Two dozen NSIC freshmen from Minnesota make their debut

I watched live basketball on Saturday That’s not normally a newsworthy event but after two months of waiting and wondering it was a big occasion. It was an even bigger deal for the 26 Northern Sun Conference freshmen who suited up for the first time as college basketball players. I had the privilege of being there live and in person at Winona State as the D2 athletes of the NSIC played their first games in more than 300 days. With no fans in attendance for the Winona State vs UM-Duluth encounter, and the tension of the oddest of opening days being quite obvious, it was an unusual environment, but it was live basketball being played at a very high level. Some 14 of the 16 teams in the league tipped off – the game between Sioux Falls and the University of Mary was called off due to COVID protocol – in Minnesota and South Dakota, and the freshmen saw their first action. Vanessa Alexander Vanessa Alexander 6'0" | C STMA | 2020 State MN of Winona State and Taya Hakamaki Taya Hakamaki 5'7" | CG Cromwell | 2020 State MN of UMD saw their first action in the later stages of a 68-47 Duluth win. The Bulldogs’ Shaily Hakamaki Shaily Hakamaki 5'8" | CG Cromwell | 2020 State MN did not see action. Neither did Gus Boyer Gus Boyer 5'10" | CG Waseca | 2020 State MN , who will miss this season with an injury. They were among the two dozen freshmen who played Minnesota high school basketball who are rostered this season in the NSIC. There are 127 Minnesotans overall in the league. Every team has at least three. Concordia-St. Paul leads the way with 13 from the Gopher state – the Golden Bears’ entire roster – while Bemidji State, UMD and MSU-Moorhead have 11 apiece. There are 10 home-grown athletes on the roster at UM-Crookston, St. Cloud State and Southwest Minnesota State.  We should also note that a 27th player also committed to an NSIC program in 2020 but big post Katelyn Marunich Katelyn Marunich 6'2" | C Proctor | 2020 State MN (ranked #62 in the class) from Proctor has now medically retired due to chronic knee problems. Four other members of Minnesota’s class of 2020 made D2 commitments, as well, but not in the Northern Sun. Mary Fultz Mary Fultz 6'1" | PF Stillwater | 2020 State MN of Stillwater is at Missouri Western, Kayla Bohr Kayla Bohr 5'10" | CG Blaine | 2020 State MN of Blaine is at UW-Parkside, Ka’Tia Cummings Ka’Tia Cummings 5'9" | CG Tartan | 2020 State MN of Tartan is playing for Fisk University in Nashville, and Aurora Roberts Aurora Roberts 5'11" | CG Tartan | 2020 State MN of Tartan graduated early last season to attend Lees-McRae College in North Carolina. HOW DID THEY DO? The star of the day among the rookies was clearly Lydia Haack Lydia Haack 5'3" | PG Elk River | 2020 State MN . Earning the starting point guard role at Upper Iowa, Haack had a banner day on Saturday. The Elk River graduate, who played AAU ball for North Tartan, had 30 points on opening day. Haack, whose sister Gabi Haack is the starting point guard at Division 1 Bradley, shot 9-for-16 from the field and 14-of-14 at the free throw line to lead the Peacocks to a 75-71 overtime win in St. Cloud. “To be a freshman point guard in this league is a huge,” said Upper Iowa coach Nate Oakland, “but she has handled it every step of the way. Lydia is a true point guard who was able to keep our team even-keel vs a very good St Cloud State team. She is very competitive, very driven and we are excited about her future here.” Alas Haack came back to earth in Sunday’s rematch as the Huskies pretty much shut her down, holding Haack to just four points, all at the free throw line, in her 24 minutes of action. SCSU won the game 66-50 as the teams split the two-game series. Her Upper Iowa teammate Alaina Brenning Alaina Brenning 5'9" | PG Rogers | 2020 State MN had a solid first weekend as did SDSU rookie Tori Peschel Tori Peschel 5'9" | CG Sauk Centre | 2020 State MN of Sauk Centre who both saw plenty of playing time. So which other Minnesota freshmen made an impressive debut in the NSIC over the weekend?

• Lindsey Becher Lindsey Becher 6'1" | C Mounds View | 2020 State MN of Concordia-St. Paul (Mounds View) had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 blocks Saturday, going 6-for-7 from the field as CSP routed UM-Crookston. Lindsey followed that up on Sunday with a spot in the starting lineup that produced 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 blocks. She was a top-25 prospect in the class of 2020.
• Sarah Kuma Sarah Kuma 5'7" | CG Lakeville North | 2020 State MN of Concordia-St. Paul (Lakeville North) played 23 minutes in her debut, finishing with an impressive scoreline of 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. On Sunday Kuma played top-5 minutes off the bench, going 6 and 4 on the day. Kuma was ranked #37 in 2020.
• Karley Motschenbacher Karley Motschenbacher 5'9" | CG Park Christian | 2020 State MN of MSU-Moorhead (Park Christian), a top-30 prospect, played 27 minutes in her debut Saturday, parlaying the opportunity into 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 Assists.
• Paige Thompson Paige Thompson 6'3" | PF Hawley | 2020 State MN of MSU-Moorhead (Hawley) played 21 minutes for the Dragons on Saturday. She had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists as Moorhead fell to Augustana before capturing the rematch on Sunday in Sioux Falls.

THE FRESHMEN Here is the entire lineup of freshmen from Minnesota who are on NSIC rosters, including their final Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking in the class of 2020. Bemidji State

• Amme Sheforgen Amme Sheforgen 5'9" | CG Cambridge-Isanti | 2020 State MN – Cambridge-Isanti (44)
• Jana Swanson Jana Swanson 6'0" | PF Cambridge-Isanti | 2020 State MN – Cambridge-Isanti (48)
• Sam Pogatchnik Sam Pogatchnik 5'9" | CG Proctor | 2020 State MN – Proctor (79)
• Jenna Anderson Jenna Anderson 6'3" | C Royalton | 2020 State MN – Royalton (83)

Concordia-St. Paul

• Lindsey Becher Lindsey Becher 6'1" | C Mounds View | 2020 State MN – Mounds View (25)
• Sarah Kuma Sarah Kuma 5'7" | CG Lakeville North | 2020 State MN – Lakeville North (37)

Mary (ND)

• Ella Grove Ella Grove 6'0" | CG Alexandria | 2020 State MN – Alexandria (45)
• Zoe Velde Zoe Velde 5'9" | CG Pipestone | 2020 State MN – Pipestone (56)

MSU-Mankato

• Emily Russo Emily Russo 5'11" | C New Prague | 2020 State MN – New Prague (10)
• Ali Hunstad Ali Hunstad 6'0" | PF Zumbrota-Mazeppa | 2020 State MN – Zumbrota-Mazeppa (42)

MSU-Moorhead

• Karley Motschenbacher Karley Motschenbacher 5'9" | CG Park Christian | 2020 State MN – Park Christian (30)
• Rylie Polomny Rylie Polomny 5'9" | CG Moorhead | 2020 State MN – Moorhead (41)
• Paige Thompson Paige Thompson 6'3" | PF Hawley | 2020 State MN – Hawley (46)
• Lydia Hay Lydia Hay 5'11" | PF Wayzata | 2020 State MN – Wayzata (58)
• Lily Tennyson Lily Tennyson 5'9" | SF STMA | 2020 State MN – St. Michael-Albertville (59)

Sioux Falls (SD)

• Sydney White Sydney White 5'10" | CG Andover | 2020 State MN – Andover (26)

St. Cloud State

• Tori Peschel Tori Peschel 5'9" | CG Sauk Centre | 2020 State MN – Sauk Centre (34)

Southwest Minnesota State

• Sarah Conlon Sarah Conlon 5'9" | PF St. Peter | 2020 State MN – St. Peter (87)

UM-Crookston

• Haylee Wheeler Haylee Wheeler 6'0" | PF Lakeville South | 2020 State MN – Lakeville South (61)

UM-Duluth

• Gus Boyer Gus Boyer 5'10" | CG Waseca | 2020 State MN – Waseca (27)
• Taya Hakamaki Taya Hakamaki 5'7" | CG Cromwell | 2020 State MN – Cromwell Wright (29)
• Shaily Hakamaki Shaily Hakamaki 5'8" | CG Cromwell | 2020 State MN – Cromwell Wright (76)

Upper Iowa

• Alaina Brenning Alaina Brenning 5'9" | PG Rogers | 2020 State MN – Rogers (52)
• Lydia Haack Lydia Haack 5'3" | PG Elk River | 2020 State MN – Elk River (53)

Wayne State (NE)

• Annie Guentzel Annie Guentzel 5'11" | SF Lakeville South | 2020 State MN – Lakeville South (36)

Winona State

• Vanessa Alexander Vanessa Alexander 6'0" | C STMA | 2020 State MN – St. Michael-Albertville (68)

A note of thanks to the athletic department at Winona State for enabling members of the media to attend their game on Saturday. Let’s hope the rest of the NSIC, and the high school programs in Minnesota, do the same so that we can bring you the best coverage possible.