Previewing the Hiawatha Valley League

It’s no secret. Southeastern Minnesota is a hotbed of girls basketball, and there is no shortage of quality talent in the Hiawatha Valley Conference, which boasts a long list of Prep Girls Hoops college prospects. No current player, however, will be able to match the accomplishments of one who is no longer in the league. That would be Rochester Lourdes graduate [player_tooltip player_id="1917" first="Alyssa" last="Ustby"]. The North Carolina freshman is off to an outstanding start at the highest level of college basketball. Nobody in the HVL is surprised. The 6’1 wing dominated the conference for the past several seasons. She rewrote the Lourdes record book, finishing her career with 2,560 points, 1,295 rebounds and 394 steals. She also set single-season marks with 794 points and 364 rebounds. Simply put, Alyssa was among the best of the best. There’s no doubt folks are thrilled for Ustby and the success she is having. Truth be told, however, they’re probably not sad she’s gone from the league because that levels the playing field a little and will enable other strong talents to step into the spotlight, including Byron star [player_tooltip player_id="109753" first="Sacia" last="Vanderpool"], the big post who has committed to Wisconsin. We have a rundown on some of those players to watch along with the teams to beat in the Hiawatha Valley Conference. WHO’S IN THE HVL? The Hiawatha Valley league features 11 schools divided into two divisions. Rochester Lourdes won the Gold Division – the stronger of the two recently – which includes Stewartville, Lake City, Kasson-Mantorville, Byron and Pine Island. Goodhue captured the Blue Division which includes Triton, Zumbrota-Mazeppa, Kenyon Wanamingo and Cannon Falls. 5 TEAMS TO WATCH IN 2021 Goodhue The Wildcats have been wildly successful in recent years, winning state championships in 2016 and 2019. Last year Josh Wieme’s team went 12-2 in conference play, 26-4 overall. Goodhue boasts experience, speed, depth, terrific ball movement and their long-time calling card – defense. The Wildcats truly play team basketball. Currently, their highest-ranked individual player is junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="109154" first="Joslyn" last="Carlson"] (#89). The other top returners are seniors Hannah Gadient, Elissa Lodermeier, Torrie Rehder and Ariana Thomforde. Watch out for freshman guard Elizabeth Gadient, who barely missed our Freshman 50 this fall and has a ton of potential. Lake City The Tigers have a lot of talent as their 13-1 conference record from one year ago (they were 22-6 overall) will attest. Expectations are high on Lake Pepin as coach Clay Olstad’s Tigers return pretty much every key player on the roster. Lake City’s top prospect is #33-rated junior [player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"], who is drawing Division 1 interest. She’s joined by #52 [player_tooltip player_id="109142" first="Lilly" last="Meincke"] and #53 [player_tooltip player_id="109153" first="Mya" last="Shones"], who gives Lake City presence in the paint along with 6’3 senior post [player_tooltip player_id="109783" first="Grace" last="Bany"] (#103). The lineup is bolstered by three buzz-saw youngsters whose energy and defensive intensity is infectious: Sophomores Paige West and Jacey Majerus and freshman Ella Matzke. Sophomore Emma Berge returns from injury. Rochester Lourdes Last winter the Eagles became the first girls basketball program in Minnesota to reach the 1,000-win mark. What that tells you is Lourdes has been very good for a long time pre-Ustby, and they’re likely to be good long-term, too. It just might take some time this season to adapt to the new realities. Lourdes was 14-2 in the HVL, 28-2 overall. Coach Aaron Berg also lost the services of point guard Anna Otto, who is now at Dordt. He returns three standout college prospects in junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="109125" first="CJ" last="Adamson"], the #31-rated player in the 2022 class. She’s joined by sophomore standouts [player_tooltip player_id="108335" first="Vivica" last="Bretton"] (#45) and [player_tooltip player_id="148325" first="Emily" last="Bowron"] (#65) who are both very, very good. Sophomore post [player_tooltip player_id="186116" first="Ella" last="Hopkins"] (#69) is among the state’s most improved players this year. 5’10 senior guard Sydney Elliott is a great three-point shooter. Stewartville The Tigers have been really solid in recent years, even after elite 2021 forward [player_tooltip player_id="109741" first="Erin" last="Lamb"] decided to focus on volleyball a couple of years ago. That decision paid off with a scholarship to Kentucky, but it also made it obvious that there was much more to Stewartville’s success than Erin. Coach Ryan Liffrig’s team was 11-4/20-9 last winter. Much of the credit should go to standout point guard [player_tooltip player_id="110906" first="Lily" last="Welch"], who has now moved on with diploma in hand. Stewartville also lost all-conference guard Olivia Quam, along with Kailee Malone and Anna Buckmeier. That leaves speedy guard [player_tooltip player_id="57138" first="Maia" last="Peterson"] as the most experienced backcourt player, but she’ll have help in the form of two excellent sophomores we love to watch. That would be [player_tooltip player_id="148327" first="Haylie" last="Strum"], #73 In the class of 2023, along with #85 [player_tooltip player_id="186114" first="Keeley" last="Steele"]. PS: It was just confirmed by coach Liffrig that Miss Lamb is returning to the basketball court this season, which will be a ton of fun to see. Her shooting motion is pure art! Kasson-Mantorville Culture is so important in girls basketball and one of the things that has always impressed me about Ryan Haraldson’s program at Kasson-Mantorville is the team atmosphere. There always seems to be a ton of energy, plenty of positive vibes, a relentless work ethic and lots of community support, not to mention one of the most impressive gyms in the state. The KoMets were 10-5 in the HVL last year, 19-10 overall, and made it to the section 1AAA final game. They return a veteran core that is poised for good stuff this season, led by this year’s breakout senior [player_tooltip player_id="231693" first="Ashlyn" last="Bigelow"] – the Army commit is coming off a highlight reel summer – and one of the top combo guards in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="108321" first="Aby" last="Shubert"]. Aby is top 10 now in the class of 2023 and she can do it all. The rest of the veteran lineup includes 6’2 post [player_tooltip player_id="109799" first="Mya" last="Suess"], her backup Ellie Bigelow, plus guard [player_tooltip player_id="109807" first="Avery" last="Irish"]. Watch for sophomore power forward Mackenzie Tozier to make an impact, too. One more to watch If you’re looking for a sleeper in the Hiawatha Valley League, you might want to look to Dodge Center where Triton alum Dustin Wright has returned home to coach the Cobras. Wright had tremendous success at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, and he brings new energy to town. The Cobras were just 5-9 in conference play last season, 13-13 overall, and they will have to overcome the graduation of six players including guards [player_tooltip player_id="110905" first="Sydney" last="Gilliland"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145082" first="Kendra" last="Petersohn"] (Gustavus), both 1,000-point scorers. Triton will rebuild around sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id="108322" first="Brylee" last="Iverson"], a top-25 talent who averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds per game last season. Promising freshman Azeri Thiemen, a 6-footer with length and athleticism, is one to watch. THE DEAR DEPARTED We’ve already told you about the departure of [player_tooltip player_id="1917" first="Alyssa" last="Ustby"] from the HVL, but there are four others players of note who have also graduated. That list would include [player_tooltip player_id="56238" first="Ali" last="Hunstad"] of Zumbrota-Mazeppa, the 42nd-ranked player in the class of 2020, who is now at MSU-Mankato. Veteran point guard [player_tooltip player_id="110906" first="Lily" last="Welch"] of Stewartville, #74 in the class, has also moved on along with Triton’s [player_tooltip player_id="110905" first="Sydney" last="Gilliland"] (#121) and #151 [player_tooltip player_id="145082" first="Kendra" last="Petersohn"] (Gustavus). TOP 100 PROSPECTS <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108321" first="Aby" last="Shubert"] – 2023 #10, Kasson-Mantorville</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109753" first="Sacia" last="Vanderpool"] – 2021 #17, Byron (Wisconsin)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108322" first="Brylee" last="Iverson"] – 2023 #23, Triton</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109125" first="CJ" last="Adamson"] – 2022 #31, Rochester Lourdes</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"] – 2022 #33, Lake City</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108335" first="Vivica" last="Bretton"] – 2023 #45, Rochester Lourdes</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="231693" first="Ashlyn" last="Bigelow"] – 2021 #49, Kasson-Mantorville</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109142" first="Lilly" last="Meincke"] – 2022 #52, Lake City</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109153" first="Mya" last="Shones"] – 2022 #53, Lake City</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="148325" first="Emily" last="Bowron"] – 2023 #65, Rochester Lourdes</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="186116" first="Ella" last="Hopkins"] – 2023 #69, Rochester Lourdes</li> <li>Elizabeth Gadient – 2024, Goodhue</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="148327" first="Haylie" last="Strum"] – 2023 #73, Stewartville</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="186114" first="Keeley" last="Steele"] – 2023 #85, Stewartville</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="220829" first="Aubrey" last="Akervik"] – 2023 #92, Byron</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109154" first="Joslyn" last="Carlson"] – 2022 #89, Goodhue</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109185" first="Rylie" last="Schnell"] – 2022 #98, Byron</li> </ul> Top photo: Senior post [player_tooltip player_id="109753" first="Sacia" last="Vanderpool"] (left) of Byron had some great battles with the now-graduated [player_tooltip player_id="1917" first="Alyssa" last="Ustby"] (right) of Rochester Lourdes. (Photo courtesy of Vanderpool Studios)