STMA Gets Over the Hump, Headed to State!

<strong>MONTICELLO--</strong> It was four years ago the last time the Knights of St. Michael-Albertville made a run to Williams Arena for the state tournament, but that drought ended last night when they got over the hump and beat Maple Grove 80-62 in the Section 8AAAA final. "I missed it." STMA head coach <strong>Kent Hamre </strong>said to Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota about getting back to the state tournament. It was referred to this week as a "1000 pound brick" now lifted off the Knights shoulders to get a win over the talented, well-coached Crimson of Maple Grove. We’ll get into more what Coach Hamre and the Knights faithful of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1916" first="Mackenzie" last="Kramer"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"]</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110550" first="Vanessa" last="Alexander"] </strong>said later in their interviews, but let’s get back at who stood out on both sides of this one. <strong>WHO STOOD OUT?</strong> Here is the list of standouts from Maple Grove and St. Michael-Albertville for your Friday afternoon reading. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"], Guard, STMA (2022, #17)</strong> The wheels of [player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"] once again were put on display last night in Monticello. If you lay off her on defense just an inch she will scoot right on by you. Miller’s key plays were on the drive to the bucket where she scored the bulk of her points. Miller also chipped in some key assists to help get STMA back to the state tournament for the first time since 2016. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109140" first="Ari" last="Gordon"], Forward, Maple Grove (2022, #50)</strong> If you ask me what I’m looking forward to most about this Maple Grove Crimson team in the coming year, it’s the frontcourt of [player_tooltip player_id="109140" first="Ari" last="Gordon"] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57081" first="Jordyn" last="Lamker"]</strong>. Gordon has a physical gift to her game that just draws you into watching her work. She’s also quite versatile and can run the floor with most of the top players. She created some good steals last night and put up a big block on the Knights that had the Crimson faithful pumped up. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110550" first="Vanessa" last="Alexander"], Center, STMA (2020, #68) Winona State Commit</strong> Alexander is such a pure talent at the center position for the Knights. She won the rebounding battle and was one rebound away from a double-double last night as she was clutch at getting second-chance buckets and controlling the post with her mobility with her 6’0 frame. As for getting back to state, Alexander told Prep Girls Hoops "I’m at a loss for words, we’ve made to the section finals almost every year and it’s finally our time to go. We’re all super excited and we’ve worked all season." <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109815" first="Kylie" last="Baranick"], Guard, Maple Grove (#137, 2021)</strong> Baranick performed well as a silent spark for the Crimson in their rotation. Baranick’s efforts were utilized from the three-point stripe and the free-throw line. She was also a near top contributor for the game in my team points category. Hopefully, a player that can some momentum on the AAU circuit this summer as she’ll need to be more involved with the departure of Schulte. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"], Guard, STMA (#3, 2023)</strong> Johnson proved exactly why she’s a top 3 performer in the class of 2023. We talked about it during timeouts on how calm she plays the game and if you didn’t look at the program, you certainly wouldn’t know she’s just a freshman. Johnson’s mobility is what stood out yesterday as she’s a fighter when she gets to the lane and goes for the bucket. The guard play of her and Kramer was a key difference in what the Knights brought last night in comparison to the Crimson. As for Johnson’s comments on going to state as just a freshman she told us, "it feels really great as the last two years we lost to Maple Grove at this gym and it just is great to be back again." <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57081" first="Jordyn" last="Lamker"], Forward, Maple Grove (#14, 2021)</strong> Lamker is a beast when it comes to the post and she showed why she’s a top 15 player in 2021. She had not one, but two monster blocks on the Knights that were sent into the next area code. She was the leader overall in the team points category according to my count. Lamker could use some work this summer on her range of her shots, but other than that she’s a real nice player I look forward to watching for Minnesota Stars once AAU season starts very soon. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56228" first="Abby" last="Schulte"], Guard, Maple Grove (#9, 2020) NDSU Commit</strong> Schulte’s certainy and work ethic showed well even in defeat in her final high school game with the Crimson. Her size was tested, but she was able to finish with 13 points mostly coming with her ability to get to the basket and exploit where the weaknesses were in the Knights defense. Her made outside shot attempts were limited, which was something Maple Grove certainly could have used last night to get by STMA. Schulte will be a great addition to the BIson’s freshman class next year as she closes out a wonderful career with the Crimson. <strong>Game MVP:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1916" first="Mackenzie" last="Kramer"], Guard, STMA (#4, 2020) Lehigh Commit</strong> In now two games this season watching the Knights, I’ve seen two sides of [player_tooltip player_id="1916" first="Mackenzie" last="Kramer"]. One side that is all about getting her teammates involved with excellent ball movement and precious passing, and the second side of taking over a game and leading her Knights to the state tournament. Kramer shot the ball lights out and tallied 22 points in STMA’s section final win over Maple Grove. She was crafty with her dribble, and it certainly was going in her favor last night in Monticello. As for Kramer’s take on going to getting over the hump and going to state, "It feels great, especially losing to the same team two years in a row in the same situation." As for preparation at the state tournament, Kramer told us, "We need to prepare as we did for this game. Coach stressed that we were going to have runs and they were going to have runs we just had to shut them down and make them as short as possible," which is something they’ll have to do at the Barn next week. The Knights drought is over, as Coach Hamre said, as the Knights can now "play basketball" with no worries on their back anymore, as they will return to Minneapolis next week for the state tournament at Williams Arena.