2017 AAU State Championships – A not-so Freaky Friday

2017 AAU State Championships &#8211; A not-so Freaky Friday

Grant McGinnis May 20, 2017 @ 08:30 AM

Some things, they say, are well worth waiting for. On most opening nights at the AAU State Girls Basketball Championships, you can wait a long time for a close matchup that never comes. After all, you have a lot of high vs. low, top dogs vs underdogs, type of games and blowouts are far too common. On this Friday night at Bloomington Kennedy High School, however, the last game was the best game, a 2018 matchup between the #6 seed North Tartan Nike Elite and the #11 seed Minnesota Stars Walters. On paper, you would have to favor the girls from North Tartan. With 6-foot-2-inch leaper Angie Hammond of Hopkins (rated 13th in the latest 2018 Northstar rankings) and 6-4 shot blocker Annika Hoff of Northfield, it’s advantage NT. Of course, they don’t play the games on paper and the Stars can counter with 6-3 post Lizzy Karp of Andover. On this night, however, it was the speedy waterbugs of Stars Walters that turned the game into a dog fight. We’re talking, of course, about the dynamic duo from St. Agnes High School – guards Adaya Sandifer and K’Lynn Lewis – and their just-as-quick teammate, 5-7 Chan’el Anderson-Manning of Cretin-Derham Hall. I’m not sure how long Sandifer and Lewis have been playing together, but I’m guessing they had to put down their coloring books and turn off ‘Sesame Street’ to go at it in the driveway. They are so close that Northstar has them both ranked at 76th among 2018 prospects (coin flip anyone?). Sandifer is the smooth operator with great handles, outstanding vision, and a calm demeanor on the floor. Lewis is equally talented but with a thicker frame and a more blue-collar approach to the game. Lewis would just as soon run you over as go around you. Then there was Anderson-Manning putting her lightning-quick feet to good use with some smothering defense and some satisfying offense. Cretin coach Joe Lynch was smiling in his seat on the baseline. Neither team could find the basket in the early going with the game tied at 7-7 for an eternity. Then the Stars got a jump with a mini-run, eventually stretching their lead to seven before settling for a 20-15 edge at the half. A sweet floater by the 5-6 Sandifer set the tone early in the second, and the Stars had North Tartan on their heels. But you knew coach John Herbrechtsmeyer’s message would sink in eventually (Herbie can crank up the volume when necessary) and Tartan would get untracked. Enter Julia Bjurman. When the unassuming guard from Princeton takes to the floor, she looks like she would be equally at home in the chemistry lab or at choir practice. Who knew she was carrying around a lethal rocket launcher in her back pocket. At least that’s what it looked like midway through the second half when Bjurman launched an air raid on the girls in black and red. Boom! Boom! Boom! Three buckets from three and Tartan was suddenly in control of the game. The Stars had their opportunities in the final moments but in the end it was North Tartan that snuck out of the gym with a 47-42 victory. Those of us who had stayed past our bedtimes were glad we did. There was only one other Division 1 game played Friday night where the margin was 5 or less, an 8th grade contest that saw Crossfire Schuck prevail over Comets Elite 34-30. In the other 16 D1 games combined, the average margin of victory was 22. Enough said.