The Best of the Clash

Center—Mikayla Hayes, Park Center, 6-3, senior Hayes was too big and too strong for Owatonna to cope with Saturday, and she was the most active I’ve seen in awhile, sweeping up the boards on both ends and adding at least 2 blocked shots. (We charted the 1st half and the 2nd half of the, er, 2nd half. In between there, we watched the end of the Hutch-Kennedy game.) But anyway, she finished with 19 points, mostly right around the rim. Power Forward—Syd Schultz, Owatonna, 5-11, junior All of the top 4s lost today. Schultz, Alyssa Bryan-Jeffries, Taylor Hustad, Abi Groeneweg. Well, wait, Brooke Tonsefeldt won with Moorhead. Still, I liked Schultz. Yes, her team not only lost, but was totally outclassed. But Schultz kept working, scoring at the rim and from the outside. In ¾ of the game, she scored 15 on 6-of-13 shooting with 6 boards against a very tough and quick Park Center defense. Point Guard—Rae Johnson, St. Michael-Albertville, 5-9, senior The Ms. Basketball contender had a great game, scoring half of St. Michael’s 34 1st half points and finishing with a total of 26 with 9 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. She hit her 1st 3 just seconds into the game to set the tone, and hit 2 more midway through the 1st half to get some real separation. Actually, Sarah Althaus of Chaska was a worthy matchup for Rae, and it’s true that Althaus was able to get to the rim against Rae, though most of that came when it was too little, too late. Shooting Guard—Sam Haiby, Moorhead, 5-10, junior Haiby scored 31 on a mix of silky smooth dribble drives, 3-point shots and transition layups. In the 2nd half she helped to spearhead Moorhead’s full court pressure defense, recording 4 steals and converting all 4 of them into points. She also threw a home run pass for a breakaway basket off a defensive rebound. Shooting Guard—Katey Brattland, Minnetonka, 5-8, junior The 3-point shooting specialist did her thing. Asked what happened as New Prague squandered a half-time lead, New Prague coach Ron Gunderson said, “Number 31 happened.” She made 5 3s in a period of 10 minutes halfway throught the 2nd half. That is what happened. Second Team Center—Angie Hammond, Hopkins, 6-1, junior. Was her usual pain in the rear end for Owatonna on defense, but this time she also scored 16 points—3 buckets in transition, one off the glass, a pick ‘n roll, and a jumper. Power Forward—Brooke Tonsfeldt, Moorhead, 6-1, senior. Played solidly but not spectacularly as she is capable of doing. 13 points and probably darn near that many boards. Small Forward—Megan Kurth,, Hutchison, 5-9, senior. Led Hutch in scoring with 16. Point Guard—Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, 5-9, freshman. Makes spectacular plays look easy with her incredible combination of raw athleticism plus basketball skills. Makes plays nobody makes at this level, sort of like LeBron does in the NBA. Shooting Guard—Megan Walker, Minnetonka, 5-10, junior. Had a solid floor game, directing traffic, moving the ball, creating offense with her defense. Third Team Center—Alyssa Bryan-Jeffries, Kennedy, 5-11, senior. Uses her body well, works hard to score down low. Power Forward—Taylor Hustad, New Prague, 5-11, senior. Always an excellent scorer around the rim but she has expanded her range as well. Small Forward—Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins, 5-8, sophomore.vThevnew Ashley Bates, scores mostly inside by being sneaky, quick, strong, athletic. Point Guard—Sarah Althaus, Chaska, 5-8, senior. It’s great to see a senior who hasn’t gotten much of the spotlight over the years really blossom, and Sarah Althaus is one such story for 2017. Quick 1st step enables her to get to the rim, where she can finish. Consistently scores in double figures, Chaska would be in big trouble with out her. Shooting Guard—Raena Suggs, Hopkins, 5-7, junior. As with Bueckers, not much left to say. Very, very quick, gets from halfcourt to the rim faster than anybody and converts regardless of how fast she’s moving. Shoots a little runner (it looks like a 8-10 foot layup—that for most players would be a terrible shot selection. She makes ‘em. Breakout Team Center—Emily Russo, New Prague, 5-11, freshman. This probably wasn’t her best day, but she helped the Trojans come back from a 65-53 deficit against Minnetonka to within 65-62 at the final buzzer. Scored a conventional 2 + 1, the got 2 steals both of which led to a transition basket by McKenzie Holgate. On one, I gave her an assist, on the other not, but either way it was her steal that triggered the opportunity. Power Forward—Azsha Michael, Park Center, 5-9, junior. This is Michael’s 3rd year backing up Mikayla Hayes in relative obscurity. But, her game has advanced 1000 percent this year. She was unstoppable around the rim, and note that she is just 5-9. She uses her quick feet and hands to get her shot of quickly, before the defense can get up on her. She scored 14 points off the bench that way. Small Forward—Zaraya March, Kennedy, 5-9, sophomore. March is a slim, very quick, very athletic perimeter scorer and defender, kind of a Masengo Mutanda type of player. Just so quick. Her outside shot is improving and needs more of that. But everything that quickness can do for a player, that’s what she does. Point Guard—Natalie Erhard, Minnetonka, 5-8, sophomore. Erhard hasn’t improved as much as Azsha Michael and her 1000 percent but let’s say 500 percent. She’s playing with confidence and very much in the flow. But, more than that, she’s making plays, like her 2 picks at center court late in the 1st half, leading to easy Tonka buckets. Without those “we could have been down 10 points,” coach Leah Dasovich said. Shooting Guard—Megan Haugo, Moorhead, 5-8, freshman. Haugo is like March a slim, athletic wing who moves well, spaces the floor, handles it effectively in a secondary role, and makes her FT. At least she did yesterday—4 of them down the stretch in what would be a 4-point win. Scored 9 in total. Second Breakout Team Center—Vanessa Alexander, St. Micheal 5-11, freshman. Improving slowly as is often the case with the bigger kids. She is still one of the strongest players on the floor. What’s different is just that she’s playing more intuitively, more naturally. Power Forward—Kaylee Van Epps, Chaska, 5-10, 8th grader. Listed as a guard but her main contribution today at least was 10 rebounds. Strong, athletic. Small Forward—Gaman, Minnetonka. She wasn’t listed on the event roster and is not on the roster on the MSHSL Web site. She is a late addition to the Hub, however, just the last name, no first name, no height, no position, no grade. But, clearly, she has leapfrogged a bunch of her teammates and played a bunch of minutes yesterday. And, looked like she belonged. Point Guard—Rylie Polomny, Moorhead, 5-6, freshman. One of 3 freshmen that Moorhead coach Jed Carlson choose to have on the floor down the stretch of their 70-66 win over Forest Lake. Didn’t put up a lot of numbers but played good steady ball. Did get a big steal that led to a Moorhead bucket as it nursed its small lead Shooting Guards—Lauren Frost, Park Center, 5-6, freshman. Didn’t get her name in the box score very much but played some major minutes and played like the experienced (if not veteran) player she is with just 2 points but 4 assists, more than Blakemore, DeBois, Schaub and Simonet combined.