The Fall Week That Was: The End

#6 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The end of Fall
Here is the brief summary for the end of fall ball. I now there are games tomorrow, but this is my last Fall Week That Was.
I know fall ball is experimental, a time to test or fine tune things for the winter season. But somehow it all feels artificial. The clock runs even during dead balls. Players sit when during the winter they wouldn't. Players play when in the winter they won't. Players are there, but I get the feeling they aren't fully there. They have other sports and other activities that demand their time. This is a part time league. I can't stand the uniforms. However it did allow me to see some new talent, talent that should make a splash at the start of the fall season. It also gives me the opportunity to see the usual suspects and check their progress.

If you look at the three seasons Winter is my favorite with one game a day, natural rivalries in conferences, real refs, bands--periodically, and fans filling arenas; Spring/Summer--AAU has its obvious appeal in seeing the best against the best throughout the region. And Fall is toward at the end.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Rochester Lourdes was unranked most of last year and they were in unfamiliar territory in the Hiawatha Valley Gold conference. This year they are going to be looking to return to the top perch. The race will be a battle, but they have a good nucleus with post player Laura Melquist and perimeter players that are aggressive and quick. They put out the Holy Family Fire last Sunday.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brittnye McSparron is the motor that drives Eastview. Quick, a slasher, deadly at the line, this point guard is a blur of action. She was able to get to the hole with a quick first step on Sunday. When Eden Prairie held the lead, she had a steady hand in the comeback. Her game is maturing.

FIRST TEAM
Brittnye McSparron, Eastview
Laura Melquist, Rochester Lourdes
Claire Rieder, Rochester Lourdes
Addy Stepaniak, Holy Family
Lauren Wittman, Eden Prairie

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Becca Friestleben, Holy Family
Mishawana Lindsey, Rochester Century
Laura Melquist, Rochester Lourdes
Claire Rieder, Rochester Lourdes
Michelle Tobin, Eden Prairie (captain)

PAST WINNERS
Team....player of the week.....defensive wrap player of the week.
6 Princeton....Alex Crapser, Becker.....Taylor Voss, Albany
5 Mpls South…..Gabby Roberts, Mpls South…..Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
4 Barnum Gold……Kayla Hulsebus, Suns (St. Croix Lutheran)…..Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
3 Centennial White....Jenna Lillemoe, Hopkins....Micah Sater, Centennial White
2 Spartans (MN Stars Showcase)..... Cassie Rochel, Spartans (Lakeville South).....Cassie Rochel
1 St. Paul Central......Megan Howard, St. Paul Central..... Megan Howard

POLL
Since the Breakdown doesn’t have standings or results from previous games, it makes it difficult to track results, especially if I am not there. So I am only going to list the teams that
#1. are above 80 pp100 in the games I have seen in the Breakdown divisions, and
#2 are above .400 floor %.
That will limit the number to only three teams
1 Mpls South
2 Chaska
3 Princeton

TOMORROW
The Northern Lynx plays Princeton with two big future Gophers battling with Amber Dvorak vs Katie Loberg. Game time at 2 pm.
Rogers plays Becker tomorrow at 3 pm

Tomorrow is the last fall game. I will go out one more time, but this is the last fall week report.
Monday the real action starts. I will have special reports from a variety of sources after my general news of the day on Monday.

Next up: tomorrow morning.

The Week That Was #6: Thrillers

#5 posting 11.2.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #6: THRILLERS
This week the action at Becker feature two buzzer beaters, two big second half rallies and one that came up short. Kasandra Barthel, and Kelsey Jacobson beat the clock with their shots and Toni Hall drained a free throw with ticks just left on the clock. The competition kept fans glued to their seat and created a new batch of heroes. However the execution on offense is not up to standards yet. Only Princeton got above 90 in the pp100 index. Nevertheless it will be hard to top the white knuckle ride down the stretch that was week #6.

CLARIFICATION
The Defensive team listed here is based on defensive wraps....how many possessions a player starts for their team whether it is by a defensive rebound, steal, forced turnover or block leading to an offensive possession. It has been my experience that the more aggressive the player, the more defensive wraps they will have. Now they might lunge on defense, leave their feet, foul too much, let their kid score, but they come up with the ball in the end. It is imperfect, but it gives an understanding of who is more aggressive.

VERBAL RACE
With 19 more verbals this week the question becomes----does spring signing even matter any more. It seems as if the rush has started earlier this year. Not many players are left on the shelves. Minnesota, on average, has about 20 players go D1 in a given year. With Courtney Boylan the 19th that means there is only one more spot to 20. There will be more going than 20 this season. But it is starting to feel like a couple of days before Christmas when all the Tickle me Elmo dolls are gone. By my estimation there is about four to five players left to drop in Minnesota.
The race so far
TOTAL GOING
Ohio 44
Minnesota 39
Illinois 23
Indiana 21
Michigan 21
TOTAL GOING D1
Ohio 44
Illinois 22
Indiana 21
Minnesota 19
Michigan 12
TOTAL GOING TO “BCS+1” SCHOOLS
Big East, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, Pac10, and Atlantic 10
Ohio 23
Illinois 12
Minnesota 9
Michigan 8
Indian 6

Fall league is wrapping up. Only two more weeks left. Then the real thing starts in Mid November with a potential epic confrontation the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 24) in the Hamline tournament with Centennial and St. Paul Central (if they both win on Friday) schedule to battle. It will be here sooner than you know.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Princeton had the best execution during the week. They have a good blend of inside with Katie Loberg and outside with Alli Johnson and Nicole Dehn. Trailing with 9 minutes to go by 10 to Staples-Motley they didn’t panic, but kept working their system. They got key rebounds and prevented second chancers. Nothing on offense seemed forced or rushed.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
I am going with Alex Crapser this week. She is totally under the radar with the marquee names at Becker drawing attention, but make no mistake about Crapser can shoot. She is the 3 point zone buster delivering five in the contest against Northern Lynx. And this isn’t just a one time flash in the pan. I have back checked by numbers and in the games I have watched she is over the gold standard of 100 pp100. She gives another scoring option when people are collapsing inside. But her eye and aim are poison.

To make the list I need to see you during the week. You need to make the gold standard of 100 pp100 or floor % of .500 and it doesn’t hurt to win. Players with 4 possessions need not apply.

FIRST TEAM
Kasandra Barthel, St. Michael-Albertville
Laura Bruce, Champlin Park
Alex Crapser, Becker II
Kelsey Jacobson, Moorhead-West Central
Katie Loberg, Princeton
SECOND TEAM
Jazmine Darden, Champlin Park
Amber Dvorak, Northern Lynx (Hinckley-Finlayson)
Hannah Hylla, Albany
Brianna Mastey, Becker II
Cassie Pearson, Staples-Motley

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Kasandra Barthel, St. Michael-Albertville
Nicole Dehn, Princeton
Amber Dvorak, Northern Lynx (Hinckley-Finlayson)
Kassie Hooten, Moorhead-West Central
Taylor Voss, Albany, Captain

PAST WINNERS
5 Mpls South…..Gabby Roberts, Mpls South…..Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
4 Barnum Gold……Kayla Hulsebus, Suns (St. Croix Lutheran)…..Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
3 Centennial White....Jenna Lillemoe, Hopkins....Micah Sater, Centennial White
2 Spartans (MN Stars Showcase)..... Cassie Rochel, Spartans (Lakeville South).....Cassie Rochel
1 St. Paul Central......Megan Howard, St. Paul Central..... Megan Howard

POLL
Since the Breakdown doesn’t have standings or results from previous games, it makes it difficult to track results, especially if I am not there. So I am only going to list the teams that #1. are above 80 pp100 in the games I have seen in the Breakdown divisions, and #2 are above .400 floor %. That will limit the number to only three teams
1 Mpls South
2 Chaska
3 Princeton

GAMES THIS WEEK
11 am Rogers vs Becker II at Becker ct 1
11 am Becker I vs Moorhead-West Central at Becker ct 3
Noon Rogers vs Moorhead-West Central at Becker ct 1
1 pm Lakeville North vs Mpls South at Lakeville South ct 2
1 pm Eastview vs Eden Prairie at Lakeville South ct 4
3 pm Totino-Grace vs Bloomington Kennedy at Lakeville South ct 1

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

next up: tomorrow morning.

The Fall Week That Was #5: Nail biters

#3 posting 10.26.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #5
The action shifted to the Breakdown Fall League as the MYAS and Apple Valley Leagues finished the week before. All the games I saw went right down to the wire. There was playoff intensity in the air. and in the South/Chaska game standing room only crowds to watch the action.

Is there a difference in the leagues? Looking at the pp100 and the games I have seen so far the answer is a qualified yes.
In the MYAS the pp100 and floor % was 81.0 and .369
In the Breakdown 73.4, .377
In Apple Valley 56.6, .283
It should be noted that the Apple Valley numbers are from the first week when there was a lot of rust on players. What is interesting is that the Breakdown floor % is better than the pp100 would indicate. That is due to the missed free throws. It is also due to the abundance of 3s I saw in the last week of the MYAS league.

So far in the fall leagues combined St. Paul Central by far is the top team in pp100 and floor % with 123.0 pp100 and floor % of .607. Only three teams have crossed into the century time zone and only Central is north of .500. 23.3 % of teams could not get higher than .300 in floor %. The average last high school season was 78.6 pp100, and .383 floor %. Again that is AVERAGE, not championship level play.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Minneapolis South juggled a huge bench, didn’t put all their fire power on the floor at once, and still managed to slip by a battle tested Chaska. Chaska is one of a handful of teams that played in two Fall Leagues. South has speed & quickness. Other teams aren’t ready for the onslaught and get caught in situations they don’t enjoy. South feasts off of turnovers and mistakes. Look for the Southerners to be an even bigger factor once all the newcomers are integrated into the system.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
An unsung player, a grunt player, one who toils in the shadows, but now the spotlight is thrown on Gabby Roberts. Roberts didn’t play on any high powered summer team, but she was ready for action on Sunday. Roberts delivered consistent results in the paint. She was in the right spot at the right time. A tad undersized, but plays with ferocity and determination. So much attention is rightly focused on the outstanding perimeter players at South, Roberts seems an afterthought. That would be a mistake. Her hands are good and she isn’t afraid to bang. She made a difference in the Chaska contest. Roberts had the highest pp100 and floor % for the week at 160 pp100 and .800.

How the team is picked. #1 I need to see the player. #2 player has to put up the proper numbers (the gold standard of over 100 pp100 and .500 floor %). #3 It doesn't hurt if your team wins.
FIRST TEAM
Shakila Boler, Bloomington Kennedy
Courtney Boylan, Chaska
Ashley Prather, Lakeville North
Gabby Roberts, Mpls South
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Honorable Mention
Brooke Brown, Chaska
Tayler Hill, Mpls South
Mandy Poke, Richfield

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Shakila Boler, Bloomington Kennedy
Samantha Norenberg, Park-Cottage Grove
Mandy Poke, Richfield
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North, Captain
Jackie Voigt, Park-Cottage Grove
This is the second time this fall that Cassie Rochel is captain of the defensive squad.

PAST WINNERS
Team...player....defensive
4 Barnum Gold……Kayla Hulsebus, Suns (St. Croix Lutheran)…..Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
3 Centennial White....Jenna Lillemoe, Hopkins....Micah Sater, Centennial White
2 Spartans (MN Stars Showcase)..... Cassie Rochel, Spartans (Lakeville South).....Cassie Rochel
1 St. Paul Central......Megan Howard, St. Paul Central..... Megan Howard

POLLS
This is what I could garner down at Lakeville South. I have no results from the Northern end at Becker. The MYAS/Apple Valley teams will not be in this poll
1. Mpls South
2. Chaska
2. Eden Prairie
3. Eastview
4. Lakeville North
5. Bloomington Kennedy
6. Richfield
7. New Prague
8. Totino-Grace
9. Park-Cottage Grove
10. Farmington

THE WEEK AHEAD
Games of note this weekend
Schedules for weeks 3, 4, and 5 are available for the Lakeville South and Becker Divisions.
9am New Prague vs Farmington at Lakeville South ct 2
11am Totino-Grace vs Lakeville North at LS ct 2
11am Eden Prairie vs Mpls South at LS ct 5
1pm Rogers vs Albany at Becker ct 1
1pm Becker II vs Moorhead at Becker ct 3
2pm Albany vs Moorhead at Becker ct 3
3pm Becker I vs Northern Lynx at Becker ct 2
6pm Chaska vs Kennedy at LS ct 1

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

next up: tomorrow.

Fall Week That Was: Treys Bien

#2 posting 10.18.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE FALL WEEK THAT WAS #4:TREY BIEN

It was raining 3s last Sunday in the fall girls basketball games I witnessed with 7 made by Barnum vs Goodhue; 5 made by Diamond Lane in Midtown Lady Monarch's win over Forest Lake Maroon; and 17 total in the Suns vs Henry Sibley contest. Kayla Hulsebus struck for six for the Suns. A lot of these players I saw on Sunday have yet to lace up their sneakers in varsity competition. Not only will some of these players see court time, they will be making an impact. Youngsters for the Midtown Lady Monarchs and some of the Suns, I predict will create waves.

Beyond that I saw a couple more teams that I didn't report on because I got there late. A tight game featuring the Heat (a multiple school team from the Rochester Area) and Farmington at the Red Division at Henry Sibley was won by the Heat 29-24 in an intense game down to the wire. Later the Heat lost to the Cougars 33-30 making a tie with Farmington (or the Lady Lightning).

Last Sunday also marked the end, and the beginning. The MYAS and Apple Valley Fall Leagues wrapped up their sessions. The Breakdown opened their fall season at Lakeville South and Becker.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Barnum has a potent inside out combination with former perimeter Megan Myhre now playing with her back to the basket. The appropriately named Bombers have sharpshooters from every angle on the outside. Their back story from last year was a disappointing loss in the 7A semis to Bigfork after finishing 3rd in the 2006 Minnesota State A tournament. They will be looking to get back to the main event in March. They were the most efficient team last week with a pp100 of 104 against previously undefeated Goodhue. Goodhue also will be playing deep in March. So the 20 point victory was convincing against a quality opponent.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
This is a player that hasn't played varsity yet, but I am sure will be seeing plenty of minutes this winter: Kayla Hulsebus, St. Croix Lutheran. Hulsebus has her three point stroke down with six in the game against Henry Sibley. She runs the floor well and scored in transition. She also was a force on defense getting a double double with 10 defensive stops to go along with her 24 points. In her game she had a week high 150.0 pp100 and a floor % of .563.

FIRST TEAM
Katie Ahlstrom, Henry Sibley
Kayla Hulsebus, Suns (St. Croix Lutheran)
Diamond Lane, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
Megan Myhre, Barnum
Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
HONORABLE MENTION
Gina Lange, Forest Lake Maroon
Anna Ramboldt, Goodhue
Molly Steele, Forest Lake Maroon

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Elaine Garcia, Henry Sibley
Jade Geif, Suns (Lakeville South)
Kayla Hulsebus, Suns (St. Croix Lutheran)
Gina Lange, Forest Lake
Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle) captain

PAST WINNERS
Team...player....defensive
3 Centennial White....Jenna Lillemoe, Hopkins....Micah Sater, Centennial White
2 Spartans (MN Stars Showcase)..... Cassie Rochel, Spartans (Lakeville South).....Cassie Rochel
1 St. Paul Central......Megan Howard, St. Paul Central..... Megan Howard

POLL
1. St. Paul Central
2. Centennial White
3. Hopkins
4. Osseo White
5. Rascals
6. Centennial Red
7. Suns
8. Barnum
9. Midtown Lady Monarchs
10. Redhawks

GAMES THIS WEEK
BREAKDOWN LEAGUE
SOUTH
10 am Park-Cottage Grove vs Lakeville North
11 am Chaska vs Minneapolis South
NORTH
9 am Becker I vs Becker II
10 am Becker I vs Moorhead
10 am Becker II vs Albany

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

next up: tomorrow morning.

The Fall Week That Was #3

#3 posting 10.12.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE FALL WEEK THAT WAS #3
There is only one week left in the MYAS and Apple Valley Fall Leagues. This week the Breakdown tips off their Fall Leagues at Lakeville South with 26 varsity teams and Becker with 30. The North end (at Becker) will have teams from as far away as Moorhead, and the Northern Galaxy. The South side (at LS) has teams from Rochester and Plainview involved. The Breakdown on the Breakdown is as follows
North
30 varsity teams (8 AAAA, 13 AAA, 7 AA, 2 A) The Mississippi 8 (or 9 if you add in Zimmerman) has all 9 teams in attendance. There are 5 state tournament teams from 2007 there.
South
26 varsity teams (18 AAAA, 4 AAA, 4 AA, 0 A) The Lake conference has 8 of 10 teams there. There are 5 state tournament teams from the 2007 season there.

Teams doubling up with MYAS and the Breakdown include: Burnsville, Chaska, Mpls South (a portion of their players), Kennedy, and Blaine.

VERBAL LISTING
7 more verbals throughout the area were given in the last week. The week before there were 13.
By my count there should be about 13 more D1 verbals to drop in Minnesota putting the total for the year at 25. That is about three more than normal.
Minnesota has 12 so fall in 2008 to D1, Iowa 10, Michigan 9, Wisconsin 6, South Dakota 3, Nebraska 2 and North Dakota 1.
Adding other States Ohio is far and away the leader at 37, Indiana at 15, and Illinois at 14.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
A split squad wins this honor: Centennial White. They edged out their sisters Centennial Red in the first game Sunday at Blaine. After a slow start in the first half, CW hit their stride. They made use of the long ball and checked in with a pp100 of 98.2 the tops for the week. CW also found gold at the end of the rainbow with 9 treys on the day. CW alone during the high school season would be formidable, but they will add the Red squad for the deepest team in the state by far. CW players include Megan Nipe, Kayla Blom (who recently verballed Sioux Falls), Bridget Schuneman, Micah Sater, Emily DeWitt, Holly Hofland, Amanda McAuley, and Marissa Rosebear.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jenna Lillemoe delivered threes at critical junctures and helped lift Hopkins out of the offensive doldrums in a win over previously undefeated Osseo White. Lillemoe had 14 points with three 3s. She had the highest pp100 for possessions over 7 for the day at 155.6 plus a floor T of .667. Long arms make it difficult to pass around her on the perimeter. She is taking care of the ball, and her stroke is cashing in with the sound of swishing nets. Lillemoe's sister Kaitlyn plays at Yale.
It also marks the first time this fall that the player of the week did not come from the team of the week, or was the defensive player of the week.

photo: Lillemoe launches a shot over the hand of Briana Olson of Osseo last Sunday at Armstrong. photo by kja

How to make the team. #1 I have to see the player during the week (or weekend in this case). #2. player has to have minimum attempts/possessions. I will not name a player Player of the Week if they only have two possessions. #3 winning helps.

FIRST TEAM
Jenna Lillemoe, Hopkins
Megan Nipe, Centennial White
Tyisha Smith, Rascals (Mpls South)
Megan Waytashek, Centennial Red
Jennie Sunnarborg, Osseo White
SECOND TEAM
Sammi Butler, Osseo White
Kayla Blom, Centennial White
Taylor House, Maple Grove #1
Jenny Houle, Rascals (Mpls South)
Hanna Muegge, Hopkins

DEFENSIVE TEAM OF THE WEEK
For the first time this fall the winner is not the Player of the Week. Micah Sater picks up the honor for her defensive board work.
Brianna Olson, Osseo White
Micah Sater, Centennial White, captain
Bridget Schuneman, Centennial White
Tyisha Smith, Rascals
Brianna Williams, Hopkins

PAST WINNERS
2. Spartans (MN Stars Showcase).....Cassie Rochel (Lakeville North) Spartans....Cassie Rochel
1. St. Paul Central......Megan Howard, St. Paul Central..... Megan Howard

POLL
1. St. Paul Central
2. Centennial White
3. Hopkins
4. Forest Lake Maroon
5. Centennial Red
6. Suns
7. Osseo White
8. Kennedy
9. Barnum Gold
10. Goodhue

KEY GAMES THIS WEEKEND
MYAS
10:05 am Barnum Gold plays Goodhue at Concordia St. Paul. Both teams are undefeated in the Pink Division. Both are Class A powers. Barnum is beating teams by 27.5 ppg, Goodhue is beating teams 23 ppg. Something has gotta give.
12:15 pm Forest Lake Maroon plays Midtown Lady Monarchs in Forest Lake. Both teams have not lost.
1:20 pm Centennial Red plays the Rascals in Blaine. Rascals are undefeated, CR's only loss to CW.
3:30 pm Centennial White plays the Rascals in Blaine. CW undefeated.
APPLE VALLEY
3:30 pm Woodbury plays Cretin-Derham Hall at Apple Valley
BREAKDOWN
Interesting match ups at Lakeville South
9 am Park-Cottage Grove vs Eastview
10 am PCG vs Eden Prairie
10 am Eastview vs Lakeville North
Noon: Totino-Grace I vs Mpls South
At Becker
11 am: Becker II vs Moorhead
unfortunately I can't be everywhere at once. I will need game reports.

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

next up: tomorrow unless news breaks

The Fall Week That Was #2

#4 posting 10.5.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE FALL WEEK THAT WAS #2
The Showcases topped the agenda last weekend with players from as far away as Kansas and Michigan taking part in the dueling events. Fortunately both events were in the same neighborhood meaning I got to see about half the totals for each. Both events had strong players, the difference was the MN Stars event had 16 teams, while North Tartan had 7.

Both events had players that have not had a lot of varsity experience and that showed up in the numbers when I analyzed performance. No more was it going against the same age group. Now it was head to head with All State caliber players. A lot of the 11s and 12s got baptized into the real heavy duty world of hoops. Now is the time for the youngsters to ramp it up before the real events start in the winter.

Missing in action was a lot of the 2008 class. Either they have already made choices, or they had fall sports conflicts. These events, despite a few players coming in from out of state, were primarily metro oriented. For example the Badgers in the MN Stars event had 11 players, 10 of which were Metro based. The Blue Devils, also at the stars was 9 for 11. For Team One at North Tartan the numbers were similar with 7 of 9 Metro oriented.

Again both organizations treated this reporter well. Thanks to both.

WISH LIST
uniforms with numbers on the front & back.
uniforms with clear, contrasting, readable numbers

TEAM OF THE WEEK
The Spartans were the only team that cracked the gold standard of 100 pp100. So they get crowned team of the week. They had inside (Cassie Rochel) and outside (Kelsie Ammann and Tanya Dickey). It is hard to throw players together and have them execute. Many times there is miscommunication or no communication. Many times players aren't aware of the tendencies of their new found teammates. This team recognized open players and they delivered.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
6-4 Cassie Rochel delivered at both ends in the game I watched with a double double in points and wraps. Not only does she have height, but she also runs the floor very well and can finish off a break. Long arms make it difficult to shoot around her. Nice hands. Is showing more aggressive offensive attitude. All this going against a player that is three inches bigger (Amber Dvorak). She is a game changer on both ends.

How the teams were selected: for those unfamiliar #1. I had to see the player during the course of the week. That meant many players at both events were left off the list. #2 player had to have more than five possessions. #3 Winning goes into the equation.

FIRST TEAM
Kelsie Ammann, Lakeville North, Spartans-MN Stars Event
Leah Dietel, Jordan, Wildcats-MN Stars Event
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North, Spartans--MN Stars Event
Theairra Taylor, St. Paul Central, Gophers----MN Stars Event
Brittany Thiesfeld, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Tar Heels---MN Stars Event
SECOND TEAM
Abby Busch, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, Gophers--MN Stars Event
Brooke Brown, Chaska, Team 5--North Tartan Event
Jennifer Dowd, Rogers, Gophers--MN Stars Event
Emily Kaus, Eastview, Cyclones---MN Stars Event
Reyan Robinson, Becker, Team 5---North Tartan Event

DEFENSIVE TEAM
T-Yanna Devericks, West Central, SD, Wildcats, MN Stars Event
Sam Ostarello, Stanley County, SD, Team 7, North Tartan Event
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North, Spartans, MN Stars Event--captain
Theairra Taylor, St. Paul Central, Gophers, MN Stars Event
Shannon Thompson, Apple Valley, Tar Heels, MN Stars Event
This is the second week Theairra Taylor has made both lists

PREVIOUS WINNERS
team-Player of the Week-Defensive Player of the Week
St. Paul Central----Megan Howard, St. Paul Central----Megan Howard

FALL BALL RANKINGS
1. St. Paul Central
2. Centennial White
3. Hopkins
4. Woodbury
5. Centennial Red
6. Osseo White
7. Forest Lake Maroon
8. Suns
9. 43 Hoops
10. Barnum Gold

BEST GAMES ON TAP SUNDAY, OCT 7
9:00 am Centennial White vs Centennial Red at Blaine
10:05 am Rascals vs Maple Grove #1 at Blaine
12:15 pm Hopkins vs Osseo White at Armstrong
1:20 pm St. Paul Central vs 43 Hoops at Kennedy
1:20 pm Midtown Lady Monarchs vs River Falls, WI at Forest Lake

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

next up: tomorrow

The Fall Week That Was #1

#4 posting 9.28.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE FALL WEEK THAT WAS #1
This will be on ongoing feature this fall with player of the week, team of the week, and polls.

Fall leagues are a little more structured than summer leagues. They do have similarities. The big one is everybody plays, and it is usually close to equal time. Once winter ball tips off that equality will go out the window.
How important is Fall Ball? For those that haven't played much it is a chance to polish some skills before the winter curtain goes up. For those that haven't played with the last year's starters, it is a chance to mesh, get the "chemistry" down. It is a chance to compete with real refs.

TWO LEAGUES, MANY DIVISIONS
MYAS has divisions and multiple sites. Apple Valley is independent with one site....well two if you count the Hill-Murray site this week. Both leagues have running time halves with free throw attempts.
The MYAS divisions seem arbitrary. Not all the best teams are in the Blue division. It seems MYAS went to a regional based system this year. So many of the divisions are close to conference lists. I don't know if you want to keep on playing the same teams over and over and over.
Also there is the split team phenomenon. Last year Centennial, and St. Paul Central pulled off the feat. Centennial again this year is able to do it. However more teams are trying it and they are watering down their talent pool. Central is back to one team and it is a powerhouse.
The games at Kennedy had three teams humming near the gold standard of 100 pp100. The AVFL had teams that struggled on offense.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
For two lights out performances it is St. Paul Central. They held Owatonna and Holy Angels to 34 and 35 points each. Their offense doubled up those totals. All this without the services of Georgie Jones who was on her official visit to Marquette. Against Owatonna, a team that will contend for the Big 9 and 1AAAA titles this winter, SPC clocked in at 123 pp100. They moved with a greater sense of urgency or something to prove after the performance at the Sweet 16 where they struggled out of the gate. SPC was ready right from the tip in these games.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Again we turn to SPC for this award and many could claim it, but it goes to Megan Howard for a combined performance at both ends. She ended up with a pp100 of 175 with 14 points, and had 9 defensive stops, tied for the most stops this weekend. Howard is a hard hat player that gets overshadowed by the flashier personal that surrounds her. She does the grunt work that is necessary for winning.

photos: Howard takes a shot behind an Owatonna defender. photo by kja

first team
Courtney Boylan, Chaska
Tasha Garrett, St. Paul Central
Megan Howard, St. Paul Central
Theairra Taylor, St. Paul Central
Brittany Travis, Chaska
Honorable Mentions
Kiara Buford, St. Paul Central
LaRocque, St. Paul Humboldt
McDonald, St. Paul Humboldt

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Courtney Boylan, Chaska
Erica Gress, Apple Valley
Megan Howard, St. Paul Central
McDonald, St. Paul Humboldt
Theairra Taylor, St. Paul Central

POLLS
1. St. Paul Central 2-0
2. Centennial White 2-0
3. Hopkins 2-0
4. Woodbury 2-0
5. Centennial Red 2-0
6. Osseo White 2-0
7. Bloomington Kennedy 2-0
8. 43 Hoops 2-0
9. Forest Lake Maroon 2-0
10. White Bear Lake 2-0

THIS WEEK'S GAMES KEY GAMES
10:05 at Kennedy White Division ----Bloomington Kennedy vs St. Paul Central, a rematch of the championship game in the Concordia St. Paul Summer League won by Kennedy.
10:05 at Forest Lake Green Division----White Bear Lake vs River Falls, WI. Both are undefeated.

5:30 at Hill-Murray AVFL----Woodbury vs Eagan
Also on Saturday their are two showcase events: North Tartan hosts their event at 43 Hoops; and the Minnesota Stars will be at Hopkins High School.

Next up: tomorrow morning.