Albany’s Tatum Findley was top dog for the Huskies

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no question that juniors [player_tooltip player_id='302297' first='Alyssa' last='Sand'] and [player_tooltip player_id='302300' first='Kylan' last='Gerads'] are the Huskies that pull Albany's sled, but on Saturday at the Breakdown Winter Lakes Classic in Alexandria it was their teammate [player_tooltip player_id='594370' first='Tatum' last='Findley'] who earned honors as top dog of the day. In an impressive win over Litchfield, Findley was on top of her game. It was the best performance we have seen from the 5'9 guard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albany coach Aaron Boyum knows that the Huskies bread is buttered primarily by Sand – a 6'3 post ranked #16 in the Class of 2024 by Prep Girls Hoops – and Gerads, a 5'11 small forward, who is in the Top 25. He's also cognizant of the fact that Albany has a great supporting cast that puts the team in an enviable position for the stretch run of the high school season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We have a couple of players who have had some pretty glowing accolades and deservingly so, but I also feel like our team has done a really good job of building depth and continuing to advance and people are understanding their roles within that,” Boyum said following the victory. “I think we have gelled really well as the season has gone on. We certainly have a few really special players. but we also have a number of really good players who we trust to do great things on the court.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of those players is Findley. Tatum has a ton of length, is really athletic, and has one of the quickest first steps in the class. Her feet are light, she moves well side to side, and she can get up and down the floor at a high rate of speed. Saturday morning's game started out at a plodder's pace and it was nearly two minutes in before the first bucket was scored. That tally belonged to Tatum, who went straight at her defender and then turned on the jets to blow by and score at the rim for a 2-0 lead. That set the tone for what she would do the rest of the game. By the time it was over Findley had tallied 15 points, knocked down three triples and demonstrated very clearly that her time is now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Tatum has come along really nicely,” Boyum said. “She has worked tremendously hard on her ability to attack the rim but she's also an excellent 3-point shooter. That has come along really well from last year to this year. She's lethal behind the 3-point line right now, and she's added that to her ability to get to the rim. For a two-guard she has decent height, but she has more length with her wingspan than people think. She's been really special for us.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's that initial burst of speed that sets her apart.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Her first step is really good. That's something that she has worked on forever,” Boyum said. “She stays after practice and is working on one-on-zero moves to improve that. It's something she's had for a long time but it has gotten even better. When you add that to her outside shooting it makes her very well-rounded for us.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We liked her court vision, too. When Findley brings the ball up the floor her eyes are up and her head is in motion like an alert meerkat surveying the landscape. We loved her ability to fire a long, hard pass on target while running at pace. Not every player has the coordination, arm strength and confidence to pull that off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That kind of pace was exactly what the Huskies were looking for against Litchfield but it took a little while to make it happen. Certainly the 10:30 a.m. start may have impacted the early stages of the game, as did Litchfield's desire to play in the half court, move the ball around the outside and wait patiently for an opening. (Did someone say 'shot clock'?) When a chance did materialize to get the ball inside, though, Sand was positioned for another of her patented swats to minimize the damage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“In the middle of our zone Alyssa has such a special wingspan that it's hard to enter the ball,” Boyum said. “I think she leads us with 4.3 steals per game right now, which for a 5 is incredible to be able to get her hands on that many passes for deflections. And then she can start the transition because she has the ability to handle the ball.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albany didn't register its third bucket of the basketball game until the first period was half over. That's when <strong>Callie Holthaus</strong> scored in transition to put the Huskies up 8-2. Gerads soon followed with a corner three and a free throw and Albany was finally off and running. The lead soon grew to 10, then 14, then more. Only a three at the buzzer by Litchfield guard <strong>Ryanna Steinhaus</strong> kept the Dragons within shouting distance at 25-11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After the break it was more of the same. Following a 12-0 Albany run midway through the half, the margin was nearly 30 and the game eventually went to running time. The final score was 57-26 in favor of the Huskies. Although Litchfield's top talent – seniors <strong>Greta Hansen</strong> and <strong>Isabelle Pennertz</strong> and junior <strong>Morgan Falling</strong> – put up a valiant fight, Albany's relentless approach to things was simply too much.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Besides the play of Finley, one other notable stock-raising performance came courtesy of junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='461382' first='Savanna' last='Pelzer'], who is a Top 175 prospect among Minnesota's 11th graders. Like Finley, Pelzer's contributions can sometimes get overlooked, but following the graduation of core players like <strong>Bailey Keske</strong> (MSU-Moorhead) and <strong>Joran Carlson</strong> we've seen Pelzer's value enhanced significantly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I think the word explosive is what I would use for Savanna, both offensively and defensively,” Boyum said of his 5'4 PG. “Maybe she has been overlooked due to her lack of height but it does allow her to get into a stance and move laterally and make it really difficult for the opponent to cross over or do anything with the basketball.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albany's 5th starter is senior <strong>Samantha Van Heel</strong>, a 5'10 forward with a big frame and the ability to provide defensive presence and shoot the ball at a very high level. Van Heel has been elevated this season from the southern reaches of the varsity roster one year ago to a vital role for the Huskies. She's headed for Concordia-Moorhead in the fall to play volleyball. Off the bench, senior guard <strong>Sophie Schiffler</strong>, junior guard <strong>Callie Holthaus</strong>, sophomore guard <strong>Eva Schwenzfeier</strong> and 6'1 sophomore forward <strong>Natalie Blonigen</strong> play regular minutes for a Huskies team that is now 18-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I feel like our roles are starting to mold into place,” Boyum said. “We'll let the season play out and the chips fall, but we're happy with it. We're lucky to have all nine of them because all of them do something special to make our team better.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following the graduation of Keske, Carlson, big <strong>Maddie Herkenhoff</strong> (St. Cloud State) and others it wasn't clear just how good Albany would be. We now know the answer: Very good! But are they good enough to capture another state title, something they accomplished just two years ago. “I think we are still growing. That's not a negative thing. I would be concerned if we plateaued in early February,” Boyum said. “We still have a month more before tournament time starts. There are certainly parallels you can draw to other years, but we'll see whether that produces similar results or not.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 6AA is tough and it's not a given that Albany will even make it to Minneapolis in March with the opportunity to face the likes of Providence Academy, Minnehaha Academy, Montevideo, Goodhue or whoever else might capture a section title. Holdingford is 17-3 and has looked really good when we've watched. Sauk Centre is 13-6. Although they struggled on Saturday against Becker at the Breakdown event, the Mainstreeters were without giant post [player_tooltip player_id='396422' first='Tory' last='Jennissen']. Then they lost senior post [player_tooltip player_id='186128' first='Jenna' last='Gapinski-Vogt'] midway through the game. Regardless, Sauk Centre will be in the conversation before things are all said and done. Then there's Pine City, Royalton, Foley and more who might peak at just the right time. “We just played Foley, who could be a 6, 7 or 8 seed depending on how things shake out, and it was a 5- or 6-point game at halftime,” Boyum said, “but we're happy with where we're at.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->