Sectional 1 Division 3: Predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After finishing up division one and two sectional predictions, we move on to division three. We'll start by looking at sectional one, which has a lot of talent back as it did last year. Let's look at what this sectional could look like this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h2>State Contenders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Croix Falls</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last year, the Saints made their first trip to the state tournament. Their star duo of [player_tooltip player_id='342357' first='Kelsey' last='Cooper'] and [player_tooltip player_id='342104' first='Brianna' last='McCurdy'] are both back and have the capability of playing in a state title game if things break right for them. Cooper is an athletic forward who did an excellent job defending around the basket and finishing around the basket last season. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='342104' first='Brianna' last='McCurdy'] is one of the most underrated guards in the state. She can take a game over and win it on her own as she did in the sectional final last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Altoona</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnesota commit, [player_tooltip player_id='266981' first='Alyssa' last='Wirth'], is the key to this season for the Railroaders. If she dominates the paint, there isn't a team in this sectional who can compete with her. The juniors' play will determine if her team makes it to the Resch. [player_tooltip player_id='342102' first='Tayah' last='Christopher'] is an intriguing guard on this Railroader team. She's a big strong guard who is a jack of all trades and master of none. Christopher makes winning plays on the floor and creates for her teammates at a high level. The only knock I have for her is her shooting, but if that's the only "issue" with her game, she's doing a lot right. I loved watching her over the summer and am excited to see how she carries that momentum into the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h2>Sectional Teams</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prescott</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cardinals won the Middle Border Conference last season and have one of the most versatile players in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='266982' first='Lila' last='Posthuma']. There's a real chance this team has more to offer after some weirdness last season. Keep an eye on them in late February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elk Mound</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love [player_tooltip player_id='448260' first='Ellie' last='Schiszik']'s game. She plays with a high level of maturity for a rising sophomore and can shoot her opposition out of a game in a hurry. This team went out earlier than they would've liked to last season, not making it to sectionals, but they have that level of talent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northwestern</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bemidji State commit [player_tooltip player_id='264943' first='Tieryn' last='Plasch'] is one of my favorite kids to watch. She is very consistent and methodically plays the game. She's gotten better every season, and we could be in for a treat in her senior season. She was plagued with some injury issues in the second half of last season and still played well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h2>Frisky Regional Teams</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ellsworth</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers had a young group last year and came up just short of sectionals. [player_tooltip player_id='266986' first='Molly' last='Janke'] is the real deal and will do it all for this team. They're only getting better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Baldwin-Woodville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This group has been consistently solid in the Middle Border and has competed with the Altoona's, Prescott's, and Ellsworth's over the years. I can't completely count them out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h2>My Sectional Teams</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>St. Croix Falls</li><li>Altoona</li><li>Elk Mound</li><li>Prescott</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->