AAU State Tourney: 2021 recap & All-Tournament Team

There have been some very good teams in the class of 2021 over the years, including the now departed Tayler Hill Elite, Minnesota Stars Hersch, North Tartan Sinn and the various iterations of Tylor Coley’s group who have played under a number of different banners over the years, most recently FBC North. And then there is Minnesota Fury 2021 UAA. On Sunday in Shakopee, Coach Tim Peper’s Fury captured their second consecutive 2021 AAU state championship, winning an epic 67-65 battle with Gerard Coury’s top team from North Tartan. These are the players who got the job done, listed in the order of their Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking: #2. [player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"], Farmington (North Carolina State) #5. [player_tooltip player_id="2126" first="Gianna" last="Kneepkens"], Duluth Marshall (Utah) #7. [player_tooltip player_id="57077" first="Kaylee" last="Van Eps"], Chaska (Lehigh) #9. [player_tooltip player_id="109735" first="Jade" last="Hill"], Minneapolis South #18. [player_tooltip player_id="109738" first="Alexis" last="Pratt"], Stillwater (Omaha) #24. [player_tooltip player_id="109752" first="Miah" last="Monahan"], Glencoe-Silver Lake (Eastern Illinois) #28. [player_tooltip player_id="109744" first="Helen" last="Staley"], Rosemount (Oakland) #38. [player_tooltip player_id="57094" first="Emily" last="Kulstad"], Prior Lake (Southern Utah) #56. [player_tooltip player_id="109758" first="Destinee" last="Bursch"], Eden Prairie Players on the roster who did not compete in the tournament include #12 [player_tooltip player_id="57085" first="Maggie" last="Czinano"] of Watertown-Mayer (Minnesota) and #19 [player_tooltip player_id="2117" first="Frankie" last="Vascellaro"] of Holy Angels. Consistency is key AAU rosters tend to fluctuate widely from year to year as coaches and club directors jockey to improve their squads and top players leave in search of greener pastures. Fury 2021 UAA hasn’t been like that at all. Of the nine players who suited up this weekend, only Hill is in her first year with the team while Kneepkens is in her second season. Seven players have been on the team for the past four years or more, including Van Eps, Monahan, Hart and Kulstad who have a combined 27 years of experience with the club. That continuity has been one of the secrets to the team’s success. It doesn’t hurt to have a nicely balanced roster that includes a pair of very big bigs in Hart and Kulstad, some highly skilled guards, outstanding shooters like Monahan and Kneepkens and Pratt, and the versatility of Van Eps and Staley, who can play multiple different roles. Eight players on the team have already made college commitments prior to their senior seasons, more than any other team in the class. Once again this weekend that collection of assets paid off handsomely. A seismic semifinal The Fury opened the tournament Friday night with a convincing win against Minnesota Comets Elite and followed that up with a six-point victory over Stars Hersch. On Saturday they scored a 20-point win over their sisters from Southern Minnesota Fury 2021. That set the stage for Sunday’s semifinal, an early afternoon rematch with the Stars. The Hersch girls turned in a nice opening half, a period that ended with a [player_tooltip player_id="2098" first="Katie" last="Borowicz"] three-pointer that gave the Stars an eight-point margin at the break. By the time the clock wound down to around the 6-minute mark, the Stars were clinging to a one-point margin. That’s when disaster struck as the Fury scored a field goal to take the lead. The Stars were careless on the ensuing inbounds play, turning the ball over and committing a foul that enabled Pratt to cash in with an and-1 for a 5-point sequence and a 4-point lead. The Stars responded with a quick score before Monahan replied with a triple. Then the wheels fell off. Just over two minutes later, the Fury had stretched the gap to 12 and the Stars’ quest to make it into the championship game was over. The final score was 66-50 as Pratt scored 25 points to lead the Fury into the final. The closing act North Tartan had a much easier time on its way to Sunday’s championship game, not because their path was any smoother but because they turned in a series of near-flawless performances in spite of a short roster. After being without the two highest-ranked players in the 2021 class throughout the AAU season – both #1 [player_tooltip player_id="6389" first="Adalia" last="McKenzie"] of Park Center (Illinois) and #2 [player_tooltip player_id="2090" first="Jenna" last="Johnson"] of Wayzata (Utah) are injured – North Tartan was down to just eight healthy regulars for the tournament. Although they were allowed to call up two players from their 2022 team, it was the regulars who carried the freight. Led by import guard Maty Wilke of Beaver Dam, Wisc. along with Wayzata sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] and St. Michael-Albertville freshman [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"], North Tartan got off to a great start Friday with a 34-point win over their clubmates from North Tartan Elite and a 23-point victory against Fury 2021 Yellow. On Saturday they knocked off Rise Wolfe by 32 before dispatching Fury Yellow once again in Sunday’s semifinal. Through four games North Tartan were playing outstanding basketball and had strong play all weekend from bigs [player_tooltip player_id="6431" first="Anna" last="Miller"] of Rochester Mayo (Drake) and [player_tooltip player_id="29521" first="Jenna" last="Guyer"] of Centennial (UW-Green Bay), along with guards Haleigh Timmer of Rapid City (South Dakota State) and [player_tooltip player_id="57079" first="Cassidy" last="Carson"] of Eastview (South Dakota). Although she was hampered by a bad ankle, wing [player_tooltip player_id="6396" first="Jodi" last="Anderson"] of Centennial (North Dakota) was also very good. After North Tartan built a comfortable lead in the first half, a margin that reached as high as 12 points, the Fury started to seize some momentum midway through the second stanza. With just over 10 minutes remaining, Hill made a bank 3 to bring the Fury to within 5 at 41-46. Over the next few minutes Hill made three free throws and another 3-pointer while Pratt scored a 3 of her own. Van Epps made four consecutive free throws in a 30-second span that enabled the Fury to draw within two points. Hill then scored on a drive and went 5-for-6 at the line in the home stretch which, by my count, gave her 16 points in the second half. The game was tied at 65 apiece with just under a minute remaining and stayed that way until Hart’s put-back with 4.2 seconds left sealed it. It was a frantic but fitting ending for Fury 2021 UAA which has won in dramatic fashion many, many times over the years. I’m certain the players will remember this one for a long time. 2021 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Here are the Prep Girls Hoops 2021 All-Tournament Teams. Selections are based on the grade at which the team competed. Players who aren’t in the 2021 class have their graduation year indicated in parentheses. Choices were made regardless of a player’s position. 1st Team <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109738" first="Alexis" last="Pratt"] – Fury UAA (Stillwater/Omaha)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109735" first="Jade" last="Hill"] – Fury UAA (Minneapolis South)</li> <li>Maty Wilke – North Tartan (Beaver Dam/Wisconsin)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] – North Tartan (St. Michael-Albertville) (2023)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="2098" first="Katie" last="Borowicz"] – Stars Hersch (Roseau/Minnesota)</li> </ul> 2nd Team <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"] – Fury UAA (Farmington/North Carolina State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57081" first="Jordyn" last="Lamker"] – Stars Hersch (Maple Grove/St. Thomas)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] – North Tartan (Wayzata) (2022)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57110" first="Morgan" last="Krumwiede"] – Fury Yellow (Burnsville/MSU-Mankato)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"] – MN Rise Wolfe (Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s) (2022)</li> </ul> 3rd Team <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109739" first="Paige" last="Meyer"] – Comets Elite (Albany/South Dakota State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109769" first="Tatum" last="Brostrom"] – Fury Yellow (Prior Lake)</li> <li>Maleah Scott – Minnesota Stars Zabel (Farmington)</li> <li>Ashlyn Bigelow – Southern Minnesota Fury (Kasson-Mantorville)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="30186" first="Cloey" last="Dmytruk"] – 43 Hoops Antilla (St. Paul Como Park) (2022)</li> </ul> Top photo: Minnesota Fury 2021 UAA. Back row (left to right): [player_tooltip player_id="57077" first="Kaylee" last="Van Eps"], [player_tooltip player_id="57094" first="Emily" last="Kulstad"], [player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"], [player_tooltip player_id="2126" first="Gianna" last="Kneepkens"], [player_tooltip player_id="109744" first="Helen" last="Staley"] and coach Tim Peper. Front row (left to right): [player_tooltip player_id="109735" first="Jade" last="Hill"], [player_tooltip player_id="109738" first="Alexis" last="Pratt"], [player_tooltip player_id="109752" first="Miah" last="Monahan"], [player_tooltip player_id="109758" first="Destinee" last="Bursch"]. Not pictured: [player_tooltip player_id="57085" first="Maggie" last="Czinano"], [player_tooltip player_id="2117" first="Frankie" last="Vascellaro"]. (Photo courtesy of the Fury)