Finding the right formula for success in Belle Plaine
There are three absolute must-haves to forge a winning season in girls basketball: Athletes – Teams without sufficient talent don’t get much accomplished. Commitment – Those players need to put in the work day in and day out to get…
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Continue ReadingThere are three absolute must-haves to forge a winning season in girls basketball:
- Athletes – Teams without sufficient talent don’t get much accomplished.
- Commitment – Those players need to put in the work day in and day out to get better.
- Culture – The atmosphere has to be right or the results will be all wrong.
Monday night I drove south on Highway 169 to Belle Plaine to find out how the Tigers managed to win 15 of their first 16 games this season. It didn’t take long to see why. See items 1, 2, and 3 as noted above. The Tigers have athletes who have proven themselves in several different sports. Those athletes practically live in the weight room, and they work on skill development year-round. And the atmosphere is right, thanks to a culture that has been instilled by third-year coach Mindy Chevalier.
“Culture is huge, and we have worked a ton on that this year. You can see it right here in the gym,” Chevalier said, gesturing toward a big sign on the wall that says, ‘We’ over ‘Me.’ “That’s been our mantra this year and the kids have bought in.”
Like most schools in smaller communities – Belle Plaine is a class 2A program in a community of 7,000 people – the Tigers’ basketball players are also the volleyball players. They run track, play softball and do what they can to help their respective programs win. “Our track team goes to state,” Chevalier said. “Cross country has won state. Our volleyball team has won state. These kids know how to win; they just didn’t know how to win on the basketball court.”
“This is the group that changed it”
Chevalier took over the program in Belle Plaine a couple of weeks into the 2016-17 season when previous coach Randy Carlson had a heart attack. Carlson survived fortunately, but the program remained in Mindy’s hands. The Tigers had won five games the previous year. That’s how many they won in her first season, too, but you could see it was a talented group led by current juniors Sarah Lenz and Lauren Johnson. They have been the catalyst for the program’s about-face as the Tigers forged a 13-12 record last year to set the stage for this season’s surge.
“This is the group that changed it,” the coach said in reference to the team’s culture. ”These guys really committed. They were here the first day after summer break three years ago. They were in the weight room three days a week. They are in the gym, they are playing summer league,” she said. “Every player on the team knows what their role is, what they do well, and even our kids who don’t get in, they know that every day in practice they are making someone else better. It may sound cliché but that’s what this team does.”
The kids are putting in the work but it’s the coach who sets the tone, of course, and Mindy knows a little something about leadership. She is the high school principal in Belle Plaine, and this isn’t her first go-‘round running a successful basketball program. Chevalier was the head coach for 12 years at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva back when Carlie Wagner was a young prodigy about to set Minnesota basketball on fire.
Like most successful programs, Belle Plaine takes a very clear approach to the game. “We always hang our hat on defense,” Chevalier said. “Even though we are undersized a lot we still play good, solid man-to-man full-court and half-court, and we play physical. These kids have committed to the weight room and it pays off. We are 15-2 (now 16-2) because we can physically out-work teams and kind of break them down. We can just constantly run these unbelievable track athletes at the other team’s best ball-handlers and more often than not it pays off for us. Tonight that wasn’t the case.”
“We needed a gut check”
I thought Belle Plaine played a terrific game on Monday. Lenz was on fire, going 9-for-16 from the field including 6-of-9 from three. She was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line for 30 points. This kid can flat out shoot the basketball. St. Peter, though, was just a little bit better. Led by a pair of excellent bigs, the Saints gave Belle Plaine fits near the basket. Senior Sarah Conlon, a Southwest Minnesota State commit who scored her 1,000th career point in the first half, went 9-for-15 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three. The 5’10 forward was also 5-for-6 at the line for 26 points. 5’11 junior Morgan Kelly, who has emerged as a scholarship-level prospect, went 7-for-15 and 7-of-10 for 21 points.
“You know we needed a gut check and right now is the perfect time,” Chevalier said, putting a positive spin on the night’s proceedings. “St. Peter is a great team. We don’t see two post players like that very often, and they’ve got some nice guards who know their role and knock down shots. I felt like we played well. Defensively we played well. We did what we wanted to do. They just made more baskets than we did, and they hit them in crunch time.”
The final score was 68-60 in favor of the visitors. The good news is Belle Plaine returned to the court 24 hours later and scored a win at Mayer-Lutheran, a strong 1A program that knocked off 2A state champions Minnehaha Academy earlier this season. That leaves the Tigers at 16-2 heading into the second half of their Minnesota River Conference schedule. Finishing the first half of the campaign at 8-0, BP is obviously in a good position. Here is a rundown on the key players who have the opportunity to lead the Tigers to a title, including a few thoughts from their coach on each of them.
BELLE PLAINE’S TOP TALENT
Sarah Lenz, 5’8 junior guard – Lenz is an outstanding shooter who averages over 14 points per game. If you set a ball screen for Lenz she will step back and hit the three all day long. Sarah has a high basketball IQ and a tremendous work ethic. “Sarah is so consistent and she is such a competitor,” said the coach. “She can play just about any position on the floor for us. She works her tail off, and now she is a great defender. She is one that will work to make herself a complete player and that’s what she has done. She is just a joy to coach and a real leader. I can’t say enough good things about her.”
Lauren Johnson, 5’9 junior forward – Johnson just might be the state’s lowest-profile 1,000-point scorer. She averages 17.4 ppg with a season-high of 31. Johnson is a 44% shooter, over 50% from three. Lauren has a bigger body, and she knows how to utilize her size and strength to get to the basket. “She is a tough match-up for teams because she can also pull them outside and shoot the three,” Chevalier said. “She’s also a really good free throw shooter and has developed her moves and counter moves around the block. She is strong and has committed to the weight room.” Johnson plays volleyball in addition to being an outstanding softball catcher.
Jaylen Struck-Schmitz, 5’5 senior guard – Jaylen is not very big but man is she quick. How quick? How about two-time state hurdles champion quick! You can’t win as many games as Belle Plaine has won without a great point guard, and this is Struck-Schmitz’s role. “Jaylen has had the year we hoped she would have,” said the coach. “She’s freaky athletic, has her nose on the ball, and gets the ball where it needs to go. She just kind of controls our offense, controls our tempo. Jaylen can play fast, and she has come to know the system well. I think this is her fourth year starting and she has really found her groove. She is a real leader on the floor and has done a great job of getting everyone involved. She’s never too high, never too low, and she works so hard.”
McKenna Ziemke, 5’8 sophomore guard – Lenz, Johnson and Struck-Schmitz have all been crucial to Belle Plaine’s success. The player who has the highest potential, however, has got to be Ziemke. The 2022 prospect, who plays summer ball for the Minnesota Rise, is long and lean and athletic. She flies around the court, playing with passion and energy. While she doesn’t light up the scoreboard like her older teammates, Ziemke is nearly always tasked with the job of defending the other team’s longest, most athletic guard. “Isn’t she fun?!” Chevalier said. “You can see her quickness. She runs laterally so fast. She can get there and she’s long. She’s scrappy. She gets to those loose balls. On the offensive end McKenna has really developed her game to shoot the three. We’re continuing to work on her confidence because we want her to shoot the ball.” If teams lock down on Lenz and Johnson, Ziemke will make them pay. “If that’s the case,” said the coach, “she will knock down the three all night long.”
Leah Lenz, 5’9 sophomore forward – Leah is Ziemke’s teammate on the Rise. She is also the younger sister of Sarah, and is the first player off the bench for Belle Plaine. Lenz is a good athlete who has length and strength, assets she has used to become a quality shot blocker. “She uses her body really well to get good position,” Chevalier said of Leah. “She is continuing to work on her post moves, and she is also going to be a really tough match-up. Leah can step out and shoot the three, she can go to the basket, and she’s a great passer, especially high-low. Like McKenna, her potential is through the roof.”
One player to watch for down the stretch is 5’8 forward Lizzy Schmidt, a junior whose game has improved a lot. Often overshadowed in the headlines by her teammates, Schmidt is the fifth member of Belle Plaine’s starting lineup. Lizzy is averaging over 9 points per game and typically guards the other team’s best post player. “She runs track, she does cross country and she’s quick,” Chevalier said. “She is our defensive stopper in the post.”
What will the stretch run hold for the Tigers? They’ll go to Jordan on Friday night and try to keep the ball rolling towards a conference title. A berth in the 2A state tournament is definitely within the realm of possibility, but section 2AA is loaded. Waseca, which dropped down from class 3A this season, is the prohibitive favorite. Teams like NRHEG, Minnesota Valley Lutheran, Jordan, Medford and Lake Crystal-Welcome Memorial will no doubt have something to say about things, as well. “Our goal is to try to get the #1 seed and get to Taylor Center,” Chevalier said of the arena at MSU-Mankato where the section championships are held. “Then we’ll see what happens.”
Top photo: The Belle Plaine Tigers are led by juniors Lauren Johnson (left with the ball) and Sarah Lenz (right with the ball). Head coach Mindy Chevalier is in the front row on the right.