Odds and Ends

A is for Asuncion

After 1.5 seasons at the University of North Dakota, Rochester Century grad Kanani Asuncion transferred away from Grand Forks and has ended up at St. Kate's. She managed just 17 points in 27 games at the Division I program, but that's a coup for Todd Pinkerton. Asuncion is a sturdy 5-9 guard who her first start yesterday, posting 9 points in 26 minutes. We had her #36 in our Class of 2015 rankings after she became the top scorer, rebounder, passer and stealer in Century's history. She has 2.5 years of eligibility left.

A is for Aliza, too

You've heard of Aliza Karlen by now, right? The 6-2 freshman has been nothing short of spectacular this season for St. Paul Central. Heck, I watched her dominate last summer with North Tartan and I still didn't expect this. She's currently 9th in the entire state at 24.5 PPG, including a career-high 41 Friday against St. Paul Highland Park.

For those of you still skeptical, Karlen put up 22 yesterday against East Ridge. While Central lost a close one, the youngster actually outscored Lehigh commit Mariah Sexe 22-17. Come see her early, Division I coaches.

C is for Commits

As college commitments continue to roll in, two caught my eye this weekend. Kenzie Rensch (Hutchinson/Fury) verballed to D2 Augustana, while Emily Karsten (Waseca/Nice) will play at D3 UW-River Falls.

Rensch is an especially intriguing prospect, standing 5-10 as an athletic point guard. She's long enough to play/defend on the wing in college, which is nice versatility. I watched Karsten absolutely torch a very good Hayfield team last weekend, doing her damage from inside and way out. I expect she'll have productive college career.

D is for Diehl

Marc mentioned last week that New Prague star Maizie Diehl wasn't in the last box score. She actually hasn't played since Jan. 6 due to a broken hand. The Trojans have gone 3-1 without the UMD recruit, who was still rounding into form after an ACL tear last year. New Prague is positioned well to still get the #2 seed in Section 1AAAA, but Diehl needs to be healthy for them to make postseason noise.

K is for Korngable.

Mayo's senior star Liv Korngable finally made her season debut Friday against Winona, 11 months removed from tearing her ACL. She's headed to the University of South Dakota next year, but her immediate status moving forward is unclear. Our #16 prospect in the Class of 2017 hit one trey off the bench, but then spent most of the second half on the bench with an ice pack on her knee, according to the Winona Daily News. Hopefully that's nothing to be concerned about.

P is for Pearson

I bit my tongue when Marc shared his list of Top 25 coaches in October, but I'll chime in now with my admittedly biased opinion — Mandy Pearson needs to be on that list. She won two MIAC Coach of the Year awards before heading to UMD, where her Bulldogs just knocked off #15 MSU-Moorhead.

Maybe it's time to ask Marc for a list of best coaches under 40, like Grant McGinnis suggested in October 🙂

S is for Shayla

Mankato East has struggled this season, but Shayla Karge hasn't. The versatile 5-10 senior is averaging 20-11 with 3 blocks a game, jumping 34 spots in our recent rankings to #48. She's hearing from D2 and D3 coaches, but coach Dave Makela says she's yet to receive a scholarship offer.

I'm a little surprised by that, but a D3 program will be getting a very good one if that holds true in the coming months.

T is for Theuninck

We've probably dropped the ball by not highlighting Mankato Loyola senior Lindsey Theuninck much on these pages so far this year. Well, she exploded for 51 points Friday night, setting a new program record and, I think, establishing a new state-high for the 2016-17 season.

She's now second in the state at 28 ppg and very much in the conversation for Miss Basketball. She's up for Player of the Week and is headed to South Dakota State next year.

Y is for Young

Nicollet senior Natasha Young is a newcomer to our rankings this month and she's flying under the radar. It's very possible we've got her underrated at #186, but that's what happens when you don't consistently report stats. The 5-11 forward was averaging 16 points and 15 boards as of Jan 11 and recently crossing 1,000 in both categories, so she should be on the radar of college coaches.

Young's mother, Melissa, is the current Nicollet coach and the former head coach at Hamline.