AAU State Tourney: The best of the best on opening night

Money! When the chips are down, and the game is on the line, some players shy away from the big moment and others are as reliable as a freshly loaded ATM. Meet [player_tooltip player_id="396423" first="Cierra" last="Kortan"] – cash machine. The scrappy guard from Sauk Centre was money all the way on Friday as #11 North Tartan Elite 2025 knocked off #6 Metro Stars 2025 in rather dramatic fashion at the AAU State Tournament. Kortan tops the list as we bring you the best of opening night at State. [player_tooltip player_id="396423" first="Cierra" last="Kortan"] <strong>– North Tartan Elite 2025</strong> Cierra has always been able to score. The 5’8 guard from Sauk Centre (top photo), ranked in the Top 50 in the Class of 2025, has great hands, excellent court vision and nice touch, a winning trifecta if you want to fill up the net. North Tartan was trailing in the latter stages of the second half but managed to pull even before [player_tooltip player_id="205299" first="Ella" last="Kuhlman"] saw her three-point attempt for the Metro Stars bounce off the rim and out at the buzzer to end regulation play. In the overtime period the Metro Stars again pulled ahead and were up by three with under 10 seconds remaining when Kortan launched a moon ball triple that found the net to tie the game at 46-all. Metro Stars roared up the court for one last attempt but in the waning seconds, with the ball loose on the floor, Kortan and Metro’s [player_tooltip player_id="346180" first="Brandi" last="Washington"] wrestled for possession as time expired. Remarkably a foul was called on the play – not very often you’ll see that happen in such a situation – which put Kortan on the line. She was money there, too, nailing both free throws for the 48-46 victory. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Danielle-Coleman_Elena-Boe-scaled-crop-2301x1511-1652504524.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-429415" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Danielle-Coleman_Elena-Boe-scaled-crop-2301x1511-1652504524-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="339143" first="Danielle" last="Coleman"] <strong>&amp;</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="346182" first="Elayna" last="Boe"] <strong>– Crossfire 2025 Mueller</strong> Although it wasn’t quite as dramatic as Kortan’s heroics in the earlier game, Coleman and Boe combined for a couple of very big buckets down the stretch in Friday’s final match-up of the night to lead #13 Crossfire Mueller to a 52-50 upset of #4 Minnesota Suns/Starks Academy. It was a back-and-forth affair in a game featuring plenty of talented kids. Coleman (photo left) is a Top 25 freshman, a 6’0 shooting guard from Lakeville South. Bow (photo right) is a 5’10 guard who hails from Lakeville North and is a Top 50 prospect. They were up against a strong Suns/Starks unit that includes, among others, 2028 phenom <strong>Chloe Johnson</strong> and 2025 #13 [player_tooltip player_id="296516" first="Regan" last="Juenemann"], both of Duluth Marshall. Crossfire forced four turnovers in the game’s final couple of minutes, pulling ahead with under 60 seconds remaining and doing an exceptionally nice job of killing clock to the end. Coleman finished the game with 17 while Boe had 8. This Mueller squad is dangerous. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Jordan-Ode_Addison-Mack-scaled-crop-2398x1575-1652504607.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-429417" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Jordan-Ode_Addison-Mack-scaled-crop-2398x1575-1652504607-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="205298" first="Jordan" last="Ode"] <strong>&amp;</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="252379" first="Addison" last="Mack"] <strong>– Minnesota Fury 2025 UAA</strong> Ode (photo left) is a 5’11 guard ranked #3 in Minnesota’s Class of 2025. Mack (photo right) is a 5’8 point guard ranked #5. With pedigree like that, and a roster loaded with similarly-heralded teammates, it should come as no surprise that the Fury’s top UAA squad (seeded #3) rolled over their secondary Premier team (seeded #14) by a score of 63-34. There’s no shame in that for the girls from Premier, though. The UAA squad is just that good. Ode was attacking the basket with a deep bag of tricks early. When she gets up a head of steam there’s no stopping Jordan. Mack was running the offense with precision and making one smart play after another, including a rather nifty behind-the-back pass in transition that drew more than a few oohs and aahs from those on hand. As usual, though, it was a team-oriented affair for the UAA girls as Mack, #22-ranked [player_tooltip player_id="252480" first="Rae" last="Ehrman"] and #24 [player_tooltip player_id="337634" first="Elise" last="Dieterle"] all reached double figures while Ode and #9 [player_tooltip player_id="208184" first="Zahara" last="Bishop"] scored 9 points apiece. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Lydia-Schmitter_Camilla-Thorsen-scaled-crop-2560x1681-1652504689.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-429419" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Lydia-Schmitter_Camilla-Thorsen-scaled-crop-2560x1681-1652504689-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="346181" first="Lydia" last="Schmitter"] <strong>&amp; Camilla Thorsen – Minnesota Stars 2025 DeSart</strong> When we pencil in an 8-9 matchup on our dance card it’s usually because we’re looking for a close game. In the first round at the AAU State Tournament those kind of contests can be hard to come by. Friday’s first game at Bloomington Kennedy did not disappoint as #8 Minnesota Stars DeSart squeaked out a 57-54 win over #9 Crossfire South Grismer. It was Schmitter (photo left) who set the tone early, using her rather ample speed and quickness to force a couple of easy turnovers for transition baskets. Thorsen (photo right) soon joined in the party, scoring 15 first-half points. Both are key pieces on a strong team for coach Jim DeSart. The 5’8 Schmitter is a free-flowing, athletic guard from Eagan ranked in the Top 50. The 5’6 Thorsen is from Edina and offers strength, physicality and a size-large motor. She’s not currently ranked but probably will be soon. Together they were outstanding. The one aspect of their games that can’t be overlooked in a two-point contest, however, is their free throw shooting. Schmitter totaled 16 points on the night, 7 of them at the line. Thorsen scored 21 points overall, including 8 free throws.