How Young is too Young?

#1 posting 5.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG?
The StarTribune looks at the early verbals happening every year. The focus is on boys basketball players making verbals before a second of high school basketball. The National Association of Basketball Coaches will look at the recruitment of players
Here is my take:
#1 A verbal is as good as the paper it is written on.
#2 Especially for boys, where physical maturation occurs later, it is a shot in the dark. For girls and their earlier physical maturation, my theory is if you aren't a "star" by the time you are a sophomore you probably aren't a "star." I can count on one hand the number of girls that zoomed up the list that weren't "stars" as sophs and were as seniors and they were bigger than 6-3 each and every time.
#3 movement---recently the Ohio women's basketball coaching staff took off to Boston College. They had a pair of verbals from the 2009 class in Minnesota--Kara Elofson of Hopkins and Tina Fisher of Park-Cottage Grove. Both their verbals are on track after talking to the new coach.
#4 injury---what happens when there is some sort of injury?
#5 academics---maybe with a verbal out of the way the player will make sure their academics are in order. Maybe.

MORE MYAS
The MN Dynamite Team which won the 16U MYAS State tournament last weekend beating Chaska Gold 44-42 in the championship at Armstrong. Here is their photo.

They are going to take a shot at the Nationals in Tampa over July 4th Holiday weekend.

ALL STAR
The IBCA Goalsetter All Star game will take place in Pella, Iowa on June 6 and 7. The site has a list of players divided by class.

COACHING NEWS
Ed Baldwin has been named an assistant women's basketball coach at Ohio State. Tanzania Williams, Tamika (Williams) Raymond's sister, takes over as director of operations. Raymond moved on to Kansas opening up the assistant position.

COURT TIME
DePere girls basketball coach David Johnson had his attorney in court on Thursday Johnson faces a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly hitting a student. From the Green Bay Press Gazette.

SEASON WRAP
Vermont looks back at their season. Former coach Pam Borton is now 4th on the all time Vermont win list there as current coach Sharon Dawley passed her up.

ALL AMERICAN CAGE CLASSIC
There are at large bids available for the 13th annual All American Cage Class Nation Championships to be held in Bloomington, MN on July 1-July 5.
A limited number of “at-large” bids to the Cage Classic National Championships are now available to youth basketball teams grades 4 – 12, both boys & girls, who desire to compete against some of the best basketball teams in the Midwest and the country. The “at-large” entry fee is only $550.00 per team!

The Championship Tournament will be held in Bloomington, MN, home of Mall of America, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the U.S. All games will be played at two high schools which feature 15 spring loaded wood courts. and are within 5 minutes of one another.

Other tournament highlights include:
3 games guaranteed, plus the play-offs
Team & individual awards
Officials; all high school certified
Luxury hotels exclusively for tournament teams @ great rates
Many local attractions in the Bloomington area

For more information on the Cage Classic National Championships, go to the Cage Classic National Tournament Page, www.coachrudys.com/cageinfo.html, or contact
Coach Rudy, National Tournament Director @ coachrudys@yahoo.com or 262-880-3002. “At-large” bids will be on a first come, first serve basis only; entry deadline - June 10.

Next up: later today with the week that was....it was a short week.

Out & About: Southern Minne Magic/Triple Threat

#4 posting 5.22.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This game took place May 18, 2008
St. Francis High School
MYAS STATE TOURNAMENT
17u CHAMPIONSHIP
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC 54, TRIPLE THREAT 50

Southern Minne Magic took the top prize by making the Triple Threat offense disappear for 10:30 minutes. Most of it was their defense that held TT to one field goal in 21 possessions. Part of it was the absence of Teresa Thour who injured her elbow late in the first half.

Both teams were hot early in the game. Both teams scored on their first chances. Triple Threat used a perimeter shooting approach. That tactic paid dividends right away as TT hit on some long twos. SMM used the inside game with put backs and free throws. SMM delivered 17 points at the line in 18 attempts. TT only attempted 9. SMM had an early 17-11 lead after a Brittni Mayer 3. TT tied it up at 19. The lead would change four times before TT maintained their advantage. TT closed the half with a 13-3 run. Teresa Thour, who provided TT with a pair of 3s, was knocked out of the game at 2:45 going after a loose ball. She wouldn't return. She had 8 points in the first half as did teammate Amanda Iverson. She too did not score in the second half, although she did play. SMM had offensive problems as they failed to score for five straight possessions. At half time it was TT up 35-26.

TT scored the first four points of the second half and led 39-26 at their widest margin. Then it all shifted to the Magic side. Alyssa Rushton scored the first four points in the SMM comeback. Jacy Christenson had a three to put TT up 42-30, but then they fell into a offensive nether world where they only scored once in 21 possessions. It started with a 9 possession drought, 4 of which ended as turnovers. Meanwhile the Magic kept chipping away. It was Rushton again who ignited things with an &1 plus a drive. She scored 9 straight for SMM. The first time the Magic took the lead in the second half was on two free throws by Rachel Stenhaug. Allie Chinander answered with a jumper for TT to put them back in front 44-43. Then it was back to the deep freeze for the TT offense. SMM scored eight unanswered points to take a 51-44 lead with under a minute to go. TT used the triple to get right back into the contest. Christenson knocked down a three and with 19.4 seconds left Jessica Bergman connected from beyond the arc to make it 51-50. TT was forced to foul and SMM made their free throws to preserve the 54-50 win.

Last weekend SMM was 1-2 in the AAU state tournament and finished in 13th place. This is another Triple Threat team than the one I saw earlier this year at Park Center.

photos: #1 Whitney Ryan shoots over Teresa Thour. Abby McDaniel on a transition lay up with Brittni Mayer ready to block the attempt. photos by kja.

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC
STARTERS
Alyssa Rushton, Rochester JM 18, 13, 138.5, .667 point guard, lefty. has 3 range. scores off the dribble. is probably more suited for a shooting guard. only one assist
Katie Lauer, Mankato West 2, 5, 40.0, .200 post/forward.
Whitney Ryan, Kenyon-Wanamingo 4, 4, 100.0, .500 post. did her share on the d boards.
Abby Rothenbuehler, Mankato West 4, 5, 80.0, .400 post, but more suited for perimeter. fouled out. needs to get better original position
Rachel Stenhaug, Rochester JM 6, 5, 120.0, .600 guard. all her points came at the line. visited the stripe three times.
BENCH
Yvonne Freese, Lanesboro 12, 14, 85.7, .500 post. workhorse on the boards. six points on second chancers.
Brittni Mayer, Dover-Eyota 8, 10, 80.0, .300 aggressive perimeter. hit a three. looks to drive.

TRIPLE THREAT
STARTERS
Amanda Iverson, Waconia 8, 4, 200.0, .750 perimeter/forward. jumped center. all her points came in the first half. went to the line three times. can score when hit.
Rachelle Blaschko, LeSueur-Henderson 8, 14, 57.1, .286 guard. likes to run. Another who was silent in the second half.
Taylor Morrell, St. Francis 7, 4, 175.0, .750 perimeter player. can hit a 3. made one at the buzzer to end first half. runs the floor.
Abby McDaniel, Champlin Park 2, 10, 20.0, .100 scored her points in transition
Teresa Thour, Wayzata 8, 4, 200.0, .750 all points in the first half. knocked down a pair of 3s.
BENCH
Kayla Thom, Mayer Lutheran 0, 3, 0.0, .000 post
Jessica Bergman, Mounds View 5, 5, 100.0, .600 made a 3
Jacy Christenson, Mounds View 8, 10, 80.0, .300 hit two 3s in the second half. thinner bigger perimeter.
Krista Stoltz, Centennial 2, 2, 100.0, .500 guard
Allie Chinander, Mounds View 2, 2, 100.0, .500 guard

TRENCH PLAYER
Alyssa Rushton

BY THE NUMBERS
Southern Minne Magic 54, 56, 96.4, .464
Triple Threat 50, 58, 86.2, .362
made 3s/&1s: TT 6/1, SMM 2/1
ftm/fta-ft%: SMM 17/18-.944; TT 6/9-.667
bench: SMM 20, TT 17

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC
Yvonne Freese 9
Whitney Ryan 8
Alyssa Rushton 6
Brittni Mayer 4
Abby Rothenbueher 2
Rachel Stenhaug 2
Katie Lauer 1
totals: 32

TRIPLE THREAT
Amanda Iverson 7
Abby McDaniel 4.5
Jacy Christensen 3
Taylor Morrell 2.5
Teresa Thour 2
Rachelle Blaschko 1
totals: 20

ASSISTS
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC
Katie Lauer 5
Abby Rothenbuehler 4
Rachel Stenhaug 4
Whitney Ryan 2
Brittni Mayer 2
Alyssa Rushton 1
totals: 18

TRIPLE THREAT
Rachelle Blaschko 5
Taylor Morrell 5
Teresa Thour 3
Jacy Christenson 3
Abby McDaniel 2
Allie Chinander 2
Amanda Iverson 1
totals: 21

Next up: tomorrow morning, unless news breaks

Gosson Decides

#3 posting 5.22.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

GOSSON TO SUPERIOR
Nikki Gosson of Mankato East has decided to continue her basketball career at UW Superior. The 5-10 forward averaged 14 ppg for the 4-22 Cougars last year.

Gosson is the 117th player from the 2008 Minnesota class to continue on with basketball post high school. She is the 32nd known Minnesota 2008 player to commit to a D3 school.

next up: MYAS 17u Championship

Southern Illinois Five Move On, NDSU Hires Assistant

#2 posting 5.22.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS FIVE
Here is where the five women's basketball players that have left Southern Illinois have landed:
Ellen Young, Southern Indiana
Brenna Saline, Missouri Western State
Tanaeya Worden, Christian Brothers
Paris Campbell, Lincoln University
Natalie Taylor, Winona State
From the Southern.

COACHING NEWS
Former Bison Jaime Berry has been hired as a women's basketball assistant at North Dakota State.

Todd Schlimgen has left Colman-Egan to become the girls basketball coach at Harrisburg in South Dakota. C-E finished second in class B this season. From the Harrisburg Champion.

Roy Raymond has resigned as girls basketball coach at Linden Michigan after 23 years. From the Flint Journal.

AAU
Lakeville North girls basketball team is going to Kearney, NE in July to play in the Miss Basketball Showcase tournament, July 10-13.

Next up: the 17u MYAS State Championship game

St. Ben's in Greece, Battle of the Plains

#1 posting 5.22. 2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

ST. BEN'S IN GREECE
The College of St. Benedict beat Kalamata in Greece 78-31. The Blazers lost to Ravenna, the feeder team to the Greek National team, 59-53. From the St. Cloud Times.

BATTLE ON THE PLAINS
3rd Annual Battle on the Plains
(Promoted and endorsed by Michael T White)

NCAA Certified Event
13U-17U
July 22nd-24th, 2008
Lincoln, NE

Look Below for some Committed teams:

To Register go online:
http://www.basketballincollege.com/TTIntro.aspx?tid=TRN005
We are limited to 64 teams, and with the growing demand and interest we have already received, we full expect to reach that number.
Girls Exposure Tournament
5 age divisions ( U13, U14, U15, U16, and U17)
Elite teams
All games will be played at 1 location, allowing for college coaches to watch more games
5 game guarantee- many play 6-7 games
16 minute stopped clock halves
all courts will feature 30 second NCAA shot clock
Many D1, D2, D3, NAIA and JUCO coaches in attendance
Entry Fee- Only $550, for 5 game guarantee Event will be hosted by the NE Bison & Judds teams, along with the Cornhusker Shooting Stars, and Bison Youth Sports Complex.
We expect some of the best clubs, and teams in the nation in attendance. We have already confirmed many of the top rated players from 2009, 2010, 2011 that will be in attendance.

Dan Lesoing(402) 429-0920
NE Bison & Judds CSShttp://www.cornhuskershootingstars.com/
dlesoing@windstream.net
bigish84@aol.com

Some Committed teams
Cornhusker Shooting Stars- 5
NE Bison & Judds
All Iowa Attack- 4
IBCA Select- 3
Houston, TX CY-Fair- 3
TX Team Ichiban- 3
KC Thundercats/Blazers 2-3
Kansas Dream Team- 2
Omaha Crusaders- 2

SUMMER LEAGUE
The Park Region conference will host a summer league with sites rotating among these teams: Bertha-Hewitt, Eagle Valley, Henning, Menahga, New York Mills, Sebeka, Verndale

YOUNGSTERS
The MN Stars- Antl 11U team has qualified for the USSSA National Championships on July 5-8 in Tampa, FL, They also will be participating in the Memorial Classic this weekend in Menomonie, WI, Summer Jam in June and ending with the Midwest Adidas Classic in Ames, IA June 20-22.
Girls on roster include Jordyn Alt, Alyssa Antl, Grace Coughlin, McKenna Happke, Erika Johnson, Sydney Lamberty, Oliva Mathis, Emily Namyst, Emma Robinson, Jaime Schnell, and Katie Werth

SUMMER CAMP
Minneapolis South will hold a summer camp June 23-26 for boys and girls from 8 am to noon. Their will be a second camp from July 14-18 from 8 am to noon for girls only. Cost will be $85. Contact Ahmil Jihad at-mailto:at-ahmil07@yahoo.com for more information.

Next up: more reports

Schulte Verbals

#4 posting 5.21.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SCHULTE VERBALS
Emily Schulte, a 5-8 guard from Sioux Falls O'Gorman has verbally committed to attend Augustana in Sioux Falls, SD. She was a first team All-State player.

Schulte is the first South Dakota player from the 2009 class to verbal a D2 school. She is the fifth overall to make a college choice.

next up: tomorrow morning

Jones Signs

#3 posting 5.21.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

JONES SIGNS
Jalesa Jones of Detroit Pershing has signed with Detroit Mercy. The 5-4 guard was the player of the year in the PSL in Detroit. She averaged 20 ppg for Pershing.
She is the 5th to sign with Detroit Mercy this year under new coach Autumn Rademacher.
The others
Lauren Allen, Rochester Hills, MI
Alex Moore, St. Paul Johnson
Yar Shayok, Ottawa Hillcrest
Jaleesa Trussell, Racine Case
Jones is the 20th player from Michigan to sign with a D1 school and the 161st to continue to play basketball after high school.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Out & About: Southern Minne Magic/Minnesota Lakers

#2 posting 5.21.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This game took place May 18, 2008
St. Francis High School
MYAS STATE TOURNAMENT
17u SEMIFINALS
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC 51, MINNESOTA LAKERS 42

The name of this semifinal was rebounding. Southern Minne Magic crashed the offensive boards hard and had a 19-3 point advantage on putbacks in beating the Minnesota Lakers 51-42. The other word was balance. The Magic had five players with 8 to 10 points. The Lakers are made up primarily of players in the Red Rock Conference in southwestern Minnesota. Southern Minne Magic is made up of players from the southeastern part of the state.

SMM started the scoring off on a drive by Alyssa Rushton. The Magic quickly built up a 16-5 lead as they had a 6/8 scoring surge. And already the put back trend was in full force with four coming on second chancers. The Lakers started the game with a five possession drought and 1/8 offensive sequence. The Lakers burned a time out at 12-3. At half time it was 29-19 Magic with Rachel Stenhaug leading the way with 7 points.

The Lakers cut that margin to 29-24 after a five point unanswered string with Karli Meyer providing all the points. Stenhaug answered two possessions later with a three. The closest the Lakers got after that was six points at 32-26. A six possession drought right after closing the gap torpedoed any hopes of a comeback. The Magic had 8 unanswered points during the Lakers offensive slumber. It was 51-36 late in the game when the Lakers made two three point plays. One of which was three free throws by Samantha Lynn after being fouled in the act of shooting behind the arc, and another three from Thea Engen to make it 51-42.

Coaching for the Lakers is Ellsworth's boys assistant coach Steve Kellen. Also on the bench was Lance Becker. Once upon a time I was the boys head coach in Ellsworth and Lance would come in and scrimmage the team.

Missing for the Lakers was Emily Bose a 6-1 center from Murray County Central. Missing for SMM was Kristina Vorphal, Kate Hartman and Brittney Gengler.

photos: #1 Liberty Robinson dribbles by a fallen Brittni Mayer. #2 Karli Meyer is posting up while Whitney Ryan plays behind. photos by kja

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC
STARTERS
Brittni Mayer, Dover-Eyota 6, 9, 66.7, .333 guard, active defensively
Alyssa Rushton, Rochester JM 9, 8, 112.5, .500 point guard. lefty. needs to understand passing angles. tried to get the ball inside, but could not see the posts numbers.
Katie Lauer, Mankato West 8, 11, 72.7, .364 post. more 4. scored on second chancers.
Yvonne Freese, Lanesboro 8, 9, 88.9, .444 bruising post. dominates boards. best close in on shot. at times rushes shot and it looks like a throw.
Whitney Ryan, Kenyon-Wanamingo 2, 3, 66.7, .333 post
BENCH
Rachel Stenhaug, Rochester JM 10, 6, 166.7, .667 shooting guard. made two 3s.
Abby Rothenbuehler, Mankato West 8, 11, 72.7, .364 long lean post. More 3 I think. tendency to pick up fouls.

MINNESOTA LAKERS
STARTERS
Katie Hadler, Edgerton 0, 4, 0.0, .000 guard
Liberty Robinson, Luverne 2, 7, 28.6, .143 guard. likes to shoot 3s.
Samantha Lynn, Adrian 4, 8, 50.0, .250 point guard. led both teams in assists. alert on defense. however left her feet on defense after buying a fake.
Karli Meyer, Adrian 12, 12, 100.0, .500 did her damage inside. not very big at 5-8. was adept at drawing fouls. went to the line four times.
Thea Engen, Red Rock Central 10, 13, 76.9, .385 has some length and can face the basket. hit a 3 at the top of the key.
BENCH
Erica Thier, Adrian 2, 3, 66.7, .333 guard
Alyson Drooger, Edgerton 12, 9, 133.3, .444 taller perimeter. another player with the lean look. made a couple of 3s.
Brooke Kix, Ellsworth 0, 2, 0.0, .000 guard

TRENCH PLAYER
Rachel Stenhaug

BY THE NUMBERS
Southern Minne Magic 51, 57, 89.5, .421
Minnesota Lakers 42, 58, 72.4, .310
made 3s/&1s: SMM 5/0; ML 5/1
ftm/fta-ft%: ML 12/19-.632; SMM 8/13-.615
bench: SMM 18, ML 14

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC
Yvonne Freese 9
Brittni Mayer 6
Abby Rothenbuehler 6
Whitney Ryan 4.5
Katie Lauer 4
Alyssa Rushton 3.5
Rachel Stenhaug 3
totals: 36

MINNESOTA LAKERS
Thea Engen 10
Samantha Lynn 7
Liberty Robinson 3
Alyson Drooger 3
Katie Hadler 2
Karli Meyer 2
Erica Thier 1
Brooke Kix 1
totals: 29

ASSISTS
SOUTHERN MINNE MAGIC
Alyssa Rushton 3
Katie Lauer 3
Brittni Mayer 2
Abby Rothenbuehler 2
Whitney Ryan 2
Yvonne Freese 1
Rachel Stenhaug 1
totals: 14

MINNESOTA LAKERS
Samantha Lynn 5
Liberty Robinson 4
Karli Meyer 2
Erica Thier 2
Thea Engen 2
Brooke Kix 2
Katie Hadler 1
totals: 18

Next up: Tomorrow morning

2 Coaching Hires, Emerald Isle, Six Rivers

#1 posting 5.21.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

COACHING NEWS
Mike Torgerson will be the new girls basketball coach at Littlefork-Big Falls. From the International Falls Journal.

Patrick Touhey has been hired as the Niles, Michigan girls basketball coach. From the Niles Daily Star.

SPRING TRIPS
The UW Platteville women's basketball team is traveling with the men's team to Ireland. Here is day 1 and day 2 in the Emerald Isle.

AWARDS
Lynn Messer has been named Dickinson Female Athlete of the Year.

ALL STAR GAME
The Six River All Star game in Wisconsin will take place on June 27 at Black Hawk high school at South Wayne, Wisconsin. From the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.

Next up; later today with 17U MYAS semifinal between Southern Minne Magic and the Minnesota Lakers.

Witte Verbals

#4 posting 5.20.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

WITTE VERBALS
Ashley Witte, a 6-0 forward from Champlin Park High School has verbally committed to Southwest Minnesota State. Witte was being pursued by several D2 schools and a few D1 schools. Witte averaged 12.2ppg and 6.7 rpg for the Rebels. She was a key contributor on the Rebels state tournament team as a sophomore. She is currently 10th on the Rebels all time scoring list and 6th all time in blocks.
On a separate note, the Rebels have had 8 seniors the past two seasons and 7 of them have gone on to play college basketball. The two most recent being Jessica Hoffman (St. Kate's) and Natalie Thomas (UM-Morris) from this year's senior class.
Witte is the 9th overall player from the 2009 Minnesota class to verbal and the 3rd headed to a D2 program.

photo: Witte shooting vs Minneapolis Southwest in the consolation round of the Apple Valley Tournament. photo by Teas.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Out & About: Gym Rats/Minnesota Thunder

#3 posting 5.20.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This game took place May 17, 2008
Hopkins High School
MYAS STATE TOURNAMENT
19u SEMIFINALS
GYM RATS 48, MINNESOTA THUNDER 44

This game featured players from that have had a year away from high school basketball. It also featured players that are headed to D1 and D2 schools. Also there was at least one player from the 2009 class. The Gym Rats, my guess is, have not practiced together that much if at all. They may have been formed for this weekend. They are familiar with each other because many were on the Triple Threat team from two years ago. The Thunder practice a couple times a week I have been told.

Early on that familiarity by the Thunder helped them to take a 9-4 lead. Amanda Viehauser, headed to UW Milwaukee, tied the game up with two consecutive baskets--her only two of the night. The Thunder roared with a 12-4 run helped by a pair of 3s from Caitlyn Book. The Thunder scored on four straight possessions to kick off the run. A key play with 24.9 seconds left came when Ashle Roedel missed a front end free throw for the Thunder. Laura Kalbfell grabbed the rebound, and was fouled on an over the back call. She made the first, but missed the second of two free throws. The ball stayed in the Gym Rats hands however. On their next crack at the basket, Kiara Buford was fouled. She knocked down both so the score at half was 23-20 for the Thunder. That was a swing of five points.

At the start of the second half Buford took over as you would expect a D1 recruit to do. She scored on three consecutive Gym Rat possessions to tie the game at 26 all. There were seven lead changes in the second half with one more tie. The last time the Thunder led was after a shot from the left wing by Book. At this point I had to leave the game. Fortunately Alex Nagel was there to take over the book and chart keeping duties. When I returned it was 45-43 for the Gym Rats. Their biggest lead when I was away was 45-41. The Thunder cut the margin to 45-44 after one free throw by Kelly Boelter. The Rats milked the clock from 2:15 down to 1:07 when Buford made the first of two free throws. The Thunder came down and Colleen Doerr rushed a 3. Kalbfell picked up the rebound. Buford was fouled, but missed her free throw chance. Kalbfell was there again for the board and Porsha Zimmerman delivered one free throw with 37.1 seconds left. A fumble, then a travel put the ball back in the Thunder's hands. This time Book tried the 3, but was off balance and not in rhythm. Brittany Mayclin rebounded for the Rats and she ended the scoring with one free throw to make it 48-44. Another 3 went off the mark and the game was over.

Photos: #1 Serenae Levine elevates in front of Amanda Viehauser. #2. Colleen Doerr ducks under the arm of Amanda Viehauser. photos by kja

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
GYM RATS
STARTERS
Porshe Zimmerman, unknown, 3, 8, 37.5, .250 Zimmerman is a point guard that has been out of organized ball for two years now. She is quick and gritty
Kiara Buford, St. Paul Central 19, 10, 190.0, .900 dominated like a D1 player should. Went to the rack often and went to the line often (8 times). Her defense ignited her offense.
Brittany Mayclin, NDSCS 1, 7, 14.3, .143 guard. insurance free throw was big. needs to be cleaner with the ball.
Aneshia Starks, SW MN State 5, 7, 71.4, .429 guard. has length on the perimeter.
Amanda Viehauser, Armstrong 6, 4, 150.0, .750 post player head to D1. did damage early offensively. the entire second half did not have a possession. She did pass well out of the post.
BENCH
Alicia Stensgaard, NDSCS, 4, 5, 80.0, .400 more post-ish.
Laura Kalbfell, St. Thomas 3, 3, 100.0, .333 forward. scored her points at the line.
Nicole Dooher, Armstrong 2, 4, 50.0, .000 guard coming back from leg problems during the high school year. Looked to take the shot off the drive.
Shayla Johnson, NDSCS 5, 5, 100.0, .400 guard. did make the only 3 for the Rats

MINNESOTA THUNDER
STARTERS
Serenae Levine, Eden Prairie 6, 12, 50.0, .250 point guard. had the most assists and is in the thick of things on defense. Shooting touch from the floor needs more repetition.
Nicole Hanninen, Bloomington Jefferson 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000 scored on skip passes vs the GR zone. Didn't score in the first half.
Colleen Doerr, LeSueur-Henderson 7, 12, 58.3, .250 guard. has 3 ability.
Kelly Boelter, Bloomington Kennedy 1, 4, 25.0, .250 post
Katrina Blackowiak, Shakopee 5, 3, 166.7, 1.000 scored on put backs. rebounded.
BENCH
Caitlyn Book, Wayzata 14, 8, 175.0, .625 3 point sharpshooter. drained four. defense adjusted to her in the second half.
Ashle Roedel, Bloomington Jefferson 4, 8, 50.0, .250 perimeter.
Marina Swanson, Rochester Home School 0, 2, 0.0, .000 listed at 6-5. needs to play at a faster pace at practice and with teammates. This is stronger competition than she has faced.
Danielle Bradley, Bloomington Kennedy 0, 1, 0.0, .000 perimeter

TRENCH PLAYER
Kiara Buford, hands down

BY THE NUMBERS
Gym Rats 48, 53, 90.6. .434
MN Thunder 44, 54, 81.5, .370
made 3s/&1s: MT 6/0; GR 1/1
ftm/fta-ft%: GR 16/24-.667; MT 9/13-.692
bench: MT 18. GR 14

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
GYM RATS
Kiara Buford 7
Amanda Viehauser 5
Laura Kalbfell 4
Porsha Zimmerman 3
Aneshia Starks 3
Brittany Mayclin 2
Nicole Dooher 2
Alicia Stensgaard 1
totals: 27

MINNESOTA THUNDER
Serenae Levine 5
Katrina Blackowiak 5
Marina Swanson 4
Caitlyn Book 3
Ashle Roedel 3
Danielle Bradley 2
Nicole Hanninen 1
Colleen Doerr 1
totals: 24

ASSISTS
GYM RATS
Amanda Viehauser 3
Nicole Dooher 3
Porsha Zimmerman 2
Brittany Mayclin 2
Laura Kalbfell 2
Kiara Buford 1
Aneshia Starks 1
totals: 14

MINNESOTA THUNDER
Serenae Levine 7
Ashle Roedel 4
Nicole Hanninen 2
Danielle Bradley 1
totals: 14

Next up: tomorrow

2 Verbals, 3 Signings, $$$, Europe Trip, & Radio

#2 posting 5.20.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

VERBALS
Emilee Harmon of Pickerington Central, Ohio has made a verbal to Ohio State. The 6-2 junior center averaged 18.8 last year.

Kim Parker of Wasatch, Utah has made a verbal to Brigham Young. The 5-11 junior averaged 15.1 ppg last year. From the Salt Lake Tribune.

SIGNINGS
Kirkwood CC players Rachele Monroe and Ashley Gorsh both signed with the Univ. of New Orleans, and Allie Lindemann has signed with Siena College.

COACHING NEWS
Kristy Stark has been asked to resign as girls basketball coach at Mason County Eastern, Michigan due to work conflicts. From the Ludington Daily News.

Reeths-Puffer in Michigan is looking for a girls basketball coach. From the White Lake Beacon.

Former Fairmont player and current Briar Cliff sophomore Rhiannon Plumhoff will hold a camp at Fairmont June 9-13. She is also coaching the Northwest Iowa Select 7th grade AAU team.

$$$$
Marquette coach Terri Mitchell's salary is part of a story on former Marquette men's coach Tom Crean and his huge salary. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

AWARDS
Jenna Weber of Reedsville, Wisconsin has been named the female athlete of the year in the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.

FORFEITS
Riverland CC is recovering from the forfeit season. From Scott Kolb's column in the Austin Post Bulletin.

TRIPS
UW Milwaukee women's basketball team leaves for Amsterdam today for a three nation, eight day trip.

RADIO INTERVIEW
In case you missed it I was interviewed on the Al Woods Show last night.

Next up: later today with the MYAS 19u Semifinal with the Gym Rats and the Minnesota Thunder.

More MYAS State Tournament Results

#1 posting 5.20.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE MYAS STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS
17u D2
Amber Dvorak, who is pretty dominant at this level, led the Minnesota Gym Rats to the championship 58-36 over the Urban Stars at Hopkins. The Lady Slippers came through the back door and went 5-1 to take third place.

15U D1
Minnesota Stars Jihad (the Lady Cats) beat Fury Blue (Livers) 53-45 for the 15 D1 Championship at Blaine. The Lady Cats have been playing 15U AAU all year (16U MYAS equivalent) but dropped down to play this tournament.

Here is a photo of the Fury Blue Livers.

15U D2
Minnesota Crush, a team made up of mostly 8th graders from the Burnsville area and a couple of players from Chaska and a player from Shakopee, played in the MYAS Spring State Tournament this past weekend at Hopkins. Playing in the 15U Division II group, the Crush defeated Minnetonka (seed 15) and the Rochester Heat (seed 3) to win their pool. In bracket play they defeated the SM Magic (seed 6), then lost to the Lady Katz (seed 2) in the semifinals. In their last game they defeated the number 1 seeded 43 Hoops to take 3rd place in the tournament.
The Lady Lightning beat the Lady Katz 29-28 in the championship.

13u/7th GRADE
Hopkins won the 13u/7th grade MYAS D1 Tournament. Most of the teams were 12U playing in the MYAS state tournament at the 13U/7th grade level. Most of the Hopkins team was part of the traveling state champion team this past winter. The girls are not trying to travel out of town and do the AAU circuit. Most play other spring sports. Former Gopher Richard Coffey is their coach and they did not loose a game all spring.

12u/6th GRADE
The Minnesota Stars (Farview), coached by Percy Wade and Rico Alexander won the 6th Grade Division 1 MYAS State Championships at Benilde-St. Margaret's by beating St. Paul Central 45-24. The teams had played a week earlier in the 11U AAU District Championships with the MN Stars having won that game also. The MN Stars roster includes: Alexis Alexander, Idella Jackson, Madison Lee, Naja Woods, Tonoia Wade, Emily Peters, Kenish Bell, Isieoma Odor, Genevea Adkins, and Rajanee Michaels.
The MN Stars will be playing in the Battle of the Hardwoods and then taking their show on the road with playing at MYAB Summer Kickoff in Wichita, Ks, the Adidas Midwest Girls Classic in Ames, Iowa and then wrapping up what has been a great season, having won 4 out of 5 tournaments so far, at the 11U AAU Nationals in Branson, Missouri.

Thanks to all the readers that submitted reports. It definitely helps out.

next up: more news of the day.

Out & About: Northern Lights/Netmasters

#4 posting 5.19.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This game took place May 17, 2008
Hopkins High School
MYAS STATE TOURNAMENT
19u QUARTERFINALS
NORTHERN LIGHTS 51, NETMASTERS 42

First off I got to this game late. For some reason I thought the game started at 6:40 when it really started at 6:30. I normally don't cover the 19s since most are already spoken for and the ball tends to be not as sharp as the 17s, 16s and so on. They don't practice as much. It is more to keep in shape and to stay in touch with friends. However in this game there were some players younger than the 08 brand--mostly on the Northern Lights.

As it was I got to the game with Netmasters (a team of players from southern Minnesota) leading 19-16. The Northern Lights started to shine after I arrived. They finished the first half with a 7/9 offensive performance on a 14-7 run led by 8 points by Adrianna Ivanovic. It was 30-26 NL at the half.

In the second half Netmasters clawed their way back into the game with a 9-1 run to take a 39-38 lead. Leading the charge for the Netmasters was Abby Kennealy. She scored the first six points in the second half for Netmasters. NL dimmed somewhat at the start of the second half. They had a six possession drought when Netmasters were making their move, and a 1/10 offensive sequence. They snapped out of it with three straight scores after Netmasters took the lead. Ivanovic had two baskets sandwiched around two free throws by Kaitlyn Zimmerman. Netmasters had one more taste of the lead at 41-40. After that NL had an 11-1 run to finish the game. Netmasters had a seven possession drought and finished the game with a 1/11 sequence, the only solitary point coming at the line.

photos: #1 Aspen Marleau drives with Liz Hanson standing in the way. #2. Abby Keneally about to go up after a drive with Allie Benham defending on the way down. photos by kja.

key: player, school, points, possessions, floor %
NORTHERN LIGHTS
STARTERS (2nd half)
Samantha Anderson, Wrenshall 3, 4, 75.0, .250 guard. knocked down a three.
Adrianna Ivanovic, (2010) Bigfork 10, 8, 125.0, .625 did her damage inside in the paint. Isn't very big.
Shelby Goble, (2009) Bigfork 4, 7, 57.1, .286 guard. 3 point shooter. needs to keep her vision up and stay away from spins and lines when the double team is coming.
Aspen Marleau, (2010) Deer River 5, 3, 166.7, .667 guard, scored off the dribble and did make a 3.
Emma Grover, Wrenshall 2, 2, 100.0, .500 guard. made a three
BENCH (2nd half)
Kaitlyn Houser, Zimmerman 7, 9, 77.8, .444 guard scored off the drive. passing execution needs to be sharper late in the game.
Danielle Anderson, Wrenshall 2, 3, 66.7, .333 guard
Allie Benham, Deer River 1, 3, 33.3, .333 guard, but had to guard Keneally.

NETMASTERS
STARTERS (Second half)
Jenna Sheridan, Bethlehem Academy 4, 8, 50.o, .250 needs to lower her dribble and lower her passes.
Tess Hanson, Rochester Mayo 4, 4, 100.0, .250 guard, made a three
Joy Murry, Kenyon-Wanamingo 2, 6, 33.3, .167 guard. attempted 3s, didn't connect.
Liz Hanson, Triton 3, 4, 75.0, .250 made her 3 from the right corner.
Abby Keneally, Farmington 9, 13, 69.2, .385 the tallest player on the floor. decent length. handled the ball fine. moves well. Kept Netmasters alive in the first part of the second half. Needs to keep a watch on her range.
BENCH
Chanel Robert, (2011) Goodhue 0, 3, 0.0, .000 the youngest player. has some length

TRENCH PLAYER
Adrianna Ivanovic

BY THE NUMBERS
From what I saw
Northern Lights 34, 39, 87.2, .436
Netmasters 22, 39, 56.4, .256
made 3s/&1s: NL 3/0; Netmasters 2/0
ftm/fta-ft%: NL 6/8-.750; Netmasters 3/10-.300
bench: NL 10, Netmasters 0

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Kaitlyn Houser 5
Adrianna Ivanovic 4
Emma Grover 4
Danielle Anderson 2
Allie Benham 2
Shelby Goble 2
totals: 19

NETMASTERS
Joy Murry 5
Chanel Robert 3.5
Liz Hanson 3
Abby Keneally 3
Tess Hanson 1.5
Jenna Sheridan 1
totals: 17

ASSISTS
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Shelby Goble 3
Emma Grover 3
Samantha Anderson 2
Adrianna Ivanovic 2
Kaitlyn Houser 2
Danielle Anderson 1
totals: 13

NETMASTERS
Jenna Sheridan 3
Liz Hanson 3
Tess Hanson 1
Abby Keneally 1
totals: 8

Next up: tomorrow morning

Teas' Peeves: One Handed Passing

#3 posting 5.19.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TEAS' PEEVES
Coach Teas has returned to the keyboard to write about another of his peeves----one hand passing.

ONE HANDED PASSING
Basketball is fun. Making blocks, great driving lay ups and one handed passes get cheers and good feelings. Coaches looking for prospects however like seeing consistent results rather than the spectacular. If you want to impress scouts make the right pass often, not the spectacular pass once in a while. One handed passes make me cringe even nauseous. Pass with two hands!! The pass is much quicker mechanically and the two hand passing motion fake can be pulled back in order to move the defense. Try pulling back a one handed pass. Coaches want to win and will select players who do the simple things consistently, not the beautiful thing once in a while.

Dumb passes are ones with little chance of being completed. A direct pass on the fast break is best. Bounce passes spin after they hit the floor and are often hard to handle. They take longer and m any times are too low. Do things right, increase your chance of success on the pass and in the win column.

Coach Teas

next up: later today with the 19u Northern Lights vs Netmasters game.

Blueprint All Star Weekend

#2 posting 5.19.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

BLUEPRINT ALL STAR WEEKEND
This is Seneca Blue with Blueprint Student-Athlete Services of Madison, Wisconsin. I have VERY IMPORTANT NEWS on our newly formed BlueprintSAS Midwest All-Star Weekend!

The weekend will kick off with 120 of the top 2012/2013 players in the Midwest coming in for the afternoon of July 18th and morning of July 19th for our "Stars of Tomorrow" Midwest All-Star Camp, followed 120 of the top unsigned HS/JUCO players in the Midwest coming in the afternoon of July 19th and morning of July 20th for our HS/JUCO Midwest All-Star Camp. Both camps are sponsored by REEBOK and will be held at the MAC Center in Verona, Wisconsin.

The camps are invite/recommendation only camps. So if you have players you like to recommend for the camps that haven't already received invitations please email further information on the prospects ASAP!! The "Stars of Tomorrow" Camp will be filled completely by recommendations.

The staffs will consist of current college coaches and players to provide excellent skill development instruction and outstanding in-game coaching. For the HS/JUCO Camp, we expect a large number of D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO programs (along with scouting services) to attend the camp, D1 programs will receive a Camp recap, the All-Camp Team, Award Winners and participant evaluations. Hundreds of colleges visit our site daily to identify prospects!!!

The cost of these elite 2 day camps are ONLY $150. We are only taking the first 120 registered invitees for each camp, so if your invitees/recommendations are interested they should get registered ASAP at www.blueprintsas.com/eventregistration.asp .

We will provide full uniforms (jersey and shorts) and a certified athletic trainer at all times to service their medical needs. We will not be providing lodging though (hotel information along with other additional information will be provided upon registration).

Awards will be given out for the Top Player in each class, Overall Camp MVPs, contest winners, team champs and much more!

In closing we'd like to thank you for your time and tell you that you that we sincerely hope that your elite players will join us and top talent from all over the Midwest for our BlueprintSAS Midwest All-Star Weekend.

Seneca Blue
Executive Director
BlueprintSAS
www.blueprintsas.com

Next up: A Return of Teas Peeves

Two Signings, MYAS State Tournament, St. Ben's in Greece

#1 posting 5.19.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MSU-BOTTINEAU SIGNINGS
Abby Langehaug of Glenburn and Kacie Beattie of Rolette-Wolford have signed with Minot State University-Bottineau to play women’s basketball. Langehaug is a 5-7 guard that averaged 16.1 ppg. Beattie is a 5-7 guard that averaged 9.7 ppg.

MYAS STATE TOURNAMENT
X Factor 2 beat the Minnesota Finishers 41-29 in the 17u consolation championship. X Factor clamped down on the Finishers post game holding Britta Syverson to 2 points. Here is the X Factor scoring:
Caitlin Robinson, Staples-Motley 11
Betsy Olson, Sebeka 8
Missy Kassube, Eagle Valley 7
Megan Strese, Brandon-Evansville 5
Sara Van Den Huevel, Bertha-Hewitt 4
Jessica Fink, Bertha-Hewitt 4
Katie Huttunen, Sebeka 2

ALL TOURNAMENT
Here are the All Tournament teams, sponsored by the Minnesota Pork Producers, from the Minnesota Seeding tournament held three weeks ago.

ST. BENEDICT IN GREECE
The College of St. Benedict is in Greece for three games and lost to Aris Cholargou 61-50 in Athens. From the St. Cloud Times.

SCOTT A LEADER
St. Cloud State point guard Krystal Scott is headed to the NCAA's Student-Athlete Development Conference starting next Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. From the St. Cloud Times.

WNBA
LYNX
The youngsters of the Lynx helped lift them to a 84-70 win over Detroit. The St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at the rookie contributions.

INTERNET RADIO
I am scheduled to be a guest on the Al Woods Show, an internet radio show, tonight at 8pm Eastern, 7 Central.

NEW FEATURE
If you scroll down the right side of the blog you will find all the subject tags on the postings. For example you can click on a subject and all the postings that were tagged will come up. It should help people looking for certain topics.

Next up: Blueprint All Star Weekend.

Southern Minne's Magic

#2 posting 5.18.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SOUTHERN MINNE'S MAGIC
Today it was off to St. Francis to see the 17u MYAS State tournament. Southern Minne Magic won the tournament 54-50 over Triple Threat. They held TT to two points for 10:30 in the second half. SMM trailed 42-30 when the Magic kicked in--they made the Triple Threat offense disappear. TT had droughts of nine and eleven sandwiched around one lonely field goal. So their pp100 during that stretch was 9.5 pp100 and their floor % was .045. TT's cause was hurt by an injury to Teresa Thour in the first half. Thour had 8 points when she went down with an elbow injury going after a loose ball with 2:45 left in the first half.

Earlier in the day Southern Minne Magic beat the Minnesota Lakers, a team made up primarily of players from the Red Rock Conference in southwestern Minnesota. SMM had an early 16-5 lead and that held up the rest of the game as they won 51-42.

Last weekend in the Minnesota State AAU tournament SMM finished 1-2 or in a tie for 13th place out of 2o teams.

Here is the report schedules for the week ahead:
Monday: Northern Lights vs Netmasters (19u)
Tuesday: Gym Rats vs MN Thunder (19u)
Wednesday: Southern Minne Magic vs MN Lakers (17u)
Thursday: Southern Minne Magic vs Triple Threat (17u)

Next up: tomorrow morning

Two Fury Upsets, Rising Sun

#1 posting 5.18.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MYAS RESULTS YESTERDAY
The Minnesota Fury 14U Blue (Livers) team had a great first day of the MYAS State Championship, beating three teams by an average margin of 16 points.
MN Fury 14U Blue 53, Thunder 15U Blue 40
MN Fury 14U Blue 59, Midtown Lady Monarchs 45
MN Fury 14U Blue 63, 43 Hoops 15U Carr 42
The Fury were the #8 seed going in as voted by the coaches, so today included "upsets" of #1 seed Monarchs in the quarterfinals and #4 seed 43 Hoops in the semifinals. They will go on to play the winner of the Lady Cats and Metro Stars 14U, who squared off in the other semifinal. The game will take place at Blaine High School at 4:10.

Amber Dvorak played with the Gym Rats 16u team yesterday. She plays with MN Stars Borowicz during AAU games.

NIKE SKILLS CAMP
Tayler Hill and Megan Nipe of NC Heat are at the Skills Camp in Indianapolis this weekend.

RISING SUN
The Connecticut Sun opened the WNBA season with a win. Lindsey Whalen had 11 and Jolene Anderson in her WNBA regular season debut had 8.

SCHOOL CLOSING
Russell, Iowa has seen its last graduating class. Some students will go to Chariton others to Corydon. From the Des Moines Register.

Next up: later today after the MYAS State tournaments

North Tartan Alumnae

#2 posting 5.17.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

NORTH TARTAN ALUMNAE
Today the theme of the day was North Tartan Alumnae. This morning at Kennedy, Six North Tartan Alumnae got together to scrimmage the current teams. Amy Beggin, Hannah Skildum, Jenny Van Kirk, Molly Geske, Tara Steinbauer and Alyssa Karel took on North Tartan Larson and the NT15u team. The alums moved the ball down the floor fast--college speed. The current crop of NT players get a chance, not only to play with D1 players, but the get a chance to ask questions about life post high school. All North Tartan teams were practicing.

Photos: #1 Alyssa Karel, now with Wisconsin, goes in for a lay up vs NTL with Taylor Young looking on. #2. Taylor Young with the ball. Megan Lauck is setting a screen on Hannah Skildum on the left. Then it is Tara Steinbauer, Amy Beggin, Jenny Van Kirk, Carly Rothfusz (back to the camera) and Alyssa Karel. photos by kja

Later in the day it was a few more NT Alumnae playing in the MYAS 19u state tournament at Hopkins. In the first game I saw it was Northern Lights beating Netmasters 51-42. Unfortunately I got to that game late. For some reason I had the start times confused. I was off by 10 minutes. Northern Lights, even though in a 19u tournament, featured players that are in the 2009 class.
In the second game the Gym Rats beat Minnesota Thunder 48-44. The Thunder rolled early building up a 21-12 lead. The Rats, behind two NT alums Kiara Buford of St. Paul Central (and future Gopher) and Amanda Viehauser of Armstrong (and future UW Milwaukee player) rallied to cut the margin to 23-20 at half time. The game went down to the wire with the Thunder looking for a three to tie it up. Buford led the Rats with 19. Caitlyn Book had 14 for the Thunder. She knocked down four 3s in the game.

INJURY UPDATE
Today at the North Tartan practice I saw all these players practicing with no noticeable after effects:
1. Marissa Janning with the 14u team. In fact the Watertown-Mayer 8th grader won the mile and 2 mile this week. She left the 14u championship last week with a knee injury.
2. Taylor Young with the NT Larson team was practicing. She had been out with mono.
3. Jenna Lillemoe with the NT Crosby team. She was out last week with a boot on her foot.

Also in the MYAS 19 tournament Nicole Dooher of Armstrong (playing with the Gym Rats) played. She was injured during the high school season and missed the last half of the year.

Next up: tomorrow morning.