Introducing the Prep Girls Hoops All-State Selections

More than two weeks ago we published the high school coaches association All-State teams. I’m not sure if those are supposed to be the “official” selections, or if there even is such a thing. Now it’s our turn, and we’d like to think the Prep Girls Hoops 2018-19 All State teams are a more accurate indicator of individual success and its impact on team performance. Why? <ul> <li>We make our selections after the state tournament where the true value of a player can rise to the fore</li> <li>We don’t rely on coach’s nominations for our candidates. Everyone is automatically eligible.</li> <li>We don’t start our selection process two months before the end of the season.</li> <li>We’re not bound and determined to spread the wealth to all corners of the state. Geography is irrelevant.</li> </ul> The All-State team for each class is comprised of a first, second and third team of five players each, plus five honorable mentions for a total of 20 players per class. The coaches choose 35 players per class. Even though we had to eliminate more than 40 percent of the players they selected, we still added kids who had been passed over, or whose coaches had failed to nominate them. They are Gus Boyer of Waseca, Jordyn Hilgemann of Marshall, Alyssa Daugherty of Zimmermann, NJ Weems of DeLaSalle, Katie Tornstrom of Caledonia, Gianna Kneepkens of Duluth Marshall, Maya Ruzek of Lewiston-Altura, and Abby Hennen of Minneota. Other players were elevated into the top 10 spots that had been honorable mentions. These included Dlayla Chakolis of Hopkins, who is a top 5 finalist for Miss Basketball. I'm not sure how you can be one of the best five seniors in the state but not be one of the best 10 players in Class 4A, especially when both are selected by the same organization. In any case, we also bumped up Julia Bengtson of Becker, Frankie Vascellaro of Holy Angels, Taytum Rhoades of Minnehaha Academy, Caitlin Rorman of Blue Earth and Paige Meyer of Albany. There were some really tough picks, and it’s never easy to leave players off the final list. Of course there are the players who don’t make it because they were injured for a significant portion of the season. Otherwise Sara Stapleton of Centennial in 4A, Elaina Jones of DeLaSalle in 3A, and Ellie Dague of Henning in 1A would have been a lock. If a selection was basically a coin flip, we chose the more senior player for the spot. Without further ado, here are the Prep Girls Hoops 2018-19 All-State selections. <strong>CLASS AAAA ALL-STATE</strong> <strong>1st Team</strong> <ul> <li>Sara Scalia, senior guard, Stillwater (Minnesota)</li> <li>Frannie Hottinger, senior forward, Cretin-Derham Hall (Lehigh)</li> <li>Kallie Theisen, senior forward, Wayzata (South Dakota State)</li> <li>Paige Bueckers, junior guard, Hopkins</li> <li>Lauren Jensen, junior guard, Lakeville North (Iowa)</li> </ul> <strong>2nd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Dlayla Chakolis, senior forward, Hopkins (Hampton)</li> <li>McKenna Hofschild, senior guard, Prior Lake (Seton Hall)</li> <li>Taylor McAuley, senior guard, Centennial (Drake)</li> <li>Macy Guebert, senior guard, Eastview (South Dakota)</li> <li>Adalia McKenzie, sophomore wing, Park Center</li> </ul> <strong>3rd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Tori Nelson, senior forward, Henry Sibley (South Dakota State)</li> <li>Jadyn Hanson, senior guard, St. Michael-Albertville (Concordia-St. Paul)</li> <li>Molly Mogensen, junior guard, (Farmington)</li> <li>Nneka Obiazor , junior forward, (Eden Prairie)</li> <li>Mallory Heyer, freshman forward, (Chaska)</li> </ul> <strong>Honorable Mention</strong> <ul> <li>Mykel Parham, senior forward, Apple Valley (Creighton)</li> <li>Mimi Schrader, senior guard, Wayzata (Navy)</li> <li>Macy Nilsen, senior guard, Edina (Jamestown)</li> <li>Jayda Johnston, junior forward, Roseville</li> <li>Mackenzie Kramer, junior guard, St. Michael-Albertville (Lehigh)</li> </ul> <strong>CLASS AAA ALL-STATE</strong> <strong>1st Team</strong> <ul> <li>Joey Batt, senior guard, New Ulm (MSU-Mankato)</li> <li>Lariah Washington, senior guard, St. Cloud Apollo (Eastern Illinois)</li> <li>Madison Gehloff, senior guard, Waseca</li> <li>Aja Wheeler, senior guard, Cooper</li> <li>Hannah DeMars, senior guard, Grand Rapids (Jamestown)</li> </ul> <strong>2nd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Hannah Johnson, senior guard, Willmar</li> <li>Abbey McDonald, senior guard, Hibbing (St. Cloud State)</li> <li>Lindsey Reps, senior guard, Red Wing</li> <li>Julia Bengtson, sophomore guard, Becker</li> <li>Frankie Vascellaro, sophomore forward, Holy Angels</li> </ul> <strong>3rd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Rachel Kelly, senior forward, Northfield</li> <li>Gus Boyer, junior guard, Waseca</li> <li>NJ Weems, junior forward, DeLaSalle</li> <li>Jordyn Hilgemann, sophomore guard, Marshall</li> <li>Kaylynn Asberry, freshman guard, Como Park</li> </ul> <strong>Honorable Mention</strong> <ul> <li>Ashley Gustavson, senior guard, Mankato West (Wayne State)</li> <li>Delaney Runyon, senior guard, Hill-Murray</li> <li>Alyssa Daugherty, senior guard, Zimmerman (Concordia-St. Paul)</li> <li>Ella Grove, junior forward/guard, Alexandria</li> <li>Addy Salzer, sophomore guard, Waconia</li> </ul> <strong>CLASS AA ALL-STATE</strong> <strong>1st Team</strong> <ul> <li>Kacie Borowicz, senior guard, Roseau (North Dakota)</li> <li>Olivia Lane, senior forward, Pequot Lakes (North Dakota)</li> <li>Hannah Purcell, senior forward, Annandale (DePaul)</li> <li>Taytum Rhoades, senior guard, Minnehaha Academy (UM-Duluth)</li> <li>Alyssa Ustby, junior forward, Rochester Lourdes</li> </ul> <strong>2nd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Abby Mackenthun, senior wing, Norwood-Young America</li> <li>Emma Schultz, senior forward, Eden Valley-Watkins</li> <li>Caitlin Rorman, senior forward, Blue Earth (Gustavus)</li> <li>Paige Meyer, sophomore guard, Albany</li> <li>Katie Borowicz, sophomore guard, Roseau</li> </ul> <strong style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px">3rd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Shyanne Loiland, senior forward, Crosby-Ironton (Weber State)</li> <li>Katie Tornstrom, senior guard, Caledonia (MSU-Moorhead)</li> <li>Mia Curtis, junior guard, Minnehaha Academy</li> <li>Grace Kirk, junior guard, Duluth Marshall</li> <li>Gianna Kneepkens, sophomore guard, Duluth Marshall</li> </ul> <strong>Honorable Mention</strong> <ul> <li>Kat Brown-Erdal, senior wing, Jordan (Bethel)</li> <li>Breianna Smestad, senior guard, Maranatha (Minot State)</li> <li>Emma Kniefel, junior guard, Medford</li> <li>Ava Hill, junior guard, Mesabi East</li> <li>Maya Ruzek, junior wing, Lewiston-Altura</li> </ul> <strong>CLASS A ALL-STATE</strong> <strong>1st Team</strong> <ul> <li>Jordyn Glynn, senior forward, Grand Meadow (St. Thomas)</li> <li>Lydia Sussner, senior forward, Minneota</li> <li>Taylie Scott, senior guard, Heritage Christian</li> <li>Allie Negen, senior forward, Mountain Iron-Buhl (NIACC)</li> <li>Mariah McKeever, senior guard, Ada-Borup (MSU-Moorhead)</li> </ul> <strong>2nd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Alyssa Peterson, senior guard, Menagha (UM-Crookston)</li> <li>Makenna Steffel, senior guard, BOLD</li> <li>Taya Hakamaki, junior guard, Cromwell-Wright</li> <li>Shaily Hakamaki, junior guard, Cromwell-Wright</li> <li>Faith Alberts, sophomore forward, Parkers Prairie</li> </ul> <strong>3rd Team</strong> <ul> <li>Kia Tower, senior guard, Bigfork (Jamestown)</li> <li>Lexie Lodermeier, senior forward, Goodhue</li> <li>Karley Motschenbacher, junior guard, (Park Christian)</li> <li>Kora Kritzberger, junior forward, Ada-Borup</li> <li>Abby Hennen, sophomore guard, Minneota</li> </ul> <strong>Honorable Mention</strong> <ul> <li>Sidney Fick, senior guard, Hills-Beaver Creek (Dakota State)</li> <li>Macy Savela, senior guard, Mountain Iron-Buhl (Jamestown)</li> <li>Cierra Ahlf, senior guard, Menahga</li> <li>Madison Mathiowetz, freshman guard, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s</li> <li>Sara Kottke, junior guard, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart</li> </ul> <span style="font-size: 10pt"><em>Top photo: Junior Alyssa Ustby of Rochester Lourdes was a unanimous first-team Prep Girls Hoops All-State selection in Class AA. (Photo courtesy of the Rochester Post-Bulletin)</em></span>