Class AAA Preview

<p><strong>Tuesday March 14 Target Center</strong></p> <p><strong>6 p.m. #1 seed #3 ranked Orono (24-4) vs. unseeded #22 Willmar (20-9)</strong></p> <p>Two upset winners, though we picked one of them—that being Willmar. Orono and #1 section seed Hutchinson split 2 regular season games, and tied for the Wright County East title at 9-1. So, obviously, that one could go either way. We picked Hutch, it went to Orono 66-62, due in large part to Hutchinson’s foul problems. Still, not a huge surprise.</p> <p>Willmar defeated Zimmerman 62-51 in Section 7AAA. The margin was a surprise, but even with its 9 losses, that Willmar won was not (a surprise), because Zim lost its tallest player and one of its best in 5-10 junior forward Naomi Hagstrom about a month ago. And, it finally caught up to ‘em.</p> <p>Willmar has an amazingly balanced attack, so they can take whatever you give. Senior forward Heidi Sellman scores 11 ppg, junior guard Cayle Hovland and sophomore guard Hannah Johnson 8, junior guard Jordyn Swoboda 7 and sophomore forward Carly Wedel 6. Johnson, Sellman, Hovland and senior guard Grace Sawyer all scored about 10-12 ppg in the sections. (Or, does this just mean that they don’t have a real blue-chip type scorer?)</p> <p>Orono, on the other hand, has not 1, not 2 but 3 blue chippers in senior wing Tori Andrews, junior guard Maddie Loder, and senior post Natalie Smaron. 3 against 5 doesn’t usually bode well, so the Trojans are definitely beatable. I thought they would be a #2 seed. But they’re not going to lose on Tuesday. <strong>Our pick: Orono 50 Willmar 37.</strong></p> <p><strong>8 p.m. #4 seed #9 ranked Grand Rapids (24-5) vs. #5 seed #10 Alexandria (25-4)</strong></p> <p>Alex would be a #2 or #3 seed if senior point guard Macy Hatlestad was not hurt (knee). She tried to play in the playoffs, but it didn’t work. I don’t know that she won’t try again this week, but she was not effective before when she did. So, either way, it’s a difference-maker. Grand Rapids counters with a healthy star point guard in junior Heaven Hamling. Still, Alex is not out of it on Tuesday. They have a lot of kids who can play, and so does Grand Rapids. The ultimate difference-maker could be whoever wins the dual between Alex post Kayla Feldhake vs. Grand Rapids post Meara Beighley. But, with Hatlestad out, Hamling could run wild. <strong>Our pick: Grand Rapids 55 Alexandria 51.</strong></p> <p><strong>Wednesday March 15 Mariucci Arena</strong></p> <p><strong>10 a.m. #2 seed #1 ranked Holy Angels (26-3) vs. unseeded #15 Waseca (22-6)</strong></p> <p>The #2 seed comes from the state tournament coaches. The #1 ranking comes for us, Northstar Girls Hoops. The “official “ poll has Orono #2 and Holy Angels #3 (and they had Hutch #1). QRF had Orono #1, Hutch #3 and Holy Angels #5. We had Holy Angels #1, Hutch #2, Orono #3. Waseca, for the record, was unranked in the “official” poll, tied for 15th in QRF, and we had them #15. In other words, Holy Angels and Orono (and Hutch) are interchangeable. Waseca, not so much.</p> <p>So, can you say underdog? Still, Waseca has talent, led by an emerging freshman named Gus Boyer. You should see them. But center Destinee Oberg gives the Stars an edge inside, and it is perhaps a slight overstatement to say that Waseca can matchup elsewhere. “Almost match up” would be closer to the truth, I think. <strong>Our pick: Holy Angels 45 Waseca 37.</strong></p> <p><strong>12 noon #3 seed #5 ranked Winona (24-4) vs. unseeded #13 DeLaSalle (18-10)</strong></p> <p>Just for the record, we picked De to upset #1 seed (in Section 4AAA) Mahtomedi. We did not predict that they would defeat St. Anthony in the final because we thought they would be playing St. Paul Como. But, we thought Como would win. Instead De beat St. Anthony 84-51. The Islanders are as hot as anybody. They are 11-2 since losing to Holy Angels and Hopkins in January. And, given their youth, there is every possibility they will enter 2017-2018 as the #1AAA team in the state. So, if you wanna beat DeLaSalle, you might think of doing it now.</p> <p>So, I would have to say that Winona, among the obvious contenders, usually defined as the top 3 seeds, drew the short straw on this one. This tournament is pretty much wide open, and this game is the poster child for that.</p> <p>Winona will have a huge edge in experience and a not insignificant edge in size. 6-2 Danneka Voegeli needs to have a big game inside, and 6-2 Eden Nibbelink needs to have a big game on the perimeter. For De, 5-9 junior Ayanna Gardner is going to have to have a big game, using her quickness to get to the rim and to harass Winona’s ballhandlers. This could go either way, but De is hot. <strong>Our pick: DeLaSalle 57 Winona 52.</strong></p> <p><strong>Semi-Finals</strong></p> <p>Willmar and Winona advance in the consolation semis. In the championship semis, look for Orono to advance in the upper bracket. In the lower bracket, well, let’s just note that Holy Angels defeated De 64-63 in February and say, this one is also wide open. But, De has continued to improve since then and, so, forced to choose, we choose an upset here: <strong>DeLaSalle 63 Holy Angels 59.</strong></p> <p><strong>Finals</strong></p> <p>5th place goes to Winona. 3rd place goes to Holy Angels. In the final, <strong>our pick: Orono 66 DeLaSalle 59.</strong></p> <p>The top 5 players in this tournament will be:</p> <p>Tori Andrew, Orono, 5-10, senior, wing</p> <p>Ayanna Gardner, DeLaSalle, 5-8, junior, guard</p> <p>Heaven Hamling, Grand Rapids, 5-9, junior, guard</p> <p>Eden Nibbelink, Winona, 6-2, wing</p> <p>Maddie Loder, Orono, 5-10, junior, guard</p> <p>The next 5 best players include:</p> <p>Kayla Felkhake, Alexandria, 5-10, senior, post</p> <p>Destinee Oberg, Holy Angels, 6-2, sophomore, post</p> <p>Riley Thalhuber, Holy Angels, 5-10, junior, wing</p> <p>Danneka Voegeli, Winona, 6-3, senior, post</p> <p>Natalie Smaron, Orono, 6-2, senior, post</p> <p> </p>