Redeem Team, All Star Analysis, Family Vacations

#2 posting 8.7.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

REDEEM TEAM
I know it is the men's team, but you can look at video on how they put together the Men's Olympic team this year. There are 14 video features including Leaders and Off Court Preparation. From 20 Second Time Out.
Here is the entire TV Olympic basketball schedule for both men & women.

PLAYER ANALYSIS
Rethinking Basketball looks at All Star selections based on popularity or based on performance.

SIGNING
Marshall has signed Keona Brooks of SW Tennessee CC in Memphis. The 6-0 junior averaged 7.1 ppg last year.

INTRODUCTIONS
New Wisconsin assistant women's basketball coach Oties Epps introduces himself in a blog entry.

VACATIONS
In the "Ask the Badgers" sequence the question is "what is your favorite family vacation?" Alyssa Karel and Tara Steinbauer have their answers.

RENOVATIONS
Purdue's Mackey Arena is under renovation.

COURT BATTLES
A lawsuit against the Michigan High School Athletic Association by an opposing group has been dismissed. From the Detroit News.

CHAMPS
Schwartz Redi Mix of Grand Rapids, MN won the 18u Northern National championship in Kansas City. Here is the basketball connection--Stephanie Cramer, Katie McBride, and Karly Ackerman who all played in the state basketball tournament this year for Grand Rapids. Gina Gould of Greenway and Cassie Anderson of Nashwauk-Keewatin were also basketball players who were on the team. Adam Johnson was one of the coaches on the team. Johnson is an assistant women's basketball coach at UW Superior. From the Grand Rapids Herald Review.

Next up: when news breaks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RANKING ROOKIES
Rethinking Basketball ranks the rookies in the WNBA.

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

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

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

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

Next up: later today with the week that was.

Davis Signs, O'Hare Transfers, Maloney Resigns

#2 posting 7.30.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SIGNING
Taylor Davis of Crookston has signed with Bemidji State as has been reported earlier here. This is from the Crookston Times.

TRANSFER
Junior forward Emily O’Hare has transferred from Hope College to Dayton. She will not play basketball at Dayton. The passion is gone. From the Holland Sentinel.

COACHING
Mike Maloney has resigned as women's basketball coach at Chadron State. He is leaving to be AD at Rock Springs, WY. From the Rapid City Journal.

NAIG
North American Indigenous Games will take place in British Columbia this year and four Lac de Flambeau girls will be on a girls basketball team representing Wisconsin. From the Lakeland Times.

TRIPPING
Gopher assistant coach Marisa Moseley looks forward to the gondola rides in Venice in the upcoming Italian trip.

MORE ALL STAR GAME
Here are a couple more reports from the Nebraska All Star Game won by the Blues over the Reds 91-61. The first focuses on Megan Allison of Cross County and the second looks at Cheryl Braithwait of Arapahoe and Debi Johnson of Perkins County. From the York News-Times and McCook Daily Gazette.

Next up: more news

Jorgenson, Blues, and Diamonds

#2 posting 7.29.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Jennifer Jorgenson of Southeast Webster Grand has been named the Des Moines Register's athlete of the year. Jorgenson averaged 30.4 ppg her senior season and is headed to Pacific on a basketball scholarship.

ALL STAR GAME
The Blues beat the Reds 91-61 in the Nebraska All Star Game yesterday. Alicia Statler of Grand Island Central Catholic had 12 rebounds, one short of the record in the contest. From the Lincoln Journal Star and Grand Island Independent.

FIBA TOURNAMENT
Marquette coach Terri Mitchell wraps up her blog from Argentina. The Americans beat the hosts Argentinians 81-37 on Sunday.

COACHING NEWS
Aaron Jennings has moved from men's assistant to head women's basketball coach at Mount Mercy.

CONFERENCE NEWS
The Iron County Reporter looks at the conference landscape now that gas has zoomed up. Trips of 100 miles one way will force schools to rethink conference alignments.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Deana Nolan of the Detroit Shock was named player of the week. Nolan played her high school ball at Flint Northern. From the Flint Journal.

CAMPING
Osakis finished up their camp. Here are the different winners. From the Osakis Review.

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
Rethinking Basketball looks at Diamonds in the Rough---what makes them effective and how they slip under the radar.

Next up: finishing up the four reports from yesterday. Also when news breaks.

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.

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.

Next up: even more news

Free Packets, As Over Bs, Parent Complaints

#2 posting 7.16.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

FREE PACKETS
AAU is giving free packets to college coaches. Some tournament packets can run up to $950. Women's Basketball Online looks at the the issue with coaches discontent at missing, incomplete and wrong information. Where does the money go? Also at the end of that article Helen Wheelock, the author of the article, raises six great questions.

TOURNAMENT NEWS
The Omaha Sparks have a couple of teams in the Tournament of Champions in Atlanta.

ALL STAR GAME
The As used their height to beat the Bs 66-55 in North Dakota's first game in the all star series in Bismarck. Kylie Messer of Bismarck St. Mary's led all players with 12 points. From the Bismarck Tribune.

Tana Trotter of Killdeer gets a feature in the Bismarck Tribune.

Sarah Smith of Grand Forks Red River is playing in the game and is headed to St. Thomas. From the Grand Forks Herald.

COACHING NEWS
Amanda Gorski has been hired at Concordia Michigan. She has been coach at Livonia Ladywood.

Brad DeBeer was not rehired by Sioux Valley, South Dakota due to parent complaints. Sioux Valley finished 3rd in the A state tournament last year. From the Brookings Register.

Breckenridge, Michigan is looking for a head girls basketball coach. From the Midland Daily News.

Mark Dickinson has been hired as girls basketball coach at Port Huron Northern, Michigan. From the Port Huron Times Herald.

ITALY TRIP
The Gophers haven't left yet, but they are blogging about their Italian trip. Kristen Dockery wonders about Vatican City.

Q&A
St. Thomas players Jessica Katch, Sheena Porter, and Jenni Gillard do a Q&A.

POLICE BLOTTER
Oklahoma starting guard Jenna Plumley has been arrested on a petty larceny charge after allegedly trying to steal makeup. From the Norman Transcript.

Next up: Tomorrow unless news breaks

A Fish Out of Mankato?, Home Visits Dos and Don'ts

#2 posting 7.15.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COACHING NEWS
Lori Fish has not ruled out a return to St. Cloud State. From the St. Cloud Times.

Randy Weibel will return as girls basketball coach at Hononegah, IL. From the Beloit Daily News.

TEAM CAMP
Red Lake Falls finished 4-0 in the UM Crookston Team Camp. From the Crookston Times.

HOME VISITS DOS AND DON'TS
This is from the College Volleyball Coach blog, and it is pertinent to recruiting. It looks at what to do on a home visit and some horror stories on what NOT to do--for example go out and playing with friends during the home visit. Also check out the topic list on the right. It has topics including unofficial visits, recruiting self promotion, and advice to players. Remember it is a volleyball coach writing, but just substitute basketball for volleyball and run with it.

ALL STAR GAME
The North Dakota All Star game series starts tonight in Bismarck. One of the B coaches is Kent Harding of Bowman County. From the Dickinson Press.

CONFERENCE NEWS
The Minnesota Community College Conference is now called the Minnesota College Athletic Conference. Plus Anne Breland of Rochester CTC has been named to the 2008 NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American team. Both found in the Guy Limbeck column in the Rochester Post Bulletin.

LEAVING
Caley Dow has left the University of Colorado team. She will remain in school and graduate next May. From the Boulder Daily Camera.

ACADEMICS
South Dakota State is tops in Grade Point Average in all divisions from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association with a 3.669. South Dakota was fifth overall (first in D2) at 3.649. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Next up: even more news

Vendettas, Synergy Part II, More Tourney Results

#2 posting 7.14.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TOURNEY RESULTS
ADIDAS WOMANHOOD TOURNAMENT COLLEGE STATION
The MN Stars are in College Station, Texas in the Adidas Womanhood tournament. MN Stars Eckmann, DeWitt, Smith, and Borowicz all played in the event that started on Saturday.

PRAIRIE ROSE STATE GAMES
Valley City State went 3-0 in winning the women's A title in the Prairie Rose State games in Minot. From the Minot Daily News (second segment in the story).

VIKING CLUB & THE GREAT LAKES SHOOTOUT
The Viking Club of Wisconsin is featured in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. Also in the ECLT they look at the Great Lakes Shootout and how the tournament has changed from the 1990s. This is the start of a four part series on summer basketball.

PHOTOS FROM KEARNEY & CHICAGO
Here are some photos from IBCA Select Blue in their recent basketball trips to Kearney, Nebraska and Chicago.

ALL STARS
The North Dakota All Star game takes place tomorrow and Wednesday. The Bismarck Tribune looks at Kylie Messer and her struggles with injuries. Here are the rosters for the event.

COACHING VENDETTA
The Fargo Forum give leafy spurge (their thumbs down) to the Hankinson parents that tried to get the coach fired. (second listing)

SYNERGY PART TWO
Rethinking Basketball looks at ball movement and Team Ranking in part 2 of their Synergy series.

ITALY TRIP
The Gophers are getting ready to travel to Italy and Zoe Harper looks forward to seeing the Colosseum.

Next up: I will be back filling some of the games from yesterday. Next posting should be tomorrow unless news breaks.

More Tourneys, and Ball Movement

#2 posting 7.13.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE TOURNAMENT NEWS
MISS BASKETBALL
The Miss Basketball Showcase is down to 8 teams. Area teams still in the hunt
Sioux Falls Warriors
Nebraska Twisterz
Pinnacle Bank Nebraska II
Pinnacle Bank Nebraska I
Team Runza
Lakeville North lost to Pinnacle Bank Nebraska I 58-47 in the Sweet 16 round.
You can check on the final day scores here.

15U AAU NATIONALS
MN Suns Greg (pool I) lost Saturday to Dayton Lady Hoopstars 75-59 and North Carolina Flight 66-46.
MN Suns Ellen (pool D) lost Saturday to the Atlanta Lady Celtics 63-60.

13 AAU NATIONALS
North Tartan split yesterday (pool I) They lost to Indiana Elite South Bend 55-50 and beat the Acadiana Stars 75-28.
MN Suns lost twice yesterday (pool H) first to Fairfax Stars 56-52, and to the Long Island Lightning 72-63.

GREAT LAKES SHOOTOUT
Here is their result site, but the Saturday scores aren't updated.

CHICAGO SUMMER SHOWCASE
here is their result site, but they don't have all the scores updated from Saturday.

PROFESSIONAL
Former Hawkeye Johanna Solverson has signed a professional contract to play in Greece. From KMEG.

COACHING NEWS
As reported yesterday, Albert Lea has hired Sean Gillum as their new coach. Here is the Albert Lea Tribune with their story.

HALL OF FAME
Minnesota Lynx assistant coach Jennifer Gillom has been selected to the Class of 2009 for induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Gillom played with the US National team in the olympics and was a pioneer in the WNBA. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

BALL MOVEMENT
Rethinking basketball looks at ball movement theory, stats, and team synergy. Included in the article is Dean Oliver's four most important stats.

GUS MACKER
The outdoor basketball 3-3 Gus Macker tournament made a stop in Eau Claire on Saturday. From the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.

SCHEDULE
Wayne State Michigan has released their 2008-09 schedule.

ALL STAR GAME
The North Dakota A vs B All Star Game takes place in Bismarck on Tuesday and Fargo on Wednesday. Both teams are preparing for the bragging rights. From KXMB.

Next up: later today after the Menomonie Tournament

MacFarlane Verbals

#3 posting 7.2.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

VERBAL
6-6 Melissa MacFarlane of Millard North, Nebraska has verballed Colorado. She played with the CSS Bison last year. From the Omaha World Herald.

ALL STAR GAMES
The Nebraska All Star game will be held July 28 at Lincoln North Star at 6 pm. From the Omaha World Herald.

D1 TRANSITION
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader looks at South Dakota State's transition to D1.

Next up: Pinnacle Bank Nebraska vs Kansas City Hustle

Miss Basketball Showcase, UP All Stars, CSU Academics

#2 posting 6.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MISS BASKETBALL SHOWCASE
The Yankton Press & Dakotan examines the upcoming Miss Basketball Showcase at Augustana starting Thursday. Here is the Miss Basketball Game Day center including schedules.

COACHING NEWS
George Washington will announce their new coach today at 1 pm. Rumorama is it will be GWU assistant Mike Bozeman.

RECRUITING NEWS
Heather Brunn of Rogers is headed to Minnesota on a track scholarship. She is an 800 runner.

CONFERENCE NEWS
The University of South Dakota is looking to form a new D1 conference. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

ALL STARS
The South beat the North in the UP All Star game at Escanaba, Michigan on Saturday. The South trailed by 9 heading into the 4th quarter. Kelsey Anonich of Menominee led the South with 15 points and was named MVP. From the Escanaba Daily Press.

SCHEDULES
The SMAA in Michigan will hold boy/girl double headers on Fridays and split sites on Tuesday as Michigan tries to find the right balance in the schedule since the girls basketball season has moved to the winter. From the Hillsdale Daily News.

VOTE
Fans can vote for the Big 12 play of the year. Iowa State's Alison Lacey's full court drive against Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals is up for the vote. You can watch the 10 second video too. Perhaps if the ref got out of the way it would be a more compelling video.

ACADEMICS
Colorado State players Kelly Finley (Breck) and Lauren Young (Edina) picked up Mountain West Scholar Athlete honors. Also honored was Kandy Beemer (Bedford, IA). Young has since left Colorado State.

MC CARVILLE VS LYNX
Does Janel McCarville harbor any ill will since the Lynx didn't select her in the dispersal draft? The StarTribune looks at that story as McCarville and the New York Liberty take on the Lynx tonight.

Next up: even more news

Four All Star Results

#1 posting 6.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

FOUR ALL STAR RESULTS
Cubans did well in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches All Star game on Saturday. Three Cuba City players made the 3A South squad with Briana Kaiser notching 15 points. The South beat the North 72-60. From the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.
Also on the 3A South squad was Jadee Rooney of Markesan who had 10 in the win. Her experience is recounted in the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.

Indiana East beat the Michigan squad 73-61 in the SportsFest finals Saturday night. Astynn George had 21 for Michigan. From the Sturgis Journal.

In the Southeast Nebraska All Star game it was over quickly. The West beat the East 85-31. Megan Allison of Cross County, scored 14 points and was named MVP. From the York News Times.

Montana beat Wyoming for the second straight time Saturday night and did it by rallying from a 26 point first half deficit 84-74. From KXMB.

STATS
The view from the cheap seats in the Cedar Valley Daily Times think that the stat entry that is now mandated in Iowa is too much.
Here is my take: If it takes too much time---delegate the task to someone that gets into stats. I am sure there are plenty of eager volunteers.

Next up: more news

Ames Tournament News, Miller & the Olympics

#1 posting 6.21.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AMES TOURNAMENT
MN Stars Jihad (Lady Cats) won their 1st pool game in the Ames Tournament over Team Iowa. Sarina Baker led all scores with 15 points, Tyisha Smith had 12 and Sadiqah Jihad 9. The Lady Cats will play Wisconsin Select today at 3 pm at Boone High. Wisconsin Select beat the Cats last week in the Summer Jam in Bloomington, by 6 points. The Cats will be looking steal some cheese from Select.
MN Stars Martin 13U lost to Omaha Sparks 52 - 44. MSM is really vulnerable without their two big guns in Heather Bowe, Eau Claire 6-0 post (Stress Fracture), and Jade Martin 5-11 Wing (Broken Arm). Jasmine Scott of Brookyln Center had 12 points, Phyliss Webb of Park Center had 16 carried the scoring load for MSM. They will play NW Iowa at noon today. They need a win in order to advance to the "gold" - winners bracket, the loser goes onto the Silver bracket.

ALL STAR GAMES
Montana beat Wyoming 79-70 in overtime in the girls all star game in Billings. From KXMB.

Marni Jacobson of Spencer was named to the all tournament team in the IBCA Goalsetter All Star Games. From the Spencer Daily Reporter.

COACHING NEWS
The Mankato Free Press gives a thumb down to the rehiring of LeCenter girls basketball coach Scott Bernard.

Scott Privratsky, Devils Lake girls basketball coach, is looking for photos to display of 9 all state players. From the Devils Lake Journal.

HALL OF FAME
Former girls basketball coach Terry Nelsen of Austin Pacelli will be inducted into the school's hall of fame along with his son Jake. Nelsen was the first coach in Minnesota to win 300 games. From KAAL (there is video too).

ELITE CAMP
The Minnesota Elite Girls Basketball Camp currently has 35 openings for the camp. This is the 20th year of the camp, and in that time we have built a strong reputation with high school and college coaches. On average, 55 colleges personally attend the camp to evaluate talent. Strong competition is another advantage of the camp. The camp features talent from all across the state of Minnesota, and in recent years, we have expanded to Wisconsin as well. This years camp will be held July 22-25 at Concordia University in St. Paul. If interested in attending, please visit our website - www.mnelite.com- and fill out the "2008 Interested Players" Form. We will then contact either your high school or AAU coach for a recommendation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by email - pbowlin@winonacotter.org.

MILLER & THE OLYMPICS
Guy Limbeck of the Rochester Post Bulletin gets to the bottom of the Kelly Miller and Russian Olympic story.

Next up: more news coming

Baker's 34, Shock, HLWW, Spring Grove Recaps

#1 posting 6.20.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEKEND
The All Iowa Attack club will host the Midwest Girls Classic starting today and running through Sunday in Ames, Iowa.

Here are the match-ups for the Crosby team camp on Saturday, June 21st.
10am-Bemidji/Brainerd
11am-Crosby-Ironton/Little Falls
12am-Little Falls/Brainerd
1pm-CI/Bemidji
2pm-CI/Brainerd
3pm-Little Falls/Bemidji

ALL STAR GAMES
Black beat the Gold 83-64 in the Bruin Club All-Star Classic at Ballenger Fieldhouse in Flint Michigan last night. Brandie Baker of Flint Hamady and future Central Michigan player scored 34 points for Black. From the Flint Journal.

The Southeast Nebraska All Star game takes place this on Saturday at 6 pm at Beatrice, Nebraska. The Plattsmouth Journal lists some of the local players in the event.

PAST TOURNAMENTS
DELL CLASSIC
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted took part in the Dells Classic event this past week (Monday-Wednesday) in Wisconsin Dells. HLWW took 2nd place overall. In Pool Play the Lakers defeated Sterling (Illinois), Culver Academy (Indiana), Wabasha-Kellogg, and Witternberg-Birnamwood (WI). In bracket play HLWW defeated Durand (WI) 43-36 in the quarterfinals and then beat Amery (WI) 58-32 in the semifinals. In the championship HLWW lost 50-39 to Fishers (Indiana). There were a few other Minnesota teams participating including: Princeton, Big Lake, Clearbrook-Gonvick, and Crosby-Ironton.

WINONA COTTER TOURNAMENT
Spring Grove won the Winona Cotter on June 7 beating Kingsland, CHOF and LeRoy-Ostrander. check the last portion of the article. From the Spring Grove Herald.

SHOCK
The Rochester Shock 16u AAU team was 22-2 this spring. From the Spring Grove Herald.

COACHING NEWS
Nick Langston has been hired as the new girls basketball coach at Hillsdale, Michigan.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kelsey Kaminsky of South Lyon, Michigan has been chosen athlete of the year in the Livingston Community News.

Next up: More news from around the area.

Hill 6, WBCA All Star Game, Busted

#2 posting 6.19.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

HILL'S SIX
Hoopgurlz lists six schools in the running for Tayler Hill. (see #12)

TRANSFERS
Alyssa Pittman is leaving Eastern Michigan for Butler. Pittman, who will have two years of eligibility remaining, was freshman of the year in the Mid American Conference in 2007. She will have to sit out next season.

COACHING
Flip Gaugler will be the next head girls’ basketball coach at Norman County West, Minnesota.

DECISIONS
Katie Brommenschenkel, a 5-9 F from Norman County West will go continue her basketball career at Northland Community & Technical College, Thief River Falls.

MORE ALL STARS
The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association will hold their All Star games on Saturday. There will be four games with a north vs south format in each of the four classes.

CAMPING
82 players participated in the UM Crookston camp June 10-12.

BUSTED
Southeast Missouri State will have to forfeit games the past two seasons due to NCAA recruiting violations. Here are the details in the Southeast Missourian. Violations included improper transportation, housing, and meals.

Next up: later today with the 16u semis and finals of the Summer Jam.

McSparron, Voigt Players of the Year

#2 posting 6.18.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
The Pioneer Press has named Brittnye McSparron of Eastview as their Dakota County player of the year, and Jackie Voigt of Park-Cottage Grove as their Washington County player of the year. This award is for all athletes, boys and girls across all sports.

Heidi Baerenwald of Appleton East was named track athlete of the year in the Appleton Post Crescent. She wants to do both basketball and track in college, but hasn't made a decision yet.

RETURN
North Dakota State grad Lisa Bue returned to her high school in Austin, Minnesota to work camps. From the Austin Daily Herald.

STATE TOURNAMENT
The Pacesetter state tournaments concluded last weekend with Crookston taking second to DGF in the 7th grade division. Crookston finished 1st in the 5th grade a week before. From the Crookston Times.

ALL STAR
Whitney Licktieg of Dell Rapids, South Dakota was named MVP of the South Dakota/Nebraska All Star Game. From the Dell Rapids Tribune.

The Edwardsburg Argus lists their area All Stars in the Sports Fest.

COACHING
Eric Woughter has been named girls basketball coach at Traverse City Central. From the Travers City Record Eagle.

Rob VanLaecken of Parkston, South Dakota has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the SDSHAA. From the Mitchell Daily Republic.

Next up: more news

Michigan State Verbal, Missouri Western Signings, Flood, and Summer Leagues

#1 posting 6.18.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

VERBALS
Kelsey Smith, a 6-4 post from St. Charles North, Illinois, has verballed Michigan State. From Hoopgurlz.

SIGNINGS
Missouri Western State has signed five more girls basketball players for the upcoming campaign.
Kimberly Rickels, 5-9 guard from Iowa City, Iowa
Abby Stone, 5-11 post from Jefferson City Helias, Missouri
Brenna Saline, a 5-8 guard that is a transfer from Southern Illinois
Taylor Lyons, a 5-11 swing player. She is transfer from Ohlone College, originally from Vallejo Logan, California.
Jade Simmons, a 5-3 point guard. She is a transfer from Palomar Junior College. Murrieta, Calif)
Kristin Bush, a 5-11 forward from Slinger, Wisconsin, signed in the fall.

FLOOD BATTLE
Hannah Draxten of Fergus Falls is now down at the University of Iowa taking some summer classes, but lately she and the rest of the women's basketball team has been busy sandbagging against the floods. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

SUMMER LEAGUES
Prescott, Wisconsin hosts a summer league with six teams: Prescott, Somerset, Ellsworth, and Baldwin-Woodville from Wisconsin and Park-Cottage Grove and Cannon Falls from Minnesota.
There games are on Mondays at 7, 8 and 9 pm.

Here are all the results from the Champlin Park Summer League last night. Minnetonka and Totino-Grace are both 4-0 and sit atop the 12 team league.

ROGERS BREAKDOWN TOURNAMENT
Here are the schedules for the Rogers Breakdown tournament on Saturday for the Blue, Gold, and Silver Brackets

TAMARA MOORE INTERVIEW
Tamara Moore, former Minneapolis North and Wisconsin player, is interviewed on the SportsBrain. Moore played in the Inner City All star game with the boys since there was no girls Inner City All Star Game.

ALL STAR CHAMPIONSHIP
The Minnesota Coaches Championship All Star game is up on SportsBrain on You Tube. The AA won the event back in April.

Next up: more news

Summer Jam, Grand Rapids Breakdown, All Star Results

#1 posting 6.15.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE SUMMER JAM
The summer jam wraps up today at Bloomington Jefferson.
Here are a few other notes from yesterday....Laura Weber made the game winner for Metro Stars 19 as they beat MN Stars Smith. Metro Stars 19 plays North Tartan 15s today.
Today I will be sporting the back to back Ellsworth championship t-shirt. The boys coaches delivered the goods yesterday. Coach Kellen and Becker coach the Minnesota Lakers girls AAU team.
The Ellsworth boys coach Markus Okeson has moved on to Redwood Valley.

BREAKDOWN SUMMER SHOWCASE
Grand Rapids won the Summer tournament in Grand Rapids yesterday beating Braham. Here are the game by game results
Round 1 Results
Braham 33, Cook 29
Sebeka 28, Hibbing 19
Hibbing II 38, Esko 25
Grand Rapids 41, Lake of the Woods, 20
Consolation Semi's
Cook 37, Hibbing 21
Esko 34, Lake of the Woods 28
Semi-Finals
Braham 52, Sebeka 45
Grand Rapids, 35, Hibbing II 25
7th Place:
Hibbing 37, Lake of the Woods 29
5th Place:
Esko 36, Cook 31
3rd Place:
Sebeka 41, Hibbing II 38
1st Place:
Grand Rapids 42, Braham 33

END OF THE TRAIL
The Minnesota Metro Stars Black team has been awarded one of the prize slots in the Exhibition Game at the Nike End of the Trail Tournament in early July. The Metro Stars Black will play a yet to be named team in the 1:00 game on July 6th at Oregon City High School. The Metro Stars Black is the first team to be awarded a game for the 2008 event.

MINNEAPOLIS YWCA LEAGUE
The Minneapolis Y has their college women's basketball league starting Wednesday.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE TOURNAMENT
ND may flip the girls B state basketball tournament with the boys. Currently the boys finish the winter sports seasons. From the Grand Forks Herald.

ALL STAR RESULTS
Nebraska had a couple of All Star events yesterday. The East beat the West 69-55 in the Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame girls basketball game at Omaha North. Raven Adams had 22 points for the East.
South Dakota beat the Nebraska All Stars 97-88 at Mount Marty in Yankton. Katie Birkel of Lincoln Southeast (and future North Dakota State player) had 31 to lead both teams and was named MVP for the Nebraska squad. SD had balance with seven players in double digits. Whitney Licktieg was named overall MVP with 13 for SD.
From the Omaha World-Herald and Rapid City Journal.

Today the Inner City All Star Classic takes place at St. Paul Arlington at 3 pm.

NORTH CENTRAL HISTORY
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader has a history lesson on the 87 year old North Central conference. Did you know St. Thomas was a charter member? Plus the SFAL also has a NCC fact list.

HALL OF FAME
Former Lynx coach and Penn State player Suzie McConnell-Serio was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday in Knoxville.

LYNX LOSE IN NEW YORK
The Lynx lost to the New York Liberty 77-76. From the StarTribune. Newsday credits Essence Carson with the game saving defensive play.
Lynx player Nicky Anisoke is making the transition to the pro game and the Staten Island Advance features the home town player.

Next up: Later today with a recap of the Summer Jam finals.

Young Redshirt Year, Smith Posts Up

#1 posting 6.14.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

YOUNG'S REDSHIRT LEARNING
Jill Young, the leading scorer in South Dakota history, learned a lot during her redshirt year at South Dakota State. From the Mitchell Republic.

SMITH POSTS UP
Illinois' center Jenna Smith (of Bloomington Kennedy) starts a series of blog postings called "posting up."

ALL STAR GAME
The Yankton Press & Dakotan looks at today's South Dakota-Nebraska All-Star basketball game at Mount Marty College. Nicole Brungardt of Norfolk Catholic, Nebraska gets the spotlight today.

ATTENDANCE
The Big 12 led the nation in women's basketball attendance last season.

FLOODING
For those that have been living under a rock, there are epic floods down in Iowa along the Cedar River. To all our readers down in the flood zone our thoughts & prayers go out to you and your situation. Here is hoping for some drier times coming.

SUMMER JAM
Today the Summer Jam opens up at Bloomington Jefferson. The action should be interesting with 32 team vying for the 16/17u title.

next up: later today with a report from the Summer Jam.