April 2010: North Tartan Off to a Fast Start

The summer season is just getting underway, and already the North Tartan girls basketball club is racking up some notable accomplishments. Overall, North Tartan teams went 30-2 last weekend.

17U

The flagship 17U's, coached by Gerard Courey, went 5-1 in the prestigious Boo Williams Nike Invitational in Norfolk, VA. That was good for the championship of the Silver division (9th place overall). Tartan hammered Florida Essence 63-44 in the Silver final. Marissa Janning, Watertown-Mayer, and Mariah Clarin, Princeton, were singled out for their play in an early round victory, but in the end it was point guard Rachel Banham, Lakeville North, who was selected to the all-tournament team.

16U

The 16U's did their older sistas one better, winning all 5 games and claiming the Gold (overall) championship in their division. One highlight was overcoming a 5 point deficit to the home team, Boo Williams, to win 44-39 in the semis. Then, in the final, they beat the Arkansas Mavericks 49-39. According to the Tartan Web site, they "played great defense and frustrated" their opponents, giving up an average of 36 points per game. Becca Dahlman, Braham, and Whitney Tinjum, Chisago Lakes, led the 16s in scoring with 37 points over 5 games, while Mikayla Bailey of Osseo was next with 34. Bailey also was singled out for her defense in one of the early round games. The team is coached by John Hedstrom, formerly the Minnetonka boys coach.

15U Blue

The 15U Blues, coached by Ray Brodeur, won the Gold division of the Midwest Elite Showcase at Menomonie, WI, beating the Minnesota Stars (Walters) 54-49 in the final. Whitney Olson, Cambridge, led the Blues in scoring in 2 of the 4 games (with 11 and 14 points). Kayla Hinton, Woodbury, and Talayiah Rich, Mpls. North, led in the other 2 with 8 and 7, respectively. Kim Campbell of Kennedy, Micaela Diers of New Life, and Ellie Zeller of St. Anthony were also among the leading scorers.

14U

The 14s, coached by Dave Johnson, took 5th place in the Minnesota Fury Spring Showdown, Silver division, with a 3-1 record.

Clarissa Ober of Glencoe-Silver Lake led Tartan in scoring in 1 game (14), in rebounds in 3 of the 4 games (7, 9 and 5), in blocks twice (4 and 3), and in steals once (2). Hayden Becker of Andover led in assists twice (5 each). Madison Dorn of Parkers Prairie (22), Morgan Frye of Chanhassan (11) and Tyra Johnson of Eastview (10) also led in scoring once each.

11-12-13U

The 13U, coached by Rico Alexander, went 5-0 and won the Silver championship at the Midwest Elite Showcase. They went 4-0 in their pool, then beat Minnesota Stars Bebo 47-41 in the final.

The 12U matched the 13s, winning their division (Bronze) in the Midwest Elite Showcase with a 4-0 record. They are coached by Jake Kuppe.

And the 11s, coached by Darcy Holle, were not to be outdone, winning an MYAS tournament with a 3-0 record.

The Tartan Web site does not publicize the individual contributions of the 11s, 12s and 13s, but some of the prominent players on those rosters include Grace Coughlin, Benilde-St. Mary's point guard and Micaela Noga, Parkers Prairie (13s), T.T. Starks, Mpls. North (12s), and Hannah Hedstrom, Minnetonka, and Briana Lathrop-Barnes, the 6-foot 6th grader from Kennedy (11s).