The Return of the Section Previews

Brett and I got a start on section previews in late November and then a funny thing happened. Basketball happened. It’s been busy with the early tournament season from Hamline and St. Thomas, to the Breakdown Tip-Off, to the HVL/TRC Showdown, to a whole list of holiday tournaments, and we checked that list not once, but twice, and we told you who was naughty and who was nice. But now it’s January. Ho-hum. Well, yes, there’s the Showdown at Hayfield next weekend with 16 teams, 14 of them rated. And then the MLK Classic at St. Kate’s. But, still, the relative calm of the conference season gives us a chance to get back on the section preview horse, and so we’ll ride that a little bit this month. So Far So far, you might remember but probably not, we’ve previewed just 10 sections and picked the following winners. 1A—Goodhue over Lyle/Pacelli 2A—Sleepy Eye over GHEC. Later we found that GHEC had decided to cooperate with Trimont and Martin Luther to surpass NRHEG for the longest acronym in the MSHSL. We’re staying with Sleepy Eye nevertheless. 3A—Southwest Christian over Red Rock Central 4A—Maranatha, Maranatha and Maranatha though the competition keeps getting better 5A—Cromwell over Sebeka 6A—Wheaton over Ada-Borup, though we have since learned that Mariah McKeever has transferred from Win-E-Mac, where big sister Madison led the Patriots to a state title as recently as 2014, to Ada. We still like Wheaton. 7A—Mountain Iron-Buhl over Bigfork 8A—Sacred Heart over Clearbrook-Gonvick. As of today Stephen-Argyle is unbeaten and the top-ranked team from Section 8A. 1AA—Plainview-EM over Hayfield 2AA—Norwood Young America over NRHEG So as 2016 gives way to the new year, we’re only moved to make a change to one of 10 selections. The Western World Along the western border of the state are 3 Class AA sections. All 3 have a strong favorite, including the Roseau Rams in Section 8AA who are our favorite to win it all. Two of the favorites, Roseau and Sauk Centre, went 59-7 between them last year, and played one another for 3rd place at state. Roseau won 94-82. Both are rated in our top 4 going into the coming season as Kiley Borowicz scored 43 points. New London-Spicer is also favored in Section 3AA to return to the state tournament after beating Sauk and losing to Plainview-EM in the final. Our 3 favorites are rated #1 (Roseau), #3 (Sauk) and #5 (New London-Spicer). Osakis, 10-0 and representing Section 6AA, is the top challenger in any of these 3 sections. Section 3AA New London-Spicer has point guard Shea Oman and wing Kabrie Weber back from last year’s state tournament team—in fact, both won all-state tournament honors. And with one of Minnesota’s greatest coaches, Mike Dreier, at the helm, the Wildcats remain arfe 9-1 and the favorite. There are a number of contenders led by Pipestone and Tracy-Milroy-Balaton. Pipestone has a great 1-2 punch in 6-2 Alexis Evans and 5-2 Rachel Skyberg, who scored 33 ppg between them. TMB has 4 starters back from a 25-4 team. Pipestone is 9-0 but unranked, while TMB is 10-1 and just joined our rankings at #18. The fact that Pipestone and TMB are not ranked particularly highly goes to the overall weakness of the section. Minnewaska began the season with very high hopes. Last year, they played without Bayley Pooler, now a 5-7 senior guard who was injured after scoring 15 ppg as a sophomore. Even so, the Lakers went 20-8. Now, Pooler returns. She and 5-9 senior guard Carley Stewart, who scored 19 ppg last year, make up the section’s top 1-2 punch. But the Lakers (from Glenwood) also have three other double figures scorers back. Their top 5 players have scored 71 ppg among them, one of the top numbers in the state. Yet, they have struggled to a 5-5 start. But they’re on a 3-game winning streak, so it might be too soon to count the unranked Lakers out. Morris has guard Correy Hickman and post Ashley Solvie, both seniors. Section 6AA Sauk Centre is the perennial with 6 section titles in 7 years with state tournament runners-up in 2012 and 2015. Maesyn Theisen, one of the state’s top point guards, leads the way. Jill Klaphake, Kelsey and Tori Peschel also return on the perimeter but the loss of 6-0 post Rebecca Weir to graduation is a big one. Who will play inside, and how well? Albany and Osakis will challenge the Mainstreeters, especially because they’re likely to have some success inside. Albany has a great front three in 6-1 Erin Navratil, 6-0 Emily Johnson and 5-11 Madison Schmitz, all seniors who scored 35 ppg among them, but lacks an experienced point guard. Osakis has experienced guards in 5-8 senior Lauren Savageau and 5-7 junior Megan Staloch, but 6-1 Alecia Kaelke is the top gun. So they’ve got the section’s best inside-outside balance. Milaca and St. Cloud Cathedral are the dark horses. But Sauk, with its vast experience playing in big, big games, will be hard to beat. Section 8AA Roseau is heavily favored, not just in the section but at state. 5-9 senior wing Kiley Borowicz leads the way with 27 ppg last year. He sisters Kacie, a 5-8 point guard, and Katie, a perimeter shooter, are also back along with Victoria Johnson, 6-2 junior, at the post and Ivy Braaten (14 ppg) on the wing. The Rams bring back 75 ppg of scoring, 4 more even than Minnewaska. Barnesville is led by post Peyton Boom and guard Nicole Herbranson, who scored more than 30 ppg between them. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, last year’s section runner-up, will be led by 5-5 junior point guard Natalie Steichen. Frazee has 4 starters back. And, Staples-Motley has 6-0 wing Claire Wolhowe. Any one of the 4 could face Roseau in the section final. But, a win in the final for any one of them would be a huge upset. All Sections 3-6-8AA We’ll combine all 3 sections in one western Minny AA all-star team just for fun. C—Alecia Kaelke, Osakis, 6-1, senior, 11 ppg PF—Erin Navratil, Albany, 6-2, senior,14 ppg SF—Claire Wolhowe, Staples-Motley, 6-0, junior, 14 ppg PG—Maesyn Theisen, Sauk Centre, 5-7, junior, 13 ppg SG—Kiley Borowicz, Roseau, 5-9, senior, 27 ppg 2nd Team C—Alexis Evans, Pipestone, 6-2, senior, 17 PF—Peyton Boom, Barnesville, 6-1, senior, 20 ppg SF—Abby VerSteeg, Minnewaska, 5-9, senior, 17 ppg PG—Natalie Steichen, Dilworth-GF, 5-6, junior, 12 ppg SG—Carley Stewart, Barnesville, 5-9, senior, 19 ppg 3rd Team C—Ivy Johnson, Roseau, 6-2, junior, 7 ppg PF—Makayla Dyrdahl, Yellow Medicine East, 5-10, senior SF—Madison Schmitz, Albany, 5-10, senior, 14 ppg PG—Sadie Stelter, Lakeview, 5-7, senior, 23 ppg SG—Bailey Pooler, Minnewaska, 5-8, senior, 15 ppg (2015) Risers C—Maurissa Isaacs, Windom, sophomore, 10 ppg F—Paige Ziegler, Frazee, 5-8, sophomore, 7 ppg PG—Kacie Borowicz, Roseau, 5-8, sophomore, 18 ppg CG—Kylie Isaman, Pelican Rapids, 5-7, sophomore, 13 ppg