Girls AAU, Part 2--the 14s (14 minute halves)

The 2017s and younger play 14 minute halves. Here's what I saw among the 2017s and 2018s. North Tartan won them both. The 2017s edged MN Fury 2017 Blue 45-42 for the title, while the 2018s defeated 43 Hoops 44-35.

2017s

Tartan, led by guards Danielle Schaub, Deanna Winston Temi Carda and Ann Simonet, had a whole series of competitive games, beating MN Suns Kolden 58-45 in the quarter-finals, Thunderbirds 53-32 in the semis in a game that was closer than it sounds, and finally Fury 45-42 in the final.

Tartan also took 3rd place as Tartan West defeated Midtown Monarchs 47-38, lost to Fury 54-50 and defeated the Thunderbirds 50-47. I think all of this represents more competitive games than in many of the classes.

Players who stood out include:

1. As already mentioned, the Tartan guards. I said before relative to another age group, that maybe the Tartan system makes their guards look good, or maybe it's the Tartan guards making the coaches and their system look good. But across many age groups--and especially among the younger ones--Tartan looked more like a high school team, well-drilled and stressing ball movement and teamwork, where many of these teams look more like all-star teams, lacking in the cohesion that Tartan seems to achieve.

In this case, you've got 4 outstanding guards. Schaub and Winston are just 5-4ish but super-quick and use that to make life miserable for opposing ball-handlers. Schaub is more of an offensive threat right now, scoring 25 points in the 3 games I saw to Winston's 11. Schaub had 10 steals in the 3 games. Carda is a little bigger (5-6) and, whereas Schaub and Winston are quick enough to run away from contact, Carda is tough enough to absorb it and keep on going. Simonet is also 5-6, and led Tartan with 12 points in the semi and scored 19 points in the 3 games.

2. Gabi Haack, 5-8 guard from Elk River, led Tartan West Steuber to 2nd place in the Qualifier and 3rd in the tournament. She had 20 points, 4 boards and 3 steals vs. the Tartan regulars in the Qualifier final, and led all Qualifier scorers with 52 points.

3. Anissa Krauss, 5-10, guard, Tartan and Azaria Reed, 5-9, forward, Osseo, both play for the Thunderbirds. The T-Birds put the most physically gifted starting 5 out there of any team. Strong, quick. But teamwork was somewhat lacking. Krauss gets to the rim but I saw her shoot 4-for-19 in 1-and-three-quarters games. Reed overpowers people inside, though at 5-9 it remains to be seen whether she can do that at the next level.

4. Bailey Helgren, Metro Stars Black and Edina, is huge (6-foot-4) but mobile and athletic. I saw her finish in transition, I saw her shoot the 3. Sky's the limit.

5. There were a whole bunch of good posts, the best of whom did not play in the title game. Along with Helgren, there's Miranda Crenshaw of Midtown Monarchs, Danneka Voegeli of Winona and Tartan Silver, and Amara Karypis of the Thunderbirds.

6. The champions from Tartan played Mikayla Hayes (Park Center) and Erin Navrail (Albany) in the post. Compared to the posts mentioned above, these are thinner girls who may not be posts at the next level. Both are in fact listed as forwards on the Tartan roster but, trust me, they were in the post for Tartan. Navratil led Tartan in the Qualifier final with 14 points and added 5 boards. In the final final she scored just 2 points but had 7 boards. Hayes had 11 points and 14 boards in those 2 games plus 6 points in the semi-final.

7. Kirstin Klitzke, Metro Stars Black, and Claire Killian, Fury Dahled, both from Watertown-Mayer. Klitzke moved without the ball, found seams in the defense, received some nice passes (mostly from Bailey Helgren) and finished inside. Killian did it all in the final. Well, she scored just 4 points but added 8 boards and 3 assists.

8. Lexie Jones of MN 36ers was #4 in the Qualifier with 37 points, while Maizie Diehl of MN Stars Amundson and New Prague was #5 with 33 points.

9. Noelle Tomes of Tartan Silver and Lake Middle School in Woodbury is small even by Schaub-Winston standards and got bounced around a bunch vs. Midtown Monarchs. But she is quick and tough and led all scorers with 14 points.

10. Monarchs guards Unique Longs (Cooper) and Audrey Gadison (Benilde) play like veterans. In fact, I believe Gadison is a 2018 and playing up at this level.

2018

The top 4 seeds all advanced to the semis where Tartan beat Fury 32-26 and 43 Hoops beat NC Heat 49-40. In the final Tartan beat 43 Hoops 44-35. Once again it was Tartan's guards--and specifically, its point guards Maesyn Thiesen, Sam Haiby and Erika Hicks--leading the way and making Tartan look like a very well-oiled machine. I say that recognizing that the 3 scored just 16 points in the 2 games, and that Tartan had 17 turnovers in the final vs. just 10 for 43 Hoops.

But in the semi Tartan got 21 offensive rebounds to just 5 for Fury, while in the 2nd game Tartan out-shot 43 Hoops 38 percent to 29 percent. Tartan's motion was better, and good things happen when you keep moving, with or without the ball.

Tartan defeated 43 Hoops in the Qualifier final as well, 44-38.

1. Chrissy Carr, 43 Hoops, big forward, led all scorers in the final with 14 points. Once her team fell behind she started to put the ball on the floor and go to the rim, and nobody could stop her. She is coach Chris Carr's daughter.

2. Tartan's guards Thiesen, Haiby and Hicks. Didn't score much on Sunday, but Haiby was the #4 scorer in the Qualifier.

3. Kayla Mershon, 6-1, and Sydney Stapleton, 5-8, Tartan forwards. #3 and #2 scorers both in the qualifier and in the final. Mershon at 6-1 has everybody oohing and aahing and why not, but right now Stapleton is the slightly larger scoring threat. Stapleton scored 12 in the final including a pair of 3s, while Mershon had 8 plus 5 boards and 2 blocks.

4. Alexis Mathews of Centennial and N.M. Aftershock DuBois led all scorers in the qualifier with 23.

5. Zoe Hardwick, 43 Hoops and Eden Prairie, post. Scored 8 points with 11 boards in the Qualifier final, and was tied for #4 scorer in the Qualifier overall. Was held to just 1 point in the final final but with 7 boards.

7. Katey Brattland, guard; Megan Walstad, forward; Mariah Alipate, power forward-center; all 43 Hoops. Alipate scored 8 points with 6 boards in the Qualifier final; Brattland was the #6 scorer (tied) in the Qualifier overall; and Brattland and Walstad were next after Carr with 6 points each in the final final.

8. Fury's Elizabeth Edinger, Kali Jo Grimm and Lynnea Helman, all forwards. Were among the top 20 Qualifier scorers, and pushed the eventual champions from Tartan all the way in the semi.

9. Madi Kerzman, Tartan and Becker, 6-1, post. Another big Tartan body and a presence inside.

10. Sophia Findell, Bailey Becker, Sidney Zieske and Whitney Dold, next best scorers in the Qualifier with 18 points apiece.

2019 and 2020

I do not rate the 2019s and 2020s and did not see any of their games.

2017 and 2018 All-Stars

Here I am restricting myself to girls I saw play over the weekend.

C- Bailey Helgren, Metro Stars 2017 Black and Edina
PF- Chrissy Carr, 43 Hoops 2018 and Eden Prairie
SF- Sydney Stapleton, Tartan 2018 and Centennial
PG- Danielle Schaub, Tartan 2017 and Park Center
SG- Temi Carda, Tartan 2017 and Lakeville North

2nd Team

C- Miranda Crenshaw, Midtown Monarchs and Eastview
PF- Kayla Mershon, Tartan 2018 and Minnetonka
SF- Megan Walstad, 43 Hoops 2018 and Apple Valley (?)
PG- Gabi Haack, Tartan 2017 West and Elk River
SG- Anissa Krausse, Thunderbirds 2017 and Tartan

3rd Team

C- Danneka Voegeli, Fury 2017 Gold and Winona
PF- Azaria Reed, Thunderbirds 2018 and Osseo
SF- Kali Jo Grimm, Fury 2018 and Norwood-Young America
PG- Unique Longs, Midtown Monarchs and Cooper
SG- Karen Klitzke, Fury 2017 and Watertown-Mayer

Girls AAU: 3 2017 Quarter-Finals

Size matters. Just ask the 3 losers on Kennedy 7 in Friday night play in the 2017 AAU Girls Championship.

#7 Midtown Monarchs 13U 43 #10 North Tartan 13U Silver 30

It was closer than the final score. In fact, Tartan led 21-20 at 7:30 of the 2^nd half when Miranda Crenshaw, a 6-0 post from Eastview took over. With the score tied at 20, she had pulled down offensive rebounds on successive possessions, sandwiched around a defensive board. She got fouled both times but missed 4 FT.

But now she converted a layup in transition on a feed from Audrey Gadison (Benilde-St. Margaret’s) to give the Monarchs the lead for good. A minute later she pulled down the defensive board, got fouled and drained 2 throws, then added another layup from Gadison, this time out of the half-court set. Suddenly it was 28-21 and Tartan would never get closer than 6.

In fact, after trailing 21-20, the Monarchs would scored on 9-of-11 possessions and 11-of-14. After Crenshaw’s 7 points during that stretch, 3 other Monarchs contributed to the run. Crenshaw led both teams with 16 points. She made 5-of-12 FG and 6-of-11 FT, and also led both teams with 10 boards, 5 on each end.

But it was inside defense that was the real difference. Crenshaw was just 1 of 5 6-footers who forced Tartan into 10-of-41 shooting. Only Helen McCauley (Forest Lake) added much offensive punch among the other 6-footers with 7 points. Kaylee Porisch (Coon Rapids), Brittany Bongartz (Anoka) and Shaelie Olson (Wayzata) only scored 2 points among them, but along with McCauley and Crenshaw completely shut down Tartan’s inside game.

Danneka Voegeli of Winona was Tartan’s only effective player inside. The 6-1 post scored 10 points with 7 boards. But when she was on the bench, which was quite a lot, Tartan was giving away 4 and 5 inches and 20-30 pounds inside. Voegeli’s Winona teammate Eden Nibbelink is also a 6-footer but she’s a perimeter player and scored just 2 points and no FG on the night.

That left the Tartan offense to Noelle Tomes, a quick and impressive but tiny (5-3) guard from Lake Middle School in Woodbury (I believe she’s headed to East Ridge). She scored 14 points on 4-of-10 FG and 5-of-6 FT, but got bounced around a good bit. Running mate Lauren Johnson, also of Lake Middle School, got bounced right out of the game in the 1^st half, and that didn’t help either.

The primary victim of the Monarch’s inside defensive intimidation was Erin Baxter, an athletic 5-8 wing from Falcon Ridge Middle School in Apple Valley. She showed some great moves and got to the rim, but shot 0-for-7.

But while the game was closer than the final score, well, in another sense it wasn’t. The Monarchs converted 13-of-31 FT. So there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Trench Player: As tough as Crenshaw was, I haven’t even mentioned 5-5 Cooper guard Unique Longs, who gets the honors. All she did was direct traffic and make it all happen. She barely out-played Tomes in a great guard battle. In fact, Tomes outscored her 14-11, but Longs added 5 assists and Tomes none.

#5 Minnesota Thunderbirds 13U 47 #12 Fury 2017 Gold 25

The Midtown Monarchs wore out North Tartan Silver in the 1^st game on Kennedy 7 Friday night. In the 2^nd game, Fury 23017 Gold were worn out halfway through the 1^st half. The Minnesota Thunderbirds were too big, too strong, too aggressive, too experienced, too everything.

Yet, Fury hung tough trailing 14-10 at about 6:30 after a 3 by Sarah Wittman (Burnsville). But after starting out 4-of-13 from the field, Fury missed their last 16 shots of the 1^st half. Meanwhile the T-Birds scored on their next 3 possessions to lead 21-10 at 4:31. In fact, 8 of the T-Birds last 12 points of the 1^st half came off the offensive glass, 5 of them by Azaria Reed (Osseo). It was 26-11 at the half.

It was more of the same in the 2^nd half, as it was all Fury could do to keep the score somewhere in the neighborhood of doubled—28-14, 32-16. And after a Carley Benson (Chanhassan) bucket around the 7 minute mark, it was a respectable 34-20. But Porte (presumably the younger sister of Osseo's Ayo Porte) scored 3 buckets in 2 minutes down the stretch, and the final was 47-25.

(I never did find a T-Birds roster so I don't have any other info about Porte and I don't know who a couple of the T-Birds are. Sorry.)

Overmatched for quickness and strength, Fury couldn’t get open looks and finished shooting 8-of-50, and got blocked at least 8 times. Only Wittman and Caitlyn Peterson (Lakeville North) scored more than 1 bucket.

Meanwhile, the T-Birds had a track meet including a very successful high jump under the basket. They grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and coverted 7 of them into 14 points, many of those during that killer run late in the 1^st half. Fury managed 7 offensive boards but could convert them into just 1 point, and that was their final point of the night.

The T-Birds were also stronger with the ball, scoring 16 points on 18 Fury turnovers, while giving up just 4 points on turnovers.

Reed led the T-Birds with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Porte added 13 points but needed 17 shots to do it. Anissa Krause (Tartan) had 8 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, but shot just 2-of-12.

Trench Player: Reed was overpowering.

#4 Metro Stars 13U Black vs. #13 Metro Stars 13U White

Remember when you were kids, and you’d choose up sides. You’d pick somebody, then I’d pick somebody, then you, then me. Well, it doesn’t work like that anymore. Metro Stars Black coach Jamie Waldo got to pick 10 kids and then, after that, Metro Stars White coach Arriel McDonald got to pick 10. Who do you think is going to win that match-up?

Well, they haven’t posted the score yet but you’ll have to trust me that Black won this ball game. It was 27-14 Black at the half, and I didn’t stick around for the 2^nd half.

Black was not just a well-oiled machine but, wow, look at some of the parts—6-4 Bailey Helgren and 6-2 Annika Jank of Edina, along with 6-footers Sophia Hughes of Benilde and Mattie Rice of Orono. White’s tallest player is 5-11 Emily Cooley of Princeton. So leading 11-6, it was of course 5-7 Kirstin Klitzke of Watertown-Mayer who scored twice inside on feeds from Helgren at the top of the key.

5-6 Macy Hattlestad of Alexandria followed with a pair of throws and a 3 assisted by, you guessed it, Helgren, then Helgren scored 2 in transition after a defensive board and assist by Klitzke. This was right after Jank scored 2 in transition from Klitzke.

Kennedy 7 All-Stars

C-Bailey Helgren, Metro Stars Black (Edina)

F- Porte, Thunderbirds

F- Azaria Reed, Thunderbirds (Osseo)

G- Kirstin Klitzke, Metro Stars Black (Watertown-Mayer)

G- Anissa Krausse, Thunderbirds (Tartan)

2nd Team

C- Miranda Crenshaw, Midtown Monarchs (Eastview)
C/F- Danneka Voegeli, Tartan Silver (Winona)
F- Annika Jank, Metro Stars Black (Edina)
G- Unique Longs, Midtown Monarchs (Cooper)
G- Noelle Tomes, Tartan Silver (Lake Middle School)

AAU State Tournaments This Weekend

Some say it's the big event of the summer season, some say it's not. I mean, it's not even summer yet, yesterday's 98 degree weather notwithstanding.

But I say it is. Where else can you see the 10 years and under state championship game, followed by the11s, then the 12s, and then the 13s.... Those are 8th graders in the class of 2017 for those of you keeping score at home. And then the 14s (9th grade/2016), 15s (10th grade/2015) and finally the 16 and unders, the 11th graders, the next senior class of 2014. 7 classes, 14 teams, back to back to back to...well, you get the picture.

You can't. There is nowhere else that you can see a parade of talent that will be Minnesota girls basketball for the next 7 years. Only on Sunday, May 19, at Bloomington Jefferson High School, Court #6.

But of course there are dozens of other teams (152 in all if my addition is correct), probably 500 games or more on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, culminating in those 7 state championship games. People talk about the state high school tournament being too complicated because you can't see every game or every team, or because there's more than 8 teams participating? Are you serious? This, my friends, is true head-swimming territory.


And that, of course, is just the girls. The boys are going on at the same time.... OMG!


But just to simplify it a little bit...if things go according to Hoyle (and, of course, they won't, but if they do), here's who you would see in Sunday's girls championship games. All finals, again, are Sunday, May 19, at Jefferson 6.

The full schedule is at http://www.aauevents.com/Documents/2013%20MN%20AAU%20State%20Championship%20Schedules.pdf

9:10 a.m. 6th Grade/Class of 2019/11 & Under

If all goes according to Hoyle it will be #1 Crossfire vs. #2 MN Stars Nelson. Crossfire defeated the Stars 36-30 at the Qualifier as Kallie Thiesen, 5-9 forward from Wayzata, scored 13 points with 7 boards in the final and a tournament-high 42 points in 4 games. Mimi Schrader, also of Wayzata, didn't score in the final but was the #3 scorer overall with 35 points. Taylie Scott of Maple Grove scored 8 and 32.

Post Destinee Oberg came up big for the Stars in the final with 11 points and 19 boards, and led her team with 21 points overall. Jordyn Wald of Forest Lake scored 8 in the final. Kacie Borowicz of MN Gym Rats was the #2 scorer with 40 points, but the Rats are seeded just #13 and therefore dropped down into the Classic bracket.

10:20 a.m. 5th Grade/Class of 2020/10 & Under

#1 seed North Tartan 10u vs. #2 MN Fury 2020. Tartan beat Fury 34-15 at the AAU Qualifier 2 weeks ago. Paige Bueckers, a 5-0 point guard from St. Louis Park, led NT with 34 points in 3 games, 2nd only to Ivy Edwards of the #8 seeded MN Gym Rats with 37 in 4 games. Katie Borowicz also of Gym Rats was 3rd with 33 points and yet another Rat, Kelsi Pederson, was 4th with 26.

The Rats open on Saturday morning with Tartan's 2nd string, the Silver. The winner of that game will get #1 Tartan on Saturday afternoon.

Jana Swanson, 5-10 forward from Cambridge-Isanti, was Tartan's 2nd option. Lauren Link from Shakopee led Fury in the final with 5 points and 7 boards.

11:30 a.m. 7th Grade/Class of 2018/12 & Under

#1 North Tartan 12& vs. #2 43 Hoops. Tartan beat 43 Hoops 44-38 in the Qualifier final. Kayla Mershon, a 6-1 post from Minnetonka, scored 13 in the final and 21 overall. Sam Haiby, a 5-6 guard from Moorhead, scored 6 and 19, and Madi Kerzman, a 6-1 post from Becker 2 and 14.

43 Hoops was led by Zoe Hardwick of Eden Prairie with 8 and 19 and Mariah Alipate of Jefferson with 8 and 12. The 2 combined for 17 boards.

Alexis Mathews of North Metro Aftershock led all scorers with 28 points in 3 games. Aftershock is seeded #10 and will have to upset #7 Metro Stars 12U to get a crack at 43 Hoops in Saturday's quarter-finals.

12:40 p.m. 8th Grade/Class of 2017/13 & Under

The top seeds here are #1 North Tartan 13U and #2 North Tartan West 13U. The former defeated the latter 62-52 in the Qualifier final. But Gabi Haack of Tartan West and Elk River outshone all of Tartan's 13s with 20 points in the final and a tournament-high 52 points in 4 games. Halley Busse from Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop added 11 in the final. Erin Navratil of Albany scored 14 for the Tartan regulars and Danielle Schaub of Park Center added 13. Navratil is 5-11, Haack is 5-8, Busse is 5-5.

Azaria Reed of Osseo and Annissa Krause of Tartan, both playing for the Thunderbirds, tied for 2nd in 13U scoring with 43 points each. The T-Birds are seeded #5.

1:50 p.m. 11th Grade/Class of 2014/16 & Under

You maybe noticed the games are a little out of order. Or are they? I guess somebody thinks this is sort of the feature game. Well, it depends. If #1 North Tartan Nike Elite plays #2 Fury Elite, then it will be. Tartan won the Qualifier final 61-46 as Tia Elbert scored 22 points and Cayla McMorris 13 with 7 (count 'em, 7) steals. T.T. Starks added 7 points, 7 boards and 4 assists. Hannah Grim led the Fury with 15 points, while Elle Thompson had 19 with 6 boards.

Top scorers for the tournament were Thompson with 56 points, Elbert with 50, Mia Anderson of duluth East and Northern Lights with 48, Grim 47 and Bryanna Fernstrom of MN Stars Borowicz 45.

Just for the record, the 2nd 5 was Taylor Thunstedt of Metro Stars Reiter with 39, Gabby Smith of MN Stars DeWitt 38, Anita McCoy of MN 36ers Keys and Baily Norby of MN Stars Borowicz 36, and Sydney Lamberty also of Stars Borowicz 35. Stars Borowicz is seeded #3 and their semi-final with the Fury, if it comes off, should be as much of a doozy as the final.

3 p.m. 10th Grade/Class of 2015/15 & Under

Should be #1 Metro Stars vs. #2 Fury Blue. The Stars beat the Fury in the Qualifier final 39-25 as Marina Nowak of Rogers scored 10 points and Maddie Guebert 8. Guebert led the 15s in scoring for the tournament with 49 points, Nowak scored 30.

Brynn Murphy of Fury Gold was next with 45, while Lyrik Williams and Alexis Wittinger of MN Suns Hill and North Tartan Herbrechtsmeyer, respectively, were next with 44. Ali Greene of the Fury also broke 40.

But Taylor Hagen of Blooming Prairie led Fury in the final with 10 points and 10 boards, Greene had 7 and 6. Wittinger and Hannah Schaub lead #3 North Tartan Herbie.

4:10 9th Grade/Class of 2016/14 & Under

This is the finale and maybe it's the feature game after all. If all goes according to, well, you know who, it will be #1 MN Stars Martin featuring Jasmyn Martin, Nia Hollie, Alaina Jarnot, Kiara Russell and Tyrah Spencer and more versus the #2 underdogs Crossfire Robertson led by Sarah Kaminski. The Stars hounded Kaminski in a 61-48 Qualifier final win, holding her to 5 points, but a respectable 4 assists and 9 boards. But Jarnot with 13, Martin with 11, Ashley Bates with 8 and 5 girls with 5 or 6 was just too much.

Karly Murphy of MN Heat Lund led all scorers with 50. Taylor Koenen of the Fury was 2nd was 47, while Kaminski and Jarnot were next with 37 each. Alison Hinck of Heat Lund and Martin scored 36. Fury is the #3 seed while Heat Lund is #5. It won't be too much of a surprise of the Fury ends up in the final.

North Tartan Takes 4 of 7 State AAU Titles

North Tartan took 4 of 7 state girls AAU titles, including the featured 2013 title for seniors-to-be, Sunday at Bloomington Kennedy High School.

2013

Among the 2013s #1 seed North Tartan Nike Elite (Coury) defeated #3 MN Stars (Borowicz) 60-56. Tartan had defeated MN Fury 2013 Blue (Cerisier) 60-51 in one semi, while the Stars knocked off Tartan's second 2013 squad NT 16U (Olsen). Olsen had upset #2 seed Metro Stars Black (Amos) 34-33 in a quarter-final game. This was the only bracket in which a top 4 seed did NOT advance to the semis.

In the final, Tyseanna Johnson led with 17 points while Tesha Buck added 14 for Tartan. Phyllis Webb scored 16 and Allina Starr 12 for MN Stars.

2016

It was a tough weekend for the #2 seeds. Only 1 of them, MN Stars (Martin) (2016), made it to the finals. But once there, Martin defeated #1 MN Fury 2016 Blue (Sinn) easily at 40-19. Fury had defeated Crossfire, and Stars Martin had knocked off North Tartan 13U in the semi, as all 4 of the seeds had advanced that far.

Jasmyn Martin was the only MN Star in double figures in the final with 10, while Taylor Koenen did the same for Fury.

2014

All of the other #2s lost in the semi-finals to the #3 seeds in the various classes. One of the #3s was also successful in winning a state title. That was MN Stars (Taylor), who upset #1 North Tartan Alexander 57-53. Taylor upset #2 Metro Stars 15U, while Tartan beat MN Fury 2014 Blue in the semis featuring all 4 of the seeds.

Sydney Lamberty and Carlie Wagner led the Stars in the final with 16 points. Tonoia Wade and Cayla McMorris scored 11 and Micaela Noga 10 for Tartan.

2015

The other 3 classes, 2015, 2017 and 2018, were won by Tartan squads. At 2015 it was #1 North Tartan (Herbrechtsmayer) over #3 Metro Stars 14U Black (Weise) 36-35 in OT. Tartan defeated MN Fury 2015 Blue while Metro Stars upset #2 MN Stars (Antl) in the semis.

In the final, Maddie Guebert (Eastview) led all scorers with 16, while Olivia Hass had 12 for Tartan.

2017-2018-2019

Among the 2017s, North Tartan (Kuppe) defeated #3 MN Stars (Johnson) 34-32. Tartan head defeated #4 Fury 2017 Gold in 1 semi, and Stars Johnson beat MN Fury 20178 Blue in the other. Alison Gerald led Kuppe with 9 points, while Raennah Johnson scored 12 for the Stars.

And at 2018, it was #1 North Tartan West Theisen 46 #3 FM Fusion 30. Tartan beat MN Suns (Long) while Fusion beat #2 seeded NC Heat in the semis. Marie Olson led Tartan with 14 points.

MN Thunder (Bueckers) (2019) defeated MN Stars (Nelson) 42029 in the final. McKenna Hofschild scored 16 points and Paige Bueckers 13 for the winners.

Girls AAU State Tournament May 19-20 + UPDATE

UPDATE MAY 15

OOPS, SOME OF THE GIRLS MENTIONED IN MY ORIGINAL POST WILL NOT OR ARE UNLIKELY TO PLAY IN THE AAU TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND. THEY ARE CALLED OUT BELOW.

The girls AAU tournament will be held next weekend. The exact schedule and locations are not yet published, as far as I'm aware. But the top 4 seeds in each class, based on last weekend's AAU qualifier, include:

2013s

1. North Tartan Coury
2. Metro Stars Amos
3. MN Stars Borowicz
4. MN Fury Cerisier

Semis are at 2:15 on Saturday on Kennedy 1 and 2. Finals Sunday at 4:45 on Kennedy 2. Tartan took the Metro Stars apart in the qualifier 52-28 and is undefeated against MN opponents. Stars won the Midwest kickoff 3 weeks earlier, however, as Tartan lost not 1 but 2 games to non-MN teams.

Here are some of the girls you can see in the 2013s:

NT Rebekah Dahlman, Tyseanna Johnson, Savanna Trapp, T.T. Starks
Metro Stars Nia Coffey, Taylor Anderson, MC McGrory, Bryanna Fernstrom

DAHLMAN AND COFFEY WILL BE IN COLORADO SPRINGS AT U.S. NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUTS. TAYLOR ANDERSON IS OF COURSE A TRACK STAR FOR HOPKINS AND IS LIKELY TO BE MISSING IF AND WHEN A TRACK MEET BREAKS OUT. MCGRORY IS STILL DEALING WITH CONCUSSION ISSUES AND HER STATUS IS UNKNOWN.

MN Stars Jade Martin, Allina Starr, Jessica January, Phyllis Webb

LIKE ANDERSON, JANUARY IS ALSO A TRACK STAR AND MAY BE UNAVAILABLE AT TIMES OVER THE WEEKEND.

Fury Erin O;Toole (8 ppg), Kaytlin Kuefler (9 ppg), Jackie Poss (8 ppg) and Larissa Lurken (7 ppg) lead the 5-5 Blue

2014s (15U)

1. North Tartan Alexander
2. Metro Stars Reiter
3. MN Stars Taylor
4. MN Fury Storm

15U semis are at 7:15 Saturday night, also on Kennedy 1 and 2. The final is on Sunday at 3:30 on Kennedy 2.

Both Tartan and Metro Stars lost to All Iowa Attack 3 weeks ago, the Stars by 17, Tartan by 11 Tartan won at the Qualifier 50-43.

NTA Kenisha Bell, Cayla McMorris, Tia Elbert, Micaela Noga, Claire Lundberg
Metro Stars Reiter Hannah Grim, Taylor Thunstedt, Chase Coley
MN Stars Taylor Carlie Wagner, Grace Sawatzke, Madison Dean, Sydney Lamberty, Bailey Norby
Fury Storm Kylie Brown (5 ppg), Ellie Thompson (9 ppg), Katie Quandt (8 ppg) lead the 5-5 Blue

2015s (14U)

1. North Tartan Herbrechtsmeyer
2. MN Stars Antl
3. Metro Stars Wiese
4. MN Fury Peper

Semis Saturday at 6 p.m. on Kennedy 1 and 2. Final 2:15 Sunday on Kennedy 2. NT Herbie beat Stars Antl 52-39 in the final of the Qualifier. They also defeated Metro Stars Wiese 41-29. And they hammered Fury 46-25 in the final at the Kickoff.

NTH Sam Trammel, Courtney Frederickson, Viria Livingston, Hannah Schaub, Monica Burich, Kanani Asuncion

OOPS, FREDERICKSON IS OUT WITH INJURY.

MN Stars Antl Chelsie Kizart, Taylor Kane, Taylor Haugen
Metro Stars Wiese Madison Guebert, Hana Metoxen, Raven DuBois, Ellie Vraa
Fury Peper Nicole Parsons and Alexis Greene lead the way with 9.5 and 6 ppg for the 7-3 Blue.

2016s

1. MN Fury Sinn
2. MN Stars Martin
3. North Tartan Kuppe 2016
4. Crossfire

Semis are at 6 p.m. Saturday on Kennedy 3 and 5, final is 1 p.m. Sunday on Kennedy 2.

Fury beat the Stars Martin 31-29 to win the Qualifier and the #1 seed. Tartan beat Crossfire 41-20 for 3rd.

Fury features coach Ruth Sinn and daughter Emma PLUS KAIN OF SIMLEY AND KOENEN OF SHAKOPEE

Stars Martin features Jasmyn Martin
Tartan features Hannah Hedstrom
Crossfire features 6 girls from Wayzata including Sarah Kaminski and Amy Nelson

KAMINSKI IS OUT WITH AN ACL

2017

1. North Tartan Kuppe 2017
2. MN Fury Dalhed
3. MN Stars Johnson
4. Midtown Lady Monarchs

Semis are at 7:15 Saturday night at Jefferson 1 and 2. Finals are at 11:45 a.m. Sunday at Kennedy 2.

Tartan hammered Fury 40-20 in the Qualifier. Cecile Kieger and Temi Carda lead Tartan.

2018

1. North Tartan West Theisen
2. NC Heat
3. FM Fusion
4. MN Suns Long

Semis are at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Jefferson 1 and 2, finals are Sunday 10:30 a.m. at Kennedy 2.

NT West defeated NC Heat 38-33 in the Qualifier, and features Kelsey Peschel and Maesyn Thiesen.

2019

1. MN Thunder
2. Crossfire
3. MN Stars Nelson
4. North Tartan

The 10U play at 9:15 a.m. each day--semis on Saturday at Jefferson 1 and 2, and finals Sunday on Kennedy 2. The Thunder are led by Paige Bueckers and Julia Austad.