The Kiddie Korps

<p>Her teammates call her “K.P.” Teammate Macy Hatlestad described K.P. as “just a ball of energy, she can go from zero to 100 in a second. She brings a tenacious energy on defense, she’s just relentless.” Alexandria coach Wendy Kohler said, “She’s lightning quick and can get to the rim, and she’s a great defender.” Kohler also mentioned, oh, by the way, she played JV most of the year, and only started playing any real minutes until after Hatlestad, the all-state point guard, went down with a season-ending knee injury.</p> <p>But, back to our story. Tuesday night at the Target Center, K.P. drove into the lane from the left wing as time expired and put up an 8-foot runner that found the net at the buzzer, enabling Alexandria to beat Grand Rapids 46-44 and to advance to the Class AAA semis Thursday at Williams Arena.</p> <p>K.P. is Kaye Paschke, a rather slightly built 5-6 sophomore guard—slightly built even as compared to slightly built 5-6 sophomore guards. But coach Kohler had her out there for a reason, and she delivered.</p> <p>"The play kind of broke down the way we set it up," K.P. said, "so I knew I had to do something. Time was running out. I was just trying to make a move and go to the basket. It felt pretty good (when it left my hand) but then it bounced around and I was like &#39;oh….&#39;"</p> <p>This ended a game in which Alex had their way with things in the 1st half, leading by 10 at the break. Then, with 16:30 to go, Heaven Hamling, Grand Rapids’ all-state point guard, got her 4th foul. Down by 7 with your best player on the bench. Not a recipe for success. But, unexpectedly, Grand Rapids went on a 9-1 run to take a 31-30 lead, then extended it to 34-30. A “cat and mouse” game ensued, according to coach Kohler, which played to Alex’s strength and set up K.P.’s eventual heroics. K.P.’s was the final and most dramatic play of a long day of plays—six games worth, and she punctuated one of the day’s story lines, which was plays by young kids coming off the bench.</p> <p><strong>The top sophomores and younger who came off the bench</strong></p> <p>Center—Carly Wedel, Willmar, 6-1, sophomore, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist in 15 minutes. She assisted on a 2nd half bucket that got Willmar within single digits at 50-41 for the first time since 20-11.</p> <p>Forward—Emma Carpenter, Eastview, 5-10, sophomore, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist in 13 minutes. Hit 2 FT that extended Eastview’s 2nd half lead to 45-41 at 9:51.</p> <p>Forward—Jaide Pressley, Hopkins, 5-9, freshman, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal in 12 minutes</p> <p>Point Guard—Kaye Paschke, Alexandria, 5-6, sophomore, 2 points, 2 rebounds</p> <p>Shooting Guard—Ella Janicki, White Bear Lake, 5-6, freshman, 5 points, 2 rebounds. Hit a 3-pointer that got White Bear within 44-42 at 5:24 of the 2nd half. Unfortuantely, the Bears scored only 2 more points the rest of the way.</p> <p><strong>The top sophomores and younger who started</strong></p> <p>Center—Meara Beighley, Grand Rapids, 6-2, sophomore, 14 points, 12 rebounds. Played a super game inside with a remarkable 10 offensive boards, 6 of them as Grand Rapids came from behind to force OT with star point guard Heaven Hamling sitting on the bench with fouls.</p> <p>Forward—Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins, 5-8, sophomore, 13 points, 6 rebounds. Especially effective on the O-boards with 4. People call her “Ashley” in honor of Ashley Bates, her predecessor at Hopkins who specialized in sneaking inside and doing damage there despite her lack of vertical size.</p> <p>Point Guard—Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, 5-9, freshman, 31 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists. 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting against a defense set up to stop her.</p> <p>Shooting Guard—Hannah DeMars, Grand Rapids, 5-10, sophomore, 9 points, 7 rebounds</p> <p>Shooting Guard—Macy Guebert, Eastview, 5-9, sophomore, guard, 12 points. Scored the first 7 points of OT as Eastview took charge en route to its 75-65 OT win over Park Center.</p>