Little 8 All Conference; 651 vs 612

#1 posting 3.20.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA REPORTS
ALL CONFERENCE
The Little 8 Conference has released their All Conference list. This angle also has a Brandon-Evansville focus. From the Alexandria Echo Press.

STATE TOURNAMENT REHASH
The St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at the 651 vs 612 battle like the old Saints vs Millers. Story after the spring bit.

Finally I am getting the photos stored properly. It has been an ordeal. Coach Teas is extremely eager to see the photos from the state tournament get up. This afternoon I should be able to deal with this issue.

Next up: around the region

Class A Quarters

#1 posting 3.14.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA REPORTS
Finally there is only one site for the tournament (at least for the championship series). A and AA take the Target floor for the first time with their semis. The best bet today....The AA semifinal at 6:00 pm with #1 Crookston (and Kamille Wahlin) vs #4 Jordan (and Brittany Chambers). That game should be a doozy. The second game will feature Hayfield and their deliberate style vs Albany and their race horse style.
The A games have New Life vs Barnum. Both teams have some young talent and have a balance of in and out. SW Star takes on #1 Ada-Borup in the second game this afternoon.

YESTERDAYS REPORTS
I will be linking the AAAA and AAA games with the reports I put up yesterday.
Here is the A Quarterfinals from yesterday
New Life beat Rushford-Peterson 59-58. Danielle Schmidt hit the game winner with 1.9 ticks left. From the StarTribune, Rochester Post Bulletin and Woodbury Bulletin.

Barnum beat Lake of the Woods 53-26 with a slamdown defensive effort (30-3 run). From the Duluth News Tribune, Grand Forks Herald and the StarTribune.

SW Star rallied to beat Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 42-38. Breanna Rients was a clutch performer for the Quasers. From the Worthington Daily Globe and the StarTribune.

#1 Ada-Borup beat Wrenshall 56-33. From the Fargo Forum and Duluth News Tribune. The StarTribune picks up the story of the Wrenshall support for Cherry's Laura Griffiths.

Next up: Area Reports

Tournament Deluxe Previews

#1 posting 3.12.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA REPORTS
TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS
AAAA
St. Cloud Tech is enjoying their first trip. The Tigers face defending AAAA champs St. Paul Central. From the St. Cloud Times.

The Pioneer Press is already looking forward to a Minneapolis South vs St. Paul Central rematch of the championship game from a year ago. This is a general look at the tournament.

The StarTribune looks at South and Eastview and examines their chances.

Osseo likes their chances. From KARE 11. The StarTribune also looks at the Orioles.

Ali Schwartzwald of St. Francis has a Q&A with the StarTribune.

10 things to know in AAAA from the StarTribune.

AAA
Marshall's first round opponent Rogers gets examined in the Marshall Independent.

First year Marshall coach Mary Jo Hmielewski played and won a state tournament for Tracy-Milroy. She was Mary Jo Miller back in the day. She has a Q&A session with the StarTribune.

Grand Rapids coach Dave LaCoe has Chisholm championship experience. From the Duluth News Tribune.

KARE 11 has video on Sasha McHale of Totino-Grace. Sasha's dad is Kevin McHale current Timberwolves GM and former Boston Celtic.

Fergus Falls and Hannah Draxten have reached the big event. From the Fargo Forum.

10 things to know about AAA From the StarTribune.

AA
Caledonia led Pipestone 16-0 last year but lost in the quarters. The Warriors want to avoid that fate this year. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Hayfield is looking to be crowned champ. From the RPB.

Kamille Wahlin and Crookston are zeroed in on the title. From the Grand Rapids Herald.

The StarTribune has 10 things to know about AA.

A
Cedar Mountain-Comfrey wasn't expeceted to make it to the tournament this year. In fact one player is in Mexico on vacation. From the Star Tribune.

Kristin Stein of New Life does a Q&A with the StarTribune.

Lake of the Woods gets a spotlight in the Grand Forks Herald.

Rushford-Peterson's point guard Baily Vitse return to state. From the Rochester Post Bulletin. The Winona Daily News states that the Three Rivers Conference is good prep for the tournament.

10 more things to know about A from the StarTribune.

AAU
WANTED
Southern Minny Elite HS Elgible/16U Team is looking for a couple of players to fill outs it's roster. Division one top level competition. Class of 2009 or 2010 with all conference capabilities. Contact Head Coach Mark Radtke at mdmark999@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Next up: Around the region

AA Previews

#9 posting 3.11.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AA PREVIEWS
I HAVE seen all the 8 teams this year. So my insights here cut across the field. There are interesting match ups across the board and many will want to see 6-7 Amber Dvorak of HF.

These games take place at Williams Wednesday. Again this class is not seeded. The games were predetermined
10:00 1-Caledonia vs 4-Jordan
noon: 5-Howard Lake-W-W vs 8-Crookston
2:00: 2-Hayfield vs 3-MN Valley Lutheran
4:00: 6-Albany vs 7-Hinckley-Finlayson

I have seen Albany and Jordan three times. Both lost once. Both HLWW and HF lost when I saw them. So my viewing record is 8-4. Overall this field has the best record as a class 208-23 .900 winning %.
Two #2 seeds advanced to the tournament HLWW and HF. This would be like a #3 or #4 seed in AAA or AAAA.
So here is the first preliminary numbers
section, Team, record, final AP poll, MN Scores QRF poll
1 Caledonia 26-3 nr 12
2 Hayfield 25-3 nr 11
3 MVL 27-2 10 9
4 Jordan 27-2 4 7
5 HLWW 25-5 nr 10
6 Albany 27-2 2 2
7 Hinckley-Finlayson 23-5 nr 19
8 Crookston 28-1 1 1
Half the field was not rated in the last AP poll. HLWW was in the poll early in the year. Hayfield was also in the poll at various points during the year.
Four teams have offensive fireworks north of 70, Crookston tops the field with 82.7. Defensively Hayfield allows 36.4, the lowest of the bunch.
Crookston has only one loss, and that is to Fargo Shanley, a North Dakota A team. It was by only one point. Kamille Wahlin did not play in that game due to illness. HLWW and HF have five losses to AA teams.
Crookston has seven wins against AAAA and AAA teams the most in the field. There schedule was the toughest of any of the AA teams. Four teams (Caledonia, Hayfield, MVL, HF) don't have wins against any upper division teams.
Here is a look at the pp100 and floor % numbers
team, pp100, floor %; Dpp100, Dfloor%
Caledonia 63.01, .301; 32.39, .155
Hayfield 120.0, .545; 70.18, .351
MVL 89.61, .468; 65.79, .368
Jordan 104.85, .485; 96.53, .431
HLWW 81.94, .389; 90.0, .429
Albany 92,58, .437; 82.1, .393
HF 60.61, .288; 101.52, .439
Crookston 100.0, .453; 64.0, .320

Look at Caledonia's numbers. The offensive numbers are very low, but their defensive numbers are rock bottom. Hayfield's numbers are in the stratosphere on offense. HF had the lowest offensive pp100, and had the highest defensive numbers. It should be remembered that I have only seen Jordan and Albany three times, the rest is only a one snapshot view of the season.

Look at the last two state champs--
2006: Cannon Falls 91.42, .429; 85.03, .412
2007: Pipestone 91.06, .415; 85.48, .387
Remarkably similar. my guess is that the defensive numbers will be lower this year. According to the markers and trends five teams make the mark on offense, and five make the defensive mark. Making both lists: Hayfield, MVL, Albany, and Crookston.

Here is the list of AA players off to collegiate ball:
D1: The biggest player in state tournament history, 6-7 Amber Dvorak of Hinckley-Finlayson gets to test out her future Gopher home floor. Kamille Wahlin of Crookston is headed to Iowa.
D2: She isn't the only Pirate playing collegiately next year. Sydney Epema is off to Bemidji State, Macy Hanson is staying close to home at UM Crookston, and Molly Simmons is off to Mary.
Albany has two signees. Jennie Noreen will join sister Joanne at MSU Mankato. Taylor Voss will go to SW MN State.

TEAM BY TEAM
CALEDONIA A Defensive minded team with presses and many players in and out of the line up. The Warriors are athletic, and aggressive on defense. LaCrescent had a miserable time scoring. But then so did Caledonia. Libby Augedahl is a strong wing type player (think Megan Nipe at a AA school). This is their second straight trip to the tourney. They want to last longer than round one.

HAYFIELD. Making their first trip since 2000. Hayfield has a good mix of seniors and sophomores. Hayfield is deliberate and patient on offense. And when we saw them against Byron in February, they were extremely efficient on offense. Kiley Severson ruled the paint (she was player of the week that week). Leslie Wilson is a smart wing player. And another soph Jordyn Krekling provided some offense.

MN VALLEY LUTHERAN Another team that was dynamite on offense early. They run when possible. MVL uses plenty of players in their race horse pace. defensively MVL was quick and aggressive with their hands on many passes. Kara Black is the post for MVL with good feet. Amanda Burk is another strong post. Everyone contributes with good balance. What may hurt MVL is they don't play the same schedule that Hayfield does.

JORDAN. The one two punch of Brittany Chambers and Leah Dietel is lethal. But now others are starting to step up and deliver. O'Malley, Clark and Amanda Dietel have all stepped up from the earlier game we saw. Jordan is still young, but they are tournament savvy. They know how to win championships with a volleyball title in their trophy case. Now they are looking for a basketball version. Chambers is a power packed point guard with acrobatic maneuverings. Leah Dietel is a finisher and can hurt teams in a myriad of ways. The Jaguars will need to tighten up the defense if they want to move on. They have played harder than the first game I saw this year when Holy Family beat them to loose balls.

HOWARD LAKE-W-W. I saw HLWW at Eden Valley-Watkins back in December. In that game they looked like they were out of the game, but came storming back to take a second half lead before EVW won the game. HLWW beat EVW after two regular season losses in the post season. HLWW has inside/outside combinations with Christina Gruenhagen their inside presence and Katie Pettit their floor general. Add in Brittany Drew and HLWW has three important weapons.

ALBANY. Last year saw their state tournament dreams go up in smoke on a disputed 3. This year the main figures are back and they want to make sure the same fate doesn't happen again. Jennie Noreen and Taylor Voss are the perimeter threats. Noreen can slice through the lane. Voss is a long range back breaker. Sam Larsen is an athletic inside force. The difference this year has been the emergence of Hannah Hylla, another inside presence. Larsen needs to avoid the fouls for Albany to go deep.

HINCKLEY-FINLAYSON. The first time entrant has size and then some. Amber Dvorak is 6-7, but they also have a 6-1 post in Emily Scholten. Their main guard is Lisa Lymburner who checks in a 5-11. When we saw HF during the year Braham took the early lead and didn't let go. HF shook off that game and now they are in the tournament while Braham is in Algebra class. HF prefers zone defense.

CROOKSTON. It seems this group has been playing forever. The Pirates have veteran leadership, a deep bench, quick aggressive athletes and they are on a mission. They were second in the 2006 tournament and this is the last shot for a title. They looked outstanding against Winona Cotter in late December. They scored 15 points in a two minute span. Their press was effective, and Cotter is no slouch. At least four of these players will continue to play after high school. The floor general is Kamille Wahlin is aware and smart. They have what I would consider five starters.

So what does the crystal ball say?
Interesting contests throughout. Jordan has offensive weapons to overcome Caledonia's defense. Crookston has the firepower, leadership and motivation to move on. The most intriguing game of the day goes to Hayfield over MVL in a nail biter. Albany takes care of HF.
In the semis look for a barn burner that goes to Crookston in a battle of top notch guards. But Crookston has more balance and depth. Albany takes Hayfield.
In the battle of the past two runners up look for Crookston to take the title back to NW Minnesota.

next up: tomorrow morning

A Preview

#8 posting 3.11.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

A PREVIEWS
Class A doesn't start their play until Thursday at Williams Arena. There is no seeding in this tournament, but straight section vs section action.
11 am 1-Rushford-Peterson vs 4-New Life
1 pm 5-Barnum vs 8-Lake of the Woods
3 pm 2-Cedar Mt-Comfrey vs 3-SW Star
5 pm 6-Ada-Borup vs 7-Wrenshall

I have not seen all the class A teams. I managed to see four of them. So my insights will be from a distance on this class.
section, Team, record, final AP poll, MN Scores QRF poll
1 Rushford-Peterson 18-11, NR, 16
2 Cedar Mt-Comfrey 21-8, NR 13
3 SW Star 22-6, NR 17
4 New Life 26-3 3, 1
5 Barnum 28-2 4, 2
6 Ada-Borup 28-1 1, 3
7 Wrenshall 28-2 5, 4
8 Lake of the Woods 24-6 NR 19
It is too bad they don't seed. The last match up will be the best of the day. The first game won't be to shabby either.
The field is 195-39 for a .833 winning %. Half the teams didn't make the AP top 10 list, the same four I haven't seen.
Only Ada-Borup has not lost to a Class A team. Four others have one loss.
The team with the most wins vs upper class teams is New Life with 9, followed by Rushford-Peterson with 8 and Lake of the Woods with 7.
Three teams are north of 70+ ppg on offense--Wrenshall, Ada-Borup, and Barnum.
Two teams are south of 40- ppg on defense---Ada-Borup and Barnum.

There were two non #1 seeds that made it through and both were #3s in their respective subsections (the equivelent of being the #5 or 6 seed in the larter class seedings: Cedar Mt-Comfrey, and SW Star.

Here are the offensive and defensive numbers for the four teams I have seen.
team, pp100, floor %; Dpp100, Dfloor%
New Life 101.02, .472; 62.24, .281
Barnum 79.41, .324; 89.55, .448
Ada-Borup 94.87, .474; 52.56, .295
Wrenshall 89.55, .448; 79.4, .324
So with the fact that I haven't seen half of the teams which is ready to take the next step?
Here is the last two winners
2007: Fulda 79.23, .377; 67.3, .323
2008: Fulda 93.28, .448; 75.0, .355
So with this metric it looks like New Life and Ada-Borup are in position for titles, with defense the key.

There are three players that will continue their careers post high school from the 2008 class in this class: Megan Myhre will be going to Concordia St. Paul in D2, and the Anderson twins Danielle and Samantha are headed to UW Superior.

Here is the thumbnail of the four teams I have seen.
NEW LIFE: young, deep, good both in and out. Jenny Ramey runs the show. Cara Lutes does not play like a freshman inside. Add into the mix Sarah Nisleit inside and the Schmidt sisters on the outside and it makes for a potent mix. The first task for these state newcomers is to get the revenge on Rushford-Peterson. RP knocked them out in the 1A Championship last year. They get the benefit of being in the metro with ready opportunities to sharpen their game all year.

BARNUM: They also have balance with Megan Myhre and Katrina Newman inside. But they also can step out from behind the arc. There are a bevvy of sharpshooters that can deliver from 3 point land. Barnum made it to the semis two years ago and will look get to the Saturday game at the Target Center.

ADA-BORUP: Another tournament veteran. When I saw them up at Fergus in the infamous breakdown snow out event they executed with precision, moved the ball sharply and ran when given the chance. They also were the best team I saw all season at blocking out. There only loss on the year was to #1 AA Crookston. They have a win over AA state entrant Howard Lake. Last year they stubbed their toe in the semis against Hancock. Looking at the season it seems they are on a mission to rectify that lost. They got the Owls (both are in the same section this year) in the finals in the hardest section in the state.

WRENSHALL: The Wrens have inside and outside ability with Andrea Gould patrolling the middle and the Anderson twins plus Emma Glover providing the firepower outside. The best crowd atmosphere Coach Teas I saw all year was at Wrenshall. They will need their vocal fans as they open with #1 Ada-Borup.

So what does the crystal ball say?
Look for New Life to get their revenge over RP. Barnum should move on over LOW. In a rematch from the December match up look for Cedar Mt-Comfrey to replicate their performance. In the best battle of the day AB keeps moving on in a tight game.
In the semis New Life and Ada-Borup take the next step with AB taking the title back to the Red River Valley.

Next up: AA Previews

AAAA Preview

#9 posting 3.10.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AAAA PREVIEWS
The two week sectional battles are over. The survivors meet at the Target Center on Wednesday starting at
10 am with #1 seed Minneapolis South vs Owatonna
noon: #4 Osseo vs #5 Chaska
2 pm: #3 St. Paul Central vs #6 St. Cloud Tech
4 pm: #2 Eastview vs #7 St. Francis
this year the semis are on Thursday AFTERNOON. Make sure you understand that. The reason is the AAA games are late on Wednesday and they are given time to rest for their semis in the evening.

I have seen these teams multiple times with the exception of Owatonna. The most viewed is South with 7, most have five sightings.

So here is the first preliminary numbers
section, Seed, Team, record, final AP poll, MN Scores QRF poll
1 8 Owatonna 21-8, NR 25
2 5 Chaska 21-8, NR 13
3 2 Eastview 27-2, 3, 4
4 3 St. Paul Central 25-4, 6, 6
5 4 Osseo 24-5, 10, 8
6 1 Minneapolis South 26-3, 2, 2
7 7 St. Francis 26-3, NR 17
8 6 St. Cloud Tech 28-1, 7, 9

The field has a 200-32 record--.862 winning %, slightly better than the AAA field of 193-33 and .854.
Four #2s made the field. Three unranked teams crashed the party, although both St. Francis and Chaska did spend time in the top 10 during the year.
The margins range go from a high of 34.5 to a low of 6.1. Minneapolis South and St. Paul Central both are north of 30 in the margin department, partially due to the fact their conferences are not as challenging as the Lake. Chaska has the low margin with 6.1, again conference has plenty of influence there.
The quality wins have piled up for Eastview this year. They have 21 quality wins, the low end goes to St. Francis with three wins against teams in the MaxPreps top 75. Five of the teams have between 12 and 9 quality wins.
Here is a look at the pp100 and floor % numbers
team, pp100, floor %; Dpp100, Dfloor%
Owatonna 88.57, .443; 84.29, .400
Chaska 101.66, .470; 100.0, .464
Eastview 81.22, .437; 76.92, .370
St. Paul Central 78.71, .404; 90.51, .442
Osseo 80.75, .388; 88.51, .419
Mpls South 104.02, .480; 78.0, .384
St. Francis 100.0, .493; 77.54, .370
St. Cloud Tech 72.46, .348; 72.14, .371
It is interesting to note that both Central and Osseo have higher Defensive numbers than offense. Why? I have seen all four of the Central losses and the big loss Osseo had vs Centennial. That skews the numbers to the wrong side of the equation. That shouldn't give folks the impression that they aren't a threat. They are.
Look at the last two state champs--
2006: Hopkins 97.96, .493; 78.41, .365
2007: St. Paul Central 97.7, .473; 70.08, .354
The teams in this years tournament don't approach the defensive numbers (yet). But the two lowest belong to Eastview (who I have seen five times) and St. Francis (twice). Tech is also close, but their offense is also on the same level. If you look at the high end Chaska both scores a lot, and allows a lot---in the pp100 system.
At this time there is one team that has huge differential between pp100 and dpp100---Minneapolis South +26.

The AAAA tournament has seven players that have signed with D1 schools. Guards/perimeters predominate with four. Three are headed to BCS schools.
Courtney Boylan of Chaska is headed to Michigan; Kiara Buford of Central is staying close to home with the Gophers. Teammate Georgie Jones is headed to Marquette to join former teammate Angel Robinson. Buffalo has two players committed with Beth Christensen of Owatonna and Ephesia Holmes of Mpls South. Ironically they face each other in the opening game. Brittnye McSparron of Eastview is headed to Drake. Jennifer Sunnarborg of Osseo is going to South Dakota State.

There are only two D2 commitments: Lauren Barber of Owatonna is going to MSU Mankato. Ali Schwartzwald of St. Francis is going to Wayne State, Nebraska.

Only St. Cloud Tech doesn't have a player that has made a choice yet.

Of course Tayler Hill of South is a high D1 prospect.

TEAM BY TEAM
OWATONNA: A #2 seed in the section that won the rubber game with Rochester JM. It was interesting to me that Beth Christensen was bringing the ball up against Mankato West. Lauren Barber was deadly that night. She can take over a game. When Christensen fouled out and the game tied, she simply grabbed the game by the throat and stuck it in her pocket. The third option is Amy Kubat, a smaller post.

CHASKA: Another #2 winner. Down 12 to start the 2nd half in the championship, Chaska used the inspired play by Boylan and company to get the job done. This is Boylan's team, but the Hawks have some solid sophs in Brooke Brown, Brianna Tisch and reserve Degler. For them to keep moving forward they will need to tighten up the defense. No team will allow Chaska the comeback ability again.

EASTVIEW: Eastview uses quickness (they are Lightning after all) to key their defense. They don't allow many easy looks or shots. Brittnye McSparron has the keys to the car. She has a killer pull up jumper. DaNae Moore is an athlete and a slasher along the baseline. Sam Mehr can strike from behind the arc. Their schedule has prepped them for a deep run.

ST. PAUL CENTRAL: The defending state champs still have important parts to the championship puzzle. They still have quickness, they still have size inside. They have a one two punch with Buford and Theairra Taylor on the outside. Jones and Megan Howard provided an inside presence. The key may come down to the point play of Kyana Johnson. If she stays in system Central could be a challenge. Also the bench has to step up and provided quality minutes.

OSSEO: Another #2 seed. The slayers of #1 Centennial are making their second straight trip. They moved up in the seeds this year and with their balance, and athletic ability will be a tough team to handle. Danielle Mangen can hurt the opposition from deep. Jennifer Sunnarborg is finishing her career strong. They are a hard hat kind of team and simply get after it. The Orioles will need to avoid foul problems to advance.

MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH: This #2 seed in 6AAAA is the #1 seed in the state. They got their revenge against Hopkins in the section final. With Tayler Hill on the squad they are always a threat. South can beat you in a myriad of ways. Take away the drive and they hit the trey ball. Get up on them and they drive to the glass. They make more free throws than their opponents take. The three headed monster of Hill, Holmes and Tyisha Smith is the best in the state, bar none. The Tigers aren't post oriented but have a big presence in Taquoia Hammick. Their bench also contributes quality minutes.

ST. FRANCIS: St. Francis has good guard play, and a decent inside presence. They played zone to start both games I saw. They have decent quickness and are underrated. If teams don't come out to play them hard from the start, they will have problems with the Saints. No AAAA coaches were there on Saturday. That I found interesting. Schwartzwald and Borstner provide most of the fire works. St. Francis probably didn't get much love due to the North Suburban conference. But the Saints topped Totino late in the year in a key win.

ST. CLOUD TECH: Had a strong won/loss record, but again, like St. Francis had questions about the strength of schedule. Offensively, when I saw them, they struggled in the half court game. Jordyn Sears likes to transition. Kristin Johnson has shown big improvements inside over the year. Hannah Zwiener is the 3 point threat. Tech uses man as their bread and butter defense.

So what does the crystal ball say?
I don't see any differential with the seeds on Wednesday. Some might be tighter, but all favored teams move on.
In the semis, South will have more fire power than Osseo. Central will get Eastview in the semis to set up a rematch from last year.
That contest will go to South this time, for their third win over the Minutemen this year.

Next up: An observation from Coach Teas--behind the camera

AAA Preview

#8 posting 3.10.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AAA PREVIEW
The field is set. The seeds are planted and the AAA tournament will begin on Wednesday at split sites.
At the Target Center it will be #1 DeLaSalle vs #8 Austin; with #4 Minnehaha vs #5 Fergus Falls later.

At Williams Arena #2 Rogers vs #7 Marshall; with #3 Totino-Grace vs #6 Grand Rapids to follow.
The semis take place on Thursday night.

I have seen every team at least once. I have seen DeLaSalle three times and Totino-Grace twice.
A Look at the field
section, Seed, Team, record, final AP poll, MN Scores QRF poll
1, 8, Austin, 20-7, NR, 11
2, 7, Marshall, 20-8, NR, 9
3, 3, Totino-Grace 25-3, 5, 4
4, 4, Minnehaha 26-3, 3, 8
5, 2, Rogers 26-3, 2, 1
6, 1, DeLaSalle 27-1, 1, 1, 3
7, 6, Grand Rapids 25-4, 10, 6
8, 5, Fergus Falls 24-4, 6, 7
Only three of the teams have lost to AAA teams: Austin 2, Marshall 5, Minnehaha 2. At least one will join them on Wednesday.
Margins vary from the high of 34.2 of DeLaSalle to the 7.8 of Marshall. Three of the teams have 20+ margins with DLS, Minnehaha and Totino-Grace north of that mark.
I looked at Quality wins (wins over teams in the top 75 of the MaxPreps poll). Rogers leads that mark with 11, followed by Marshall with 7. Austin and DeLaSalle each have 6. Totino-Grace had the lowest title for 2.
Here is a look at the pp100 and floor % numbers
team, pp100, floor %; Dpp100, Dfloor%
Austin 86.57, .373; 61.76, .309
Marshall 91.18, .412; 101.45, .493
Totino-Grace 76.87, .366; 71.64, .343
Minnehaha 88.41, .435; 66.67, .319
Rogers 70.0, .340, 65.38, .308
DeLaSalle 96.2, .446, 68.4, .335
Grand Rapids 92.06, .444, 60.32, .286
Fergus Falls 81.67, .400, 62.9, .355
Now keep in mind I only saw most of these teams once, so it is just a snap shot. I think if I have three, four games under the belt then it gives a better indication. Look at at the past two winners (since I have been doing this blog)
2006: Benilde-St. Margaret's 89.6, .448; 63.89, .302
2007: Becker 75.35, .351, 63.17, .325
The thing that strikes me is that defense rules in this class. So about five teams would seem to be in the hunt--Austin, Minnehaha, DeLaSalle, Rogers, Grand Rapids--if you use that metric.

There is one D1 signee in the AAA tournament: Hannah Draxten of Fergus Falls. She is headed to Iowa.

There is one D2: Aaryn Booker of DeLaSalle to St. Cloud State.

Here is a thumbnail on all the teams with players to watch
AUSTIN: runs 9 players in and out in waves, uses 1/3/1 zone and likes to press. Brittney Gibson is the guard that hit the buzzer beating three to send Austin to the dance. Tina Vorpahl is strong and active.
MARSHALL: Used zone early in the year. doesn't quit, uses the 3 ball to good effect. Anna Full is the main force for Marshall, able to score in and out. Marshall took the volleyball state title in AA this year. They came back in the championship game so it is in their DNA to rally and never quit.
TOTINO-GRACE: another team that uses plenty of bodies. They have been to the tournament last year and were bumped by Detroit Lakes. They want to avoid that scenario this year. Lizzie Naumann is a big target for TG. Also Veronica Scott is a player to reckon with.
MINNEHAHA: used the press early in the year. Players to watch: My three -sons or sens. Megan Erlandson is the point guard that came in from Concordia Roseville. Rachel Hansen is a perimeter shooter. Sarah Peterson can score both in and out. Add to the mix Katelyn Adams, a 6-4 post that is improving daily, and you have a recipe for success. This is their first AAA tournament.
ROGERS: Precision, control, match up zone defense, and guards define the Rogers formula for success. Rogers dumped the defending state champs Becker three times this year. Last year Rogers was not at full strength. This year the injuries have healed. Casey Mann is a 2000 point scorer and Jennifer Dowd has a good feel for the game. They made the tournament two years ago, but didn't advance. Both Mann and Dowd will look to change that result.
DE LA SALLE: Has been perched a top the ratings since early in the year. The Islanders use plenty of players as well. It is their third straight journey to the the Target Center. They have the shortest trip of any team in the state. Aaryn Booker is a powerful force inside. Anna Kovalchuk can hurt the opposition outside. They also have a freshman that turns heads in Tori Rule. But it is the relentless defensive full court pressure that gives this team their signature feature.
GRAND RAPIDS: GR is another team that uses many bodies. The Thunderhawks didn't get the attention during the season, and that may be to their advantage. They can score outside with lefty Ashley Runge providing long range sniping. They have some bruisers inside with Cagle and McBride. And their bench was effective.
FERGUS FALLS: This is the first time in the tournament for the Otters. They have played a lot of tight contests in the Central Lakes. A senior dominated line up. Hannah Draxten is their go to player and she can fire away from behind the arc.

So what does the crystal ball say?
I see the top seeds moving on, but the upset (there has to be one) is Grand Rapids beating Totino-Grace.
In the Semis it is a heart stopper again for DLS and MA with DLS winning for the third time. Rogers moves on in the night cap.
In the Finals Rogers will keep the AAA Championship in the Mississippi 8 (or 9).

next up: AAAA preview

Grab Bag: Iowa Tournament Deluxe

#6 posting 2.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

GRAB BAG
There is a grab bag after all.
IOWA TOURNAMENT
The Cedar Rapids Gazette has features on the Iowa State tourament.

1A Which shooter will prevail? 2A: will it be a good Knight? 3A: Will Ballard grab their ring? 4A: will the Mississippi Valley Conference take home the top honor?

The CRG also has previews on the 1A Springville vs Holy Trinity game this afternoon and the 2A MFL-Mar-Mac vs North Polk game tonight.

You can find state touranment results here.

AWARDS
Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson (South Shore, WI) has been named Big 10 player of the week. It is her third honor this year.

Next up: it will be later, later, later, tonight. The O&A this week are going to be brief because there will be multiple games.

State Tournament Time in Des Moines

#2 posting 2.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

IOWA TOURNAMENT
Today there will be four 1A quarterfinals, and two 2A quarters.
The weather report is not friendly and there are contingency plans from the IGHSAU.
If you can't get there you can watch ...for $9.95 a game from IHSSN or you can listen for free.
Here are todays match ups
1A
10:00 SE Webster Grand vs Newell-Fonda
11:30 WCLT vs Dunkerton*
1:00 Exira vs Lawton-Bronson
2:30 Springville vs Holy Trinity*

2A
6:30 North Polk vs MFL-Mar-Mac*
8:00 Manson-NW Webster vs AGWSR*
*=undefeated

The Des Moines Register has a class by class preview. Also the four #1s: Cedar Rapids Washington, Ballard of Huxley, Davenport Assumption and Dunkerton are also in the DMR.

4A
Linn-Mar's Jamie Printy is back after a knee injury last year. From the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

3A
Ballard is led by juniors and gets the spotlight in the Marshalltown Times Republican.

2A
AGWSR has senior leadership which is featured in the Marshalltown Times Republican.

Manson Northwest Webster is featured in the Fort Dodge Messenger.

1A
Lawton-Bronson's tournament chances are previewed in the Sioux City Journal.

WCLT gets some attention from the Mason City Globe Gazette. The send off is also included.

next up: more reports