Minnesotans repping in the NCAA Tournament
It’s March Madness. If you watched Monday’s NCAA Division 2 Sweet 16 match-up from Duluth then you know that anything and everything is possible. The UMD Bulldogs, champions of the Northern Sun Conference, came from 15 points down in the final four minutes to eliminate Southern Missouri State in one of the most dramatic comebacks of all time. It was epic! Who knows if the D1 version of the NCAA 64 will produce such heroics. What we do know is there will be plenty of Minnesota high school graduates who could impact the outcome.
By our calculations there will be 27 Minnesotans in the event. Another 10 former Prep Girls Hoops prospects will compete in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) and four more in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI). Who did we miss?
NCAA TOURNAMENT
- Arizona – Maya Nnaji, forward (Hopkins)
- Creighton – Mallory Brake, forward (Hastings)
- Creighton – Lauren Jensen, guard (Lakeville North)
- Creighton – Kiani Lockett, guard (Minnetonka)
- Creighton – Molly Mogensen, guard (Farmington)
- Drake – Taylor McAulay, guard (Centennial)
- Drake – Anna Miller, forward (Rochester Mayo)
- Illinois – Adalia McKenzie, guard (Park Center)
- Indiana – Lilly Meister, forward (Rochester John Marshall)
- Indiana – Sara Scalia, guard (Stillwater)
- Iona – Addy Salzer, guard (Waconia)
- Iowa – Monika Czinano, forward (Watertown-Mayer)
- Iowa State – Nyamer Diew, forward (Worthington)
- Marquette – Liza Karlen, forward (Stillwater)
- Norfolk State – Kierra Wheeler, forward (Robbinsdale Cooper)
- North Carolina – Alyssa Ustby, wing (Rochester Lourdes)
- Sacramento State – Solape Amusan, forward (Woodbury)
- South Dakota State – Ellie Colbeck, guard (Fergus Falls)
- South Dakota State – Paige Meyer, guard (Albany)
- South Dakota State – Tori Nelson, forward (Henry Sibley)
- South Dakota State – Kallie Theisen, forward (Wayzata)
- South Dakota State – Madison Mathiowetz, guard (Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s)
- UCONN – Paige Bueckers, guard (Hopkins) (injured)
- UNLV – Nneka Obiazor, forward (Eden Prairie)
- Utah – Jenna Johnson, forward (Wayzata)
- Utah – Gianna Kneepkens, guard (Duluth Marshall)
- Vermont – Anna Olson, forward (Monticello)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT
This event generally draws teams that finished runner-up in their conference or high-major squads whose overall body of work merits selection. This year’s WNIT includes such programs such as Harvard, Oregon, Washington, Syracuse and Seton Hall along with five teams whose roster includes products of Minnesota: Nebraska, Colorado State, Kansas State, Green Bay and North Dakota State. Last year’s WNIT champion was South Dakota State which won the Summit League this season to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. SDSU scored wins over Alabama, UCLA and Seton Hall to capture the title.
- Colorado State – McKenna Hofschild, guard (Prior Lake)
- Green Bay – Jenna Guyer, forward (Centennial)
- Kansas State – Ayoka Lee, forward (Byron)
- Nebraska – Kendall Coley, guard (St. Louis Park)
- Nebraska – Sam Haiby, guard (Moorhead)
- Nebraska – Callen Hake, guard (Chanhassen)
- Nebraska – Annika Stewart, forward (Wayzata)
- North Dakota State – Taylor Brown, forward (Lakeville North)
- North Dakota State – Heaven Hamling, guard (Grand Rapids)
- North Dakota State – Abby Schulte, guard (Maple Grove)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL
The WBI is an 8-team tournament held annually in Lexington, Kentucky. This year’s event includes the University of North Dakota which finished third in the Summit League. The Fighting Hawks will open play Friday at 4 p.m. against Cal Baptist.
- North Dakota – Mikayla Aumer, guard (Cambridge-Isanti)
- North Dakota – Kacie Borowicz, guard (Roseau)
- North Dakota – Jolene Daninger, guard (Andover)
- North Dakota – Claire Orth, guard (Centennial)