Class B State Tournament Top Performers
The state tournament came to an end Saturday night in Grand Forks with Langdon/Edmore/Munich capping off an undefeated season, beating Grafton 52-41. Callie Ronningen was named the Tournament MVP. Here were the top performers in the final days of the…
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Continue ReadingThe state tournament came to an end Saturday night in Grand Forks with Langdon/Edmore/Munich capping off an undefeated season, beating Grafton 52-41. Callie Ronningen was named the Tournament MVP.
Here were the top performers in the final days of the Class B season:
Callie Ronningen, LEM
The tournament MVP came up huge all weekend and despite having a brutal shooting performance in the championship, her ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor was unmatched throughout the three days. She finished the tournament averaging 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and a whopping 5.3 steals. She was the catalyst for a dominant defensive effort to hold the high-powered Spoilers to just 41 points. That’s a heck of an exclamation point for a career.
Walker Demers, Grafton
Talk about a breakout star. Demers came into the tournament averaging about nine points and nine rebounds all year, serving as something of a fourth option for a Grafton team that was loaded with experienced perimeter players. And on the biggest stage, it was Demers who keyed the Spoilers’ run to the championship and gave them a shot in the title game. The 6-foot-3 freshman center averaged 10.3 points, 13.7 rebounds and ridiculous 5.7 blocks per game. The Spoilers are going to go into next season ranked No. 1 in large part because the expectation will be that Demers takes another step forward – and that’s a scary thought for the rest of Class B.
Morgan Freije, LEM
It was an offensive struggle throughout the state tournament for the Cardinals but Morgan Freije came through in big moments producing points consistently. The sophomore wing averaged 15.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She emerged as a legitimate No. 2 option to Ronningen throughout the season and the Cardinals probably don’t win a state title without her this weekend.
Carlee Sieben, Grafton
Sieben had a rough state title game (another victim to that ferocious LEM defense) but she was undoubtedly the catalyst in the Spoilers’ success all year and played well in their first two state tournament games. The junior point guard finished the tournament averaging 13.7 points and five rebounds. She’ll have another all-state honor to her name here in the coming weeks as well.
Kaity Hove, Trenton
Trenton finished its season with a win, earning a third-place finish at the state tournament and Hove had her fingerprints all over the team’s success. She senior all-state guard averaged 16 points and 5.7 assists in the three games and capped off her career with a win.
Sam Oase, Hettinger/Scranton
Oase is the most productive big in Class B and she had a terrific state tournament run. The junior center averaged 17.3 points and 11.3 rebounds (on par with her season numbers) against some of the best bigs in the state. She’s got another year to terrorize Class B frontcourts.
Ellie Holen, LaMoure/Litchville-Marion
The Loboes’ made a surprise run to state on the back of Holen and they finished the season with the senior guard leading the way. Holen averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists over the three-game stretch.
Jacie Hall, Shiloh Christian
Shiloh Christian finished its season with a win and Hall was the big reason why. The 6-foot-3 junior center was terrific all weekend, averaging 19 points and 7.3 rebounds against some of the top forwards in the state.
Brooke Blessum, Rugby
Rugby finished its season with a pair of wins after losing to Grafton in the opening round and Blessum was undoubtedly the bright spot. The junior forward raised her game in a big way in the state tournament, averaging 19.3 points and 6.0 rebounds. She’ll be one of the main reasons Rugby goes into next year ranked in the top-five.