State Tournament Quarterfinals: Top 10 AAAA performers
Class AAAA kicked off the State Tournament on Tuesday with four games that would decide who moves on to the semifinals at the Target Center. Chaska and Stillwater started the show off at Osseo High School in a match-up of…
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Continue ReadingClass AAAA kicked off the State Tournament on Tuesday with four games that would decide who moves on to the semifinals at the Target Center. Chaska and Stillwater started the show off at Osseo High School in a match-up of the undefeated. Following that game Centennial and Elk River played a pretty close game and matched up well against each other. Next, we saw the big upset of Rosemount vs Farmington that was played at East Ridge High School. Finally Hopkins played like the number one seed they are against Forest lake. The teams that pulled away for the win played with energy, effort and urgency. These are the top performers in the class AAAA state quarterfinals.
Chaska advances with a 75-57 win
Kennedy Sanders Kennedy Sanders 5'8" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN – sophomore guard, Chaska
From the jump Sanders came out like she was ready to take care of business. She is one of the best point guards in the state and proved her rank last night. She led the way in the first half with 13 points. Sanders and her teammate Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN accounted for 25 of the team’s 33 points in the first half. The points that Sanders is putting up are not one-dimensional either. She can beat you on the attack, drive for a floater down the lane, and hit the big three. She finds ways to kiss the ball off the glass even when she doesn’t have a good angle. In the second half she led the way as her team went on a run early. Sanders averages 15.3 points per game but ended up with 31 on the night passing her season high of 23. Kennedy really could get anything she wanted this game and I hope she keeps that mentality the rest of the way. She is fun to watch.
Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN – junior forward, Chaska
Within the first minute of the game Heyer had already gotten her defender a foul by posting up hard. She is really good at getting her position on the block so that her teammates can lob it over the top. She ran the floor great, being the first one down most of time where she was looking to get a layup in transition. Heyer also got some easy buckets by getting offensive rebounds and putting it back up strong. Stillwater started off in the lead but Heyer and Sanders put the team on their back with Heyer putting up 12 in the first half and finishing the night with 19 points.
Rosemount advances with a 52-44 victory
Alexa Ratzlaff Alexa Ratzlaff 5'9" | CG Rosemount | 2022 State MN – junior guard, Rosemount
Ratzlaff was aggressive from the beginning of the game attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line early. She helped her team start the game with an 11-1 lead against the undefeated Tigers. Alexa doesn’t stop moving on offense, which makes her really hard to guard. She beat her defender a few times on the back cut for an easy layup. She averages 7.5 points per game but played big and ended up with a season high of 18. Almost half of her points came from free throws where she was 7 of 8 from the line. Ratzlaff and her teammate Ivory Finley Ivory Finley 5'8" | CG Rosemount | 2021 State MN accounted for more than half of the team’s total.
Ivory Finley Ivory Finley 5'8" | CG Rosemount | 2021 State MN – senior guard, Rosemount
The lefty point guard controlled the pace of the game for Rosemount. She pulled it back and slowed it down in the half court, executing the offense like a leader. Ivory attacked the rim with her speed sending her to the free-throw line five times where she made four. She read the defense well all game, shooting a deep three when they went under on the screen. Finley averages 8.5 points per game this season and ended the game with 13.
Side note: Farmington guard Peyton Blandin Peyton Blandin 5'8" | SG Farmington | 2021 State MN ended her senior season with a bang, hitting 8 threes against Rosemount and dropping a season high of 26.
Centennial advances to win 63-51
Jodi Anderson Jodi Anderson 5'11" | CG Centennial | 2021 State MN – senior guard, Centennial
She played like a veteran last night doing everything for the team. She drove to the basket, pulled up for the midrange and knocked down the three. Her change of speed is what makes Anderson different. She plays smart and knows what move to do at what time. I saw her do a give-and-go on multiple occasions beating her player after a quick pass and cut. Anderson was not afraid to use her body and get to the free throw line. She shot 11 of 12 from the stripe. Jodi went to work in the second half scoring 16 to secure the win. Anderson averaged 16.4 points per game this season but ended the night with a big 24-point performance.
Jenna Guyer Jenna Guyer 6'2" | C Centennial | 2021 State MN – senior forward, Centennial
Guyer controlled the lane on both offense and defense against Elk River. She had a tough task on defense guarding two very strong post from ER. On defense she got her hands on everything and was there to clean up in the lane when her teammates got beat. She had very active hands to block shots and deny the pass for a steal on defense. On offense Guyer posted up hard and held her seal really well. Guyer not only got buckets in the paint but also stepped out from the block to hit a few mid-range jumpers. Coming in averaging 12.3 points per game and 10.2 rebounds she did her job and scored 11.
Hopkins advances to win 76-44
Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN – sophomore forward, Hopkins
Woodson played great defense last night. She stays in a low stance the whole game which you rarely see at her position and size. She was able to get a five-second call on the perimeter by locking up her girl on defense. Woodson scored a lot of her points by getting offensive rebounds and putting it back up. A lot of times it resulted in an and-1. I like how Woodson lets the game come to her. She does the right things and good things happen. During the season Woodson averaged 16.4 points a game and ended the night with 15.
Maya Nnaji Maya Nnaji 6'4" | PF Hopkins | 2022 State #7 Nation MN – junior forward, Hopkins
Nnaji has yet to be shut down by anyone this year. Her timing in the post in impeccable. She holds her seal for the right amount of time to the point where she’s wide open. Her teammates were able to lob it over the top to her against Forest Lake. When the lob and seal wasn’t open Nnaji would post up back to the basket and take her defender up and under. She also stepped out to the top of the key and knocked down the three. Nnaji scored 14 points in the first half to give her team a 26-point lead going into halftime.