In 10th grade it all adds up to another North Tartan title
I was never very good at math. OK, that’s not true – I was horrendous at math – but if there is one equation I do understand it is this: 3 great guards + 3 great bigs = 1 terrific basketball team.…
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Continue ReadingI was never very good at math. OK, that’s not true – I was horrendous at math – but if there is one equation I do understand it is this: 3 great guards + 3 great bigs = 1 terrific basketball team. On championship Sunday, that team was the #3 seed, North Tartan 10th EYBL, who sprinted out of the gate to an 18-0 lead. That’s not a typo, and it’s not as though their opponent was some overmatched upstart mistakenly placed in the wrong bracket. This is the Minnesota Fury we’re talking about here, the #1 seed in the sophomore division.
About that math equation. When you watch this Tartan team, it’s the forwards who grab your attention first. Frannie Hottinger, a 6-0 sophomore from Cretin-Derham Hall is the fighter jet who swoops in here and there to land some pretty points. At 6-2, Mykel Parham of Apple Valley is the Stealth bomber who operates below the radar and sneaks out with a planeload of rebounds. But on this day, it was the aircraft carrier who dominated. That would be 6-2 Liza Karlen of St. Paul Central (Is she really only 6-2?), who pounds the boards, owns the paint, and can knock down shots anywhere you want her to. Karlen is enormous, but her hands are soft and her touch is excellent. She averaged 28 points a game this winter playing 4A high school ball! Did we mention she’s still in the 9th grade?
Of course, the bigs wouldn’t be able to dominate in this way without the other half of the equation: those three great guards, who combined for 27 points a game in this tournament. Sara Scalia (Stillwater) and Anna Harvey (Lakeville South) are consistently good and getting better. Both handle and distribute the ball well. Both can shoot it, too. Scalia has grown physically and mentally in recent months and the results speak for themselves. Harvey is sneaky good on a Lakeville South team that doesn’t get a lot of attention. Then there is Macy Guebert of Eastview. This was her day to shine. One look at Sunday’s stat sheet offers proof of her forte. She made six three-pointers to lead all scorers with 18 and was the catalyst for North Tartan’s scintillating start. At this point, I think I am supposed to include the obligatory comparison between Macy and her older sister, who has a somewhat impressive basketball resume. But I won’t. Macy’s game speaks for itself and it was at full volume on Sunday.
It was all too much for the Fury on this day. Uber-talented point guard McKenna Hofschild (Prior Lake) was unable to work her usual magic. Ditto for forwards Carly Krsul (Robbinsdale Armstrong) and Abby Johnson (Eden Prairie). Perhaps their semifinal win over the rugged Crossfire Theissen squad had knocked the steam out of the Fury. It was that kind of day for the club as a whole, despite their status among the country’s elite AAU programs. The Fury were blown out in the 8th grade final, lost a heartbreaker in 9th, suffered this defeat in 10th and didn’t make it to the finals in 11th. It’s hard to explain but rest assured they will be back for more. On this day, however, the hardware belongs to North Tartan.