AAU Prelim Report, the 2021s

In the 2021 division, things went more or less according to Hoyle, or not, depending on your Hoyle. Big picture: 7 of the top 8 going in finished with the #1 through #7 seeds, and all seem perfectly justified where they are. On the other hand, 3 teams performed significantly better (or not) than expected.

• Stars Hersch was the only one of the top 8 that hadn’t played in the Kickoff or the Showcase or the Mill City, so maybe they were a little bit unknown. Whatever it was, it worked. They cranked up the defense against Tayler Hill and Tartan West, then ran with Tartan Coley. They came up short, more on the offensive end, in a 43-36 loss to Tartan Kuppe. But they got the #1 seed despite that loss in the pool, as that was the only pool game Kuppe was able to win.

Coming into the final at 2-1, they stifled 3-0 Tartan West 27-23 those the Westies had the top 2 scorers in Jenna Johnson and Jordyn Lamker.

Stars Hersch came in with a #5 seed and a #3 ranking here at Northstar Girls, and walked away with the #1 seed.

• Top Flight Metro went just 1-2 in the pool with losses to Tartan West and Fury Blue. But, they shocked Tartan Coley 48-43 for 5th place as Nora Francois scored 10 for the winners, Mara McMahon 10 for the losers.

• Finally, Tayler Hill 8 Elite finished at #3 after coming in with the #1 seed and our #1 ranking. But, they lost the pool on a tie-breaker to Stars Hersch and they hammered Fury Blue 55-34 for that #3 seed as Dora Okpara scored 12 points for the winners, Rachel Leerar 12 for the losers.

So, for comparison:

• #1 Stars Hersch is 3-1 in the 4 AAU events so far this year and 3-1 against its fellows in the top 8.

• #2 Tartan West is now 6-2 in the 4 AAU events, and 3-2 against the top 8.

• #3 Tayler Hill is 6-1 in the 4 AAU events and 4-1 against the top 8.

• #4 Fury Blue is 11-5 and 3-4.

• #5 Top Flight Metro is 10-4 and 2-2.

#6 Tartan Coley is 8-7 and 2-4.

#7 Tartan Kuppe is 5-3 and 2-2.

#8 Top Flight Metro is 10-4 and 2-2.

So don’t be betting against Tayler Hill Elite.

Crossfire Schuck, Stars Vogelsberg, Lady Get Shook Black, Heat Dahl, Top Flight South and 43 Hoops all went 3-0 at the Prelims, and they’re all in D1 with seeds anywhere from #9 (CF Schuck) to #16 (43 Hoops. You’d have to say that #9 CF Schuck would have a shot against #8 Comets. #11 Lady Get Shook Black could surprise #6 Tartan Coley. But, seriously, the top 7 are pretty solid.

Division 2

#17 Stars Tilton, #18 Stars Blacsziek, #19 Metro Stars Berkvam and #20 Shock Sonju are the top seeds in D2. But, I also expect #23 Force Jonas to make some noise.