Target Center All-Stars Wednesday March 13 6 games
First Team
C- Rachel Doll, Rochester Mayo 15 pts 12 reb 3 asts
F- Hana Metoxen, Eastview 14 pts 7 reb 4 asts
F- Nia Coffey, Hopkins 22 pts 2 blk
G- Rebekah Dahlman, Braham 40 pts 7 asts
G- Maddie Guebert, Eastview 27 pts 4 stl
Second Team
C- Rayna Sherow, St. Paul Central 9 pts 10 reb
F- Ayo Porte, Osseo 11 pts 10 reb 3 blk 2 asts
F- Claire Lundberg, Anoka 16 2 blk
G- Kiara Russell, Kennedy 13 4 stl
G- Phyllis Webb, Osseo 19 10 reb 2 stl
Third Team
C- Molly O'Toole, Hopkins 9 pts
F- Dani Braund, Braham 6 pts 7 reb 2 blk
F- T.T. Starks, Hopkins 11 pts 10 reb
G- Leah Szabla, Providence 19 pts 4 rebd
G- Jaclyn Hollencamp, Braham 6 pts 13 reb 3 asts
Player of the Day: Dahlman
Coach of the Day: Craig Geyen, Monticello, pulled off darn near the only upset of the day...at the girls state championship that is.
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Forget that stuff about Dahlman's health. She has been running and gunning throughout the 2nd half, and just scored her 25th pint of the half, her 38th of the night and the 5,001st of her career.
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Has anybody heard any speculation about Rebekah Dahlman's health? She seems a bit sluggish tonight, at least in the 1st half (in which Braham took a 29-21 lead over BOLD). Yes, there have been bursts of energy, especially on a couple of coast-to-coast rushes off of the defensive rebound midway through the half. But those bursts of energy have been followed by frequent trips to the bench. Maybe it's nothing more complicated than she has 2 fouls. But I just wondered if she has a bug or something.
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Another word for today is 3. That's about how many possessions Providence and Pine Island are getting every 4-and-a-half minutes. We're inside of 9 minutes in the 2nd half and Providence is now on its 6th possession. 2 X 3.
Willie Taylor is not the only retiring coach in the building. Ray Finley, the only coach ever to coach 3 different schools to state titles (boys or girls), will be hanging 'em up after this tournament. Unlike Willie, it looks like he'll get another couple games. His assistant, Jamie Waldo, is reported to be taking over. Some of you may remember her as Jamie Broback.
And the 3 point shot is of course a big deal...or is it? The 6 winners today shot 27-of-94 from 3-point range. The losers shot 24-of-93. 3 buckets, 9 points, 1.5 points per game over 6 games. Not a deal-breaker, better than a sharp stick in the eye.
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If you missed it, I didn't see the game, but I see that Monticello surprised previously unbeaten Fergus Falls in AAA 79-78 in 2 OT. The agony of defeat.
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What was I saying? Oh, yeah. Pressure.
Game 1: St. Michael-Albertville 27 turnovers, Hopkins 27 turnovers! But points off turnovers Hopkins 24 St. Michael 13. Hopkins wins 77-58.
Game 2: St. Paul Central 21 turnovers, Osseo 18. Osseo 21 points off turnovers, Central 20. Osseo wins 63-56.
Game 3: Anoka 22 turnovers, Kennedy 9. Points off turnovers, 29-2 Kennedy! Kennedy wins 66-48.
Game 4: Mayo 27 turnovers, Eastview 12. Eastview 26 points off turnovers, Mayo 5. Hold the Mayo, 54-40.
The girls game has often been described as a game of turnovers and/or the avoidance thereof. It would seem to be so.
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Youth and pressure. Those are the 2 words for today, at least at the Target Center.
Youth: Hopkins played 4 freshman and a sophomore. 10th grader T.T. Starks came off the bench to score 11 points with 10 boards. 9th grader Sydney Tracy was St. Michael's best player off the bench with 10 points, while 8th grade Raeannah Johnson scored 4 points.
Next game. Osseo 9th grader Ari Jones scored 8 points including a couple very big 3s midway through the 2nd half.
Then, Kennedy. OMG. 8th grader Jasmyn Martin was among the best players on the court with 10 points and 5 boards. 9th grade guard Tyrah Spencer set the tone with her early ball defense, and 9th grade guard Kiara Russell hit 4-of-5 3s.
And right now I'm watching Eastview sophomore Hana Metoxen play like a seasoned veteran which, now that I think of it, she is. And Rochester Mayo has a 6-foot freshman Anna Winter playing a bunch of minutes.
Then there's the pressure, but more about that later.
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Hopkins easily, Osseo with some difficulty, and Richfield and Red Wing, fairly easily, have advanced in the 1st 4 games of the girls tournament. The biggest story at the moment is the end of Willie Taylor's coaching career at St. Paul Central, as his girls went down to Osseo 63-56. Rumors on the Target Center arena floor are that Faith Johnson Patterson might replace Willie. I can't say that there is any substance to this, only that it is where speculation for the moment has focused.
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Top performance so far on the day would seem to be Tesha Buck's for Red Wing, consisting of 32 points in her team's surprisingly easy win over New Prague. Here at Target, Nia Coffey was not surprisingly the most dynamic performer so far.
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I am settled in at courtside at Target Center. I will be reporting various news throughout the day, but I must warn you that my game reports will be sent to my buddy Kevin and will appear on his Web site at kjasr.com.
First up, Hopkins 28-1 #1 seed vs. St. Michael-Albertville 22-7 unseeded. Hopkins defeated the Knights at Hopkins earlier this year by 29. 'Nuff sed? T.T.Starks is back from her knee injury, or is she? There was no surgery, it is heavily wrapped, and she is not starting.
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