Shawna Mell is headed for the Northern Sun

<p>Shawna Mell, a third-year starter at Rush City and now headed into her 6th year at North Tartan, has made the plunge—she’ll be playing college ball at Concordia St. Paul. “It’s 55 minutes there and 55 minutes back,” she said. “I love how close it is because my family, my aunts and uncles, both sets of grandparents, everybody comes to my games, and it means the world to me.”</p> <p>Three years ago, Rush City went 20-5 and then lost 4 starters—3 of them all-conference players—to graduation. Since then Shawna and three other 2019s—Jamie Guptill, Elena Herberg and Kaylyn Bowen—have been working together, winning 61 games while losing just 7. “I love being part of a team,” Shawna said. “All the girls are my closest friends. We learn so much from each other every day.”</p> <p>Shawna has been a model of consistency. As best as we can tell, she averaged 12 points, 7 boards and 3 assists as a freshman; 12 points, 7 boards and 3 assists as a sophomore; and, now, 12 points and—oh, wait!—just 6 boards as a junior, according to the Hub, but of course Rush City doesn’t get all their stats on the Hub, so that could be off by, oh, maybe a rebound or so?</p> <p>But the other thing to note about Shawna’s game—along with that consistency—is she doesn’t force it. She’s on a very good team where everybody can score. So she doesn’t force it. She spaces the floor, she shares the ball. But when she’s open, and she’s very active in seeking out seams in the defense, and when she’s open, she’s a pretty good bet to put the ball through the hoop.</p> <p>Coach Joe Nelson says Shawna is “very coachable, she works very hard—she’s a good example for her teammates…. She’s a good shooter….” (Shawna disagrees with that last part. She says, “I’m a <em><strong>very</strong></em> good shooter.” But, she adds that, looking ahead to playing at the next level, "I need to work on my outside shot.")</p> <p>Last year Rush went 22-0 in the regular season, then won 3 section games to get a matchup with 2-time defending section 6AA champion Sauk Centre. Rush was down 10 late and clawed its way back to within 2 before losing 52-50. Since then, a rematch with Sauk has been on a lot of minds in Rush, in Sauk and elsewhere. But an OT loss to St. Cloud Cathedral last week cast a new light on things. A trip to the section finals isn’t guaranteed, Rush has some tough teams just in their half of the draw, including St. Cloud and also Pine City, whom Rush defeated by just 2 points a couple of weeks ago, and now a trip to Pine City looms.</p> <p>So, there’s something to prove. But proving that Shawna deserves a crack at D2 basketball? Been there, done that.</p> <p><strong>Q &amp;A with Shawna Mell</strong></p> <p><strong>You’re going to Concordia St. Pail. How long were you talking with them? How did that come about?</strong></p> <p>Since this summer, so it’s been quite a few months now. I’m just super-excited, I can’t wait.</p> <p><strong>And you’ve been down there to visit, I imagine.</strong></p> <p>Yes, I’ve been to plenty of games. It’s 55 minutes there and 55 minutes back. I love how close is it because my family, my aunts and uncles, both sets of grandparents, everybody coming to my games, it means the world to me. I need them there at the games.</p> <p>And it’s such a small campus, I really felt at home, coming from a small town like this, even though it’s in St. Paul. But I just loved everything about it. The coaches, the facilities, the girls. Everything was just so great.</p> <p><strong>What do you think they like about you?</strong></p> <p>I think I know the game pretty well. I bring a physical, hard-working, athleticism into their program.</p> <p><strong>Is the way they play the game a good fit for you?</strong></p> <p>I love the way they play. They move the ball, they set picks for each other, they drive to the basket, they take good shots, and I’m ready to do that.</p> <p><strong>You’ve been playing with North Tartan a long time.</strong></p> <p>Since 6th grade.</p> <p><strong>Tell me what you’ve learned playing in the summer.</strong></p> <p>I learn how to totally work my hardest every minute of practice and every minute of the game. I learn that I need to do my role and not make any mistakes. I mean, everybody makes mistakes but you’ve got to learn from it. I just really learned how to work hard and to know my role on the team.</p> <p><strong>Watching Concordia play, what do you want to do to get ready for playing at that level?</strong></p> <p>I need to work on my outside shot and attacking the basket more. And definitely just working harder at being more on the ball on defense.</p>