It was a slow day. Wednesday Christmas is not conducive to holiday basketball, so 4 girls games at the Hill-Murray tournament were the only games in town.
Waconia and Sibley opened it up and the Wildcats were too much for the Warriors 59-36. Waconia, as you know, is quick and athletic and runs the floor. Usually they shoot and make a ton of 3s but today they went inside against Sibley and sophomores Ava Stier and Audrey Swanson flourished with that with 18 and 8 points apiece. Waconia led 14-11 at one point, then went on 38-9 run to lead, including 16-2 to open the 2nd half for a 52-20 lead. Sibley also turned it over a ton and Waconia is plenty athletic to convert those 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s.
Lindsey Becher didn't start for Mounds View, but came in at 16:30, her team trailing Tartan 4-0. She promptly scored a pair of buckets (and 14 in the 1st half) to tie it up at 4. Sophomore wing Maddie Hanson added 14 points of her own in the 1st half including 4 3-points, and Mounds View led 38-22. If there was any doubt it was erased as the Mustangs scored the first 8 points of the 2nd half, all by Becher and Hanson. They finished with 22 and 25 points apiece. Senior guard Katia Cummings led Tartan with 14.
The feature game, I thought, was Wayzata 74 St. Croix Lutheran 44. OK, wasn't close. But it was a well-played game even on the part of the losing Crusaders. Post Annika Stewart and power forward Jenna Johnson gave the Trojans a huge size advantage inside and they capitalized. Johnson had 18 points in the 1st half, 10 of them on 5-of-6 shooting off 6 offensive boards. Wayzata led 39-18 at the half.
Despite the 30-point loss, St. Croix Lutheran looked good. They played like basketball players. They also had some difficulty protecting the ball, but they move the ball and they move without the ball. But here again, Wayzata's size and length enable them to get a hand in the face as they say and, in the 1st half at least, St. Croix shot just 6-of-26. Point guard Kenna Moon, a junior, and shooting guard Laura Hauge, just an 8th grader, have really nice 3-point strokes, and Hauge has as much range as anybody. She made a pair of 3s from the volleyball service line. They finished with 12 and 10 points respectively. Junior Luci Hauge battled inside, too, though she was not going to get the best of it, giving away a good 4 inches to Johnson and Stewart, I would guess.
Finally, Forest Lake surprised host Hill-Murray. I don't think the Pioneers have lost in the 1st round of this tournament in a decade. It was 22-all at the half, but the Rangers pulled away with 43 2nd half points and a 65-55 final. Forest Lake's big 3 was Logan Anderson, Olivia Pekron and Greta Krieger with 24, 15 and 11 points (50 among them). Hill-Murray's big 3 scored 51--Bella Hartzell 20, Ella Runyon 15 and Lilli Mackley 14. But Forest Lake got another 15 points from its role players, Hill-Murray just 4. Ouch.
Thursday's All-Stars
Center--Lindsey Becher, Mounds View, 6-2, senior, 22 points. I remember seeing her as a freshman in this same tournament and wondering if she was going to make it. She had a lot of skills and upside, and was already a great shot-blocker. Well, she's gotten stronger and smarter, and she could have gone D1 but chose to play at Concordia-St. Paul, where she will do well.
Power Forward--Jenna Johnson, Wayzata, 6-2, junior, 23 points. Rated #2 in her class, and the only option to that would be #1. Relentless inside, great footwork.
Wing--Logan Anderson, Forest Lake, 5-10, junior, 24 points. Things weren't going her way in the 1st half but she kept after it. Forest Lake post Olivia Pekron is maybe 5-11 and she steps outside to shoot the 3. Anderson scores mostly in the lane.
Point Guard--Kenna Moon, St. Croix Lutheran, 5-7, junior, 12 points. The Crusaders are not big or long but they can shoot it. Moon is the primary ball-handler and she has a great stroke on the 3, mostly from the left corner.
Shooting Guard--Katia Cummings, Tartan, 5-9, senior, 14 points. Used to have Chèvre and Mason and Moeschter as teammates. Now, well, Tartan is not going to win a lot of games, but Cummings is the same player who scores every which way but loose.
Sophomores and Younger
Center--Ava Steir, Waconia, 5-10, sophomore, 18 points. OK, not really a post, but she was unstoppable inside.
Forward--Abby Krzewinski, Wayzata, 5-10, freshman, 4 points. The next Wayzata phenom. She scored just those 4 points but in the 1st half she had 4--count 'em--4 steals and assists on Wayzata fast break buckets.
Point Guard--Mara Braun, Wayzata, 6-0, sophomore, 9 points. Wayzata didn't need her to score. She moved the ball and got it to Johnson and Stewart who did the rest. Also one of the top 2 or 3 players in her class.
Shooting Guard--Ella Runyon, Hill-Murray, 5-7, sophomore, 15 points. Can shoot it but she's even better going to the rim.
Shooting Guard--Luci Hauge, St. Croix Lutheran, 5-6, 8th, 10 points. Had difficulty getting off her shot. Wayzata does as good a job as anybody of getting out and defending the 3-point line. Her 3 makes were all from 25 feet or more. Great instincts.
3rd Team
Center--Olivia Pekron, Forest Lake, 5-11, junior, 15 points. Really active, high energy.
Power Forward--Laura Hauge, St. Croix Lutheran, 5-9, junior, 8 points. Battled.
Wing--Maddie Hanson, Mounds View, 5-7, sophomore, 25 points. Shoots the 3.
Guard--SeSe Burks, Sibley, 5-9, senior, 12 points.
Guard--Bella Hartzell, Hill-Murray, 5-10, junior, 20 points.
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