STMA Holiday Tournament: Top Duos/Trios

The St. Michael Albertville (STMA) holiday tournament hosted three other teams over two days, including one other top 10 ranked school in Chanhassen, along with Edina and Rogers, who is in reach. The tournament was set up as pool play, where both STMA and Rogers won both of their games, however the two teams didn’t play each other, as they have already battled, where STMA handed them their first loss of the season in November. From each team there were two or three girls who played consistently during both games and made a big contribution to the team's success this past week. <strong>St. Michael-Albertville</strong> I'm going to start off with the big three from the home team who has a trio of strong reliable players. The leader and the backbone of the team played great in the holiday tournament. It's no surprise as to who that is, [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"], who has proved her rank time and time again. The junior point guard was the key to their success against Edina where they beat the Hornets by 31 and Johnson contributed 16 points and 5 assists. In the second game against Chanhassen, she went off for 33 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. To compliment Tessa in the back court is [player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"] (UM-Crookston), a senior point guard who also helps set the pace for the team. Miller had 13 points and 4 assist against the Hornets and was close to a double double against Chanhassen putting in 12 points and had 9 of the 19 teams assist. STMA got just what they needed when [player_tooltip player_id="339129" first="Ja’Kahla" last="Craft"] came over to help the Knights. The combo guard did it all on both ends of the floor. She has a deadly three point shot and has the quickness and strength to get to the basket. In both games Craft had 15 points and 6 rebounds, that's what you call consistent. Against Edina she knocked down 5 threes and had to call heat check. She has continued to improve every time we see her! <strong>Rogers</strong> Rogers looked good this week at the holiday tournament, beating two good teams in Chanhassen and Edina. Their success came from the junior standout, [player_tooltip player_id="108314" first="Katelyn" last="Maciej"], who is playing her best basketball yet. She is smooth around the rim and has the moves to beat her defender one on one. The forward scored a season high of 18 and put up a total of 34 points in two days. Along with Maciej, two highly ranked upperclassmen, senior [player_tooltip player_id="12718" first="Ellie" last="Buzzelle"] (Grand Canyon) and junior [player_tooltip player_id="108300" first="Clara" last="Glad"] (UC-Davis) also put in work to help Rogers take home two wins. Buzzelle did what she does best and knocked down shots and Glad was good at finishing at the rim. The two guards both put up 21 in the two games. <strong>Chanhassen</strong> The Storm had a tough week playing two very talented teams. However, two girls put the team on their backs and fought hard to win. Senior leader, [player_tooltip player_id="12720" first="Callin" last="Hake"] (Nebraska) struggled to put the ball in the hoop against Rogers but bounced back against STMA dropping 26 points, where she was good finishing at the rim and knocking down the three. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="215990" first="Lauren" last="Arnold"] can do it all and was really impressive on the defensive end. The combo guard complimented Hake well, and coach looked to her to score. Arnold attacked the basket strong and was good from beyond the arc putting up 26 total points in the two games. <strong>Edina</strong> After going 7-0 the Hornets have had a tough schedule and fell twice in the holiday tournament. Despite the two losses, two players played well in both games, and did all they could to keep their team afloat. The senior guard has been playing her best basketball, looking like a true leading and controlling the pace of the game for the team. Everything runs through her. [player_tooltip player_id="109126" first="Dorothy" last="Stotts"] (Coast Guard) can score from all over the court and has a strong figure, that other guards find tough to guard. Stotts had 33 total points in the tournament. Teammate [player_tooltip player_id="30159" first="Ella" last="Campbell"] (Concordia-St. Paul) plays a consistent game, doing all the little things. She is the type of player who makes good decisions and makes the right plays. You can count on her to show up every game. The combo guard had 23 points in two games by finishing well and knocking down shots.