High Five
High Five Tori Andrew, Orono (not Osseo as previously reported here, sorry about that), 5-10, senior, wing (Yale) Other than Kiley Borowicz, Andrew was the tournament’s top “scorer.” (OK, Paige Bueckers outscored her but I don’t think of Bueckers as…
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Tori Andrew, Orono (not Osseo as previously reported here, sorry about that), 5-10, senior, wing (Yale)
Other than Kiley Borowicz, Andrew was the tournament’s top “scorer.” (OK, Paige Bueckers outscored her but I don’t think of Bueckers as a “scorer.”) In each of Osseo’s 3 wins, there was never any doubt that Andrew could and would score just as many points as needed to get the win. It turned out that 66 points was enough. It could have been more. She made 12-of-28 3s, and she was plenty strong to score inside almost at will, too.
Kiley Borowicz, Roseau, 5-9, senior, wing
Led the tournament in scoring for the 2nd time, though her output was down from 111 last year to 89 this year. But, that’s a function of a 43 point finale last year (for 3rd place) versus a 20 point finale and a state championship this year. That’s probably a trade off the Rams are happy to make. But, seriously, those 20 points came against Sauk Centre and Maesyn Thiesen, who proved herself to be an awesome defensive player across 3 state tournament games. I won’t even go into Borowicz lack of D1 offers again. We’ve said enough about that.
Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, 5-9, freshman, wing
Bueckers played most of the state tournament on the wing while DeeDee Winston and others did more of the ball-handling. That didn’t stop Bueckers from scoring 81 points (with 16 boards and 11 assists). Some thought Bueckers didn’t get enough touches but, again, she got off 17, 16 and 17 shots in the 3 games. Yes, as many shots vs. Elk River as either of the two previous games. The difference was Kelsie Cox’s defense for the Elks, which resulted in Bueckers shooting 6-of-17 in the final versus 73 percent in the 1st 2 games.
Gabi Haack, Elk River, 5-9, senior, point guard (Bradley)
Haack, Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota, StarTribune Metro Player of the Year, and now state champion after scoring 25 points in an upset win over #1 rated, #1 seeded Hopkins. How can she not be one of the top performers? And, of course, she was.
The funny thing about Haack’s state tournament is that White Bear and Lakeville North defenses gave her more trouble than Hopkins did. White Bear kept her out of the lane with an impenetrable team defense across the top of the key. Lakeville did it with Temi Carda, basically, going 1-on-1. Hopkins of course played a man defense, and used Paige Bueckers, DeeDee Winston and Raena Suggs on Haack at various times, and Haack got to the rim as many times in this game as she did in the 1st 2 combined.
Maybe it wasn’t the defense, but just some added motivation—desparation, maybe—against Hopkins. The Elks beat White Bear and North despite Haack’s difficulties. They would not have won on Saturday night if Haack had done anything less than what she did.
Haack finished the tournament with 59 points, 13 boards and 7 assists.
Sidney Wentland, Elk River, 5-10, senior, post (Denver)
Wentland is listed as a forward on the Elks roster. Don’t be confused. She was their “big” and it was she who defended the post and had to get the big rebounds. She did both of those things really, really well. And, then, she stepped outside and hit 4-of-5 3s. She finished with 39 points, 23 boards, 14 assists, 10 blocks and 5 steals. Call her a stretch-5.
State Tournament MVP
After 2 rounds it was Paige Bueckers. But when the Gatorade Player of the Year steps up in a state championship game to lead her team to an upset over their #1 rated and #1 seeded opponent and outscores Bueckers 25-19, what can you do? State tournament MVP is Gabi Haack, Elk River.
Second Five
Okay, here, we’re going to try to get a more conventional mix—you know, a 1, a 2, and so on, starting with 5.
Center
In the absence of a conventional 5 above, this will be the tournament’s best 5. The candidates are Iowa recruit Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer, who didn’t make the conventional all-tournament team; Destinee Oberg, Holy Angels; and Natalie Smaron, Orono. Oberg had the best stats, to be sure. But, Czinano is the most mature player of the 3. She averaged just 13 points, 10 boards and 3 blocks in 3 games, 2 of them slow-down type affairs. I will add, however, that people are way too hard on Oberg, who has great hands and a great feel for the game.
Power Forward
Megan Walstad, Eastview. There aren’t any other candidates. It used to be that nobody wanted to be identified as a post. Now, players don’t want even to be forwards. The Class A all-tournament team had 9 guards and a forward—and, the forward is Roseau’s 6-2 post, Victoria Johnson. Anyway, Walstad had a nice tournament, showing off a nice jump shot and going aggressively after rebounds. A worthy successor to Eastview 4-extraordinaire Hana Metoxen.
Actually the other candidate is Angie Hammond of Hopkins, who is listed as a forward, but everybody knows is Hopkins post.
Small Forward
Sydney Lodermeier, Goodhue. Does it all though forward is just splitting the difference. You’re more likely to find her defending the post or the top of the key, and handling the ball up top, too. Had a great tournament. Granted, it’s Class A, where he strength stands out. But the combination of strength and skill is plenty to enable her to compete in AAAA if it came to that.
Point Guard
The candidates are Temi Carda, Lakeville North (Creighton), and Maesyn Thiesen, Sauk Centre, each of who m can score, as you know, but who really distinguished themselves with their defense. The bold face indicates, of course, that we chose Thiesen for this spot.
Shooting Guard
Chelsea Mason, MIB. Averaged 19 ppg, 6 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals. Just runs and runs from one play to the next with no wasted time or motion in between.