Cunningham scored 9 points, Kaylee Voorhees-14 points, Aria Walstad - 4 points, Illissa Koehl - 4 points, Lauren Nelson - 14 points, Kendra Schmidgall - 10 points.

On June 18th, the Owls defeated CGB 2-1 with scores of 19-13, 16-17, and 35-13 for an overall score of 70-43. Lindsie Cunningham scored 5 points, Kaylee Voorhees-6 points, Aria Walstad - 3 pts, Kendra Schmidgall - 18 points, Bree Holleman - 23 points, and Lauren Nelson - 15 points.

On June 23rd, Melrose forfeited to the Owls.

On June 25th, the Owls defeated Browerville 2-1 with scores of 17-15, 16-21, and 26-15 for an overall total of 59-51. Hannah Newhouse scored 10 points, Lindsie Cunningham - 7 points, Kaylee Voorhees - 7 points, Lauren Nelson - 9 points, Kendra Schmidgall - 23 points, and Aria Walstad - 3 points.

On June 30th, the Owls played against Brandon-Evansville and picked up their first loss of the summer 1-2 with scores of 24-16, 19-29, and 12-29 for a total of 55-74. We came out strong in the first game and defeated the Chargers 24-16. We only had five girls for the entire night and had to play with four at one point due to an injury in the second game, but the girls gave 110% the entire night. The Owls had an excellent offensive punch with three girls scoring in double figures (Hannah Newhouse - 12 points, Bree Holleman - 19 points, Kaylee Voorhees - 14 points). Lindsie Cunningham knocked down two treys and Kendra Schmidgall scored 4 points and pulled down an impressive 10 rebounds.

On July 2nd, the Owls defeated Bertha-Hewitt 2-0-1 with scores of 20-12, 23-15, and 17-17 for an overall total of 60-44.Bree Holleman led the scoring with 28 points, followed by Lindsie Cunningham with 13 points, Hannah Newhouse with 9 points, Kendra Schmidgall with 8 points, and Lauren Nelson with 1 point. Bree pulled down 7 rebounds followed by Lindsie and Kendra with 6 each.

On Monday, July 7th the Owls played against Alex 1 and lost 1-2 with scores of 20-23, 22-17, and 13-21 for an overall total of 55-61. Bree Holleman led the scoring with 35 points followed by Lindsie Cunningham with 11 points, Lauren Nelson with 7 points, and Hannah Newhouse with 2 points. Bree and Hannah led the rebounding with 7 each followed by Hannah with 6.

On Wednesday, July 9th, Hancock wrapped up the regular league playing against the Minnewaska Lakers and defeated them 2-0-1 with scores of 20-11, 23-23, and 20-11. The Lakers came up the court with four seconds remaining in the second game and hit a trey for a tie. The Owls were really hot from 3 point land in this game and nailed 11 treys. Hannah Newhouse scored 6 points and pulled down 2 rebounds. Bree Holleman scored 24 points (5 treys) and dished out 7 assists and picked up 4 steals. Lindsie Cunningham scored 13 points which includes 4 treys and picked up 2 steals. Kaylee Voorhees scored 8 points (1 trey) and pulled down 6 rebounds. Lauren Nelson scored three points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Kendra Schmidgall scored 9 points (1 trey) and pulled down 2 rebounds. Aria Walstad played outstanding defense and picked off 3 steals and dished out 2 assists.

The Owls tied with Alex 1 for the number two seed; therefore, Hancock was bumped to #3 seed due to head to head competition. The playoff games were best 2 out of 3 competition.

The Owls received a bye in the opening round and then on Monday, July 14th played against Browerville (who beat Alex II). Hancock defeated Browerville 2-0 with scores of 16-13 and 29-8 for a total of 45-21. Hancock had a nice balanced scoring attack with Kendra Schmidgall leading the way with 14 points, followed by Hannah Newhouse with 11 points, Lindsie Cunningham with 11 points, Aria Walstad with 6 points and Kaylee Voorhees with 6 points. The Owls only had five players on this night and they played with a ton of heart and hustle (especially in the second game).

In the semi-finals, Hancock was matched up against Alexandria and defeated them 2-0 with scores of 19-10 and 14-13 for a total of 33-23. This was definitely a defensive battle between both teams. The Owls played some very disciplined basketball in the first game and took excellent care of the basketball. Alex took an early lead in the second game and the Owls trailed the entire game and won on a last second shot when Kaylee Voorhees pulled down a big rebound (with 3 seconds remaining) and threw the ball to Bree Holleman who hit a jumper at the buzzer. Once again, Hancock had several girls reach the scoring column. Hannah Newhouse scored 8 points, Bree Holleman scored 9 points, Lindsie Cunningham scored 2, Kaylee Voorhees scored 6, Lauren Nelson scored 3 points, and Kendra Schmidgall scored 5 points.

The Lady Owls were excited to move into the Championship round against the Brandon-Evansville Chargers. The Owls won the Alex League Title in 2005, 2006, and 2007. This summer they had to settle for Runner-Up. The Chargers have all of their starters returning from last year and have an outstanding team. They defeated the Owls 2-0. Hancock played right with them in the first game until Kaylee Voorhees went down with a knee injury. After that, the wheels kind of fell off the wagon and the Chargers ran away with it in the second game, and we couldn't seem to buy a basket. Kendra Schmidgall led the scoring with 9 points, Hannah Newhouse scored 6 points, Bree Holleman scored 5 points, Lauren Nelson scored 4 points, Lindsie Cunningham scored 2 points, Kaylee Voorhees 2 points, and Illissa Koehl scored 1 point.

The Owls have been playing in Alex League for numerous years. Bob Cunniff runs a very classy league. The teams that participated in Alex League this past year were as follows: Alexandria 1, Minnewaska, CGB, Osakis, Hancock, Sauk Centre, Alexandria II, Melrose, Browerville, Brandon-Evansville, Bertha-Hewitt.

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