OK, AAAA is the Hopkins Invitational. AAA is the Upset Division. Or, is it the Kids Division?
After a series of sectional upsets, only 2 #1 seeds advanced to the Class AAA tournament--Holy Angels from Section 3AAA and Cooper in 6AAA. In Sections 5, 7 and 8, the #2 seeds--Becker, Hibbing and Fergus Falls--defeated the #1 seeds in the final. In Section 4, #2 DeLaSalle didn't have to beat #1 after the #4 seed did it for them. In Section 1, #4 Austin beat the #1 and #2 seeds, and #3 Marshall beat #2 and #1. The #1 seeds went 16-6. The #2s went 18-4.
It would be a cliche and a knee-jerk to say that this means there will be some more upsets at state. I don't think that's the case. Now, 1 or 2 of these #2s are going to turn out to be really good. But, most of the time, teams can pull 1 post-season rabbit out of the hat. 2? That's hard to do. In fact, the 2 #1s and the #1 overall seed, DeLaSalle, look pretty good going in. Aside from the Islanders, the #2s that look most likely to make some noise are Becker or Marshall, and I say that in part because they play each other in the 1st round. One of them will advance, whereas Austin, Fergus and Hibbing look a lot less likely to do so.
Still, what is even more striking than the upsets is the number of youngsters who have played absolutely essential roles for these teams. Freshman guards Kiani Lockett and Sydney Runsewe for DeLaSalle. Cooper sophomores Andrea Tribble and Kierra Walker. Becker guards Julia Bengtson and Adeline Kent. Holy Angels sophomore Frankie Vasecellero. Fergus guards Ellie Colbeck and Tori Ratz. Austin freshmen Hope and Emma Dudycha. Marshall sophomore Jordyn Hilgemann. This tournament may be decided by which of these kids is able to go out and dominate, and carry their senior teammates along for the ride. It's not exactly the conventional wisdom, but there it is.
Here are the entries.
#1 DeLaSalle 21-5 with a 63-48 average winning margin. The Islanders started off slowly at 1-3 and 3-4. Since then they're 18-1. Only Hibbing has a longer winning streak. The fact is that De opened without a point guard. Now they've got freshmen Kiani Lockett and Sydney Runsewe back from injuries (both missed over half the year), and also forward Nora Francois (who missed the 1st month-6 weeks.) The 3 of them combined for 27 ppg in the sections to pick up a lot of the slack from the loss of their best player, wing Elaina Jones, to injury just 4 games in.
Nurjei Weems, Mya Williams, Mary Claire Francois and Nora Francois are a powerful 4some up front and there are waves of guards behind Lockett and Runsewe. Their roster consists of 6 freshman, 4 sophomores, a junior and 2 seniors, one of whom (Jones) won't play at state. If they don't win now, well, next year is practically a lock, if they can stay healthy. But, they're also the obvious favorite right now. The one thing that gives their opponents hope is that they've played poorly at state the past 2 years. But, while the key in AAAA is protecting the ball against Hopkins' voracious defense, here it's finding a way to compete with De's bigs inside.
#2 Robbinsdale Cooper 20-8 and just 67-60, but this is a AAA team that plays a lot of AAAA opponents, and they've improved over the course of the year after a 1-5 and 3-6 start. Still, they needed a buzzer-beater to get here, 52-51 over Waconia in the Section 6AAA final. Still they've got a variety of weapons including Aja Wheeler and Andrea Tribble outside and Kierra Wheeler and Arthel Massaquoi inside. They match up with De inside better than most, And, they're by far and away the best trash talkers in the field.
#3 Becker 25-4 and 73-51. But, who'd they play? Well, they played at Hopkins and lost 89-54. Cooper lost at Hopkins 99-64. 4 AAAA teams lost worse. Other than that they lost to Willmar by 6, Cambridge by 1 and Alexandria by 1, then they came back to beat Willmar by 20 in the section final. Great things are expected to Becker, just not so soon. Their stars and freshman and sophomore guards Adeline Kent and Julia Bengtson. Bengtson, the point guard, scored 18 in the regular season and 17 in the sections. Kent, the off-guard, scored 18 and 15. Bengtson shoots 45/35/65%, Kent 50/31/65. Courtney Nuest scored 10 ppg in both the regular season and the section, and shoots 46/41 and 73%. Becker can shoot and they can score. The numbers don't suggest a great rebounding or defensive team, however, and so they may not be the toughest matchup for DeLaSalle. More to the point would be how they match up with Cooper, however, because that's who they get if the 1st round goes according to Hoyle.
#4 Holy Angels 21-7 and 66-54. With 7 losses and a #11 QRF, the Stars nevertheless got the top seed over Simley, with 4 losses and #5 QRF. Well, somebody knew something, and Simley was upset in the semis by St. Croix Lutheran, who the Stars defeated in the final. Holy Angels throws waves of guards at you with Frankie Vascellero scoring 19 ppg, Isabelle Henry 11, Emma Mastre 10, Emma Henry 9 and Alex Walker 4. Inside they've got Rachel Kawiecki (9 ppg-6 reb) and Kassandra Caron (6-and-4). The Stars lost to DeLaSalle by 12 and 17 and Hopkins by 44. They beat Cooper 74-66 but that was early while Cooper was struggling.
#5 Fergus Falls 23-4 and 62-42. Fergus was somewhat of a surprise thanks to the rapid rise of freshmen guards Ellie Colbeck and Tori Ratz, who scored 18 and 10 ppg, respectively, during the regular season, and 14 and 9 in the section. Still, there's not much size except 6-1 senior post Lily Pearson, who scored 12 ppg in the regular season but just 2 in the playoffs. So, if she's hurt or otherwise unable to be effective, Fergus will be at a disadvantage inside. It's not clear how they got that 5th seed ahead of Hibbing, either.
Austin 20-8 and 66-53. If there's going to be a big surprise, it just might be the Packers, the #4 seed in Section 1AAA who defeated #1 seed and #1 statewide rated Red Wing 73-70 in the section semis. They're the deepest team in this field not called by the name Islanders and, as their 73 points against Red Wing suggest, they can score a lot of different ways. The fact is they go 9 deep. Their top scorers scored 9, 9, 9, 8 and 8 ppg, and there's some size at 5-11, 5-10, 5-10. They'll need all of that to make a statement here, but it's not out of the question.
Hibbing 27-2 and 60-41. The best record in the field and no seed! And, then, of course, they drew #1 DeLaSalle. They lost to Grand Rapids twice, then avenged those defeats in the section final. But, they only played on state tournament team, Proctor in Class AA, winning 53-41 at Proctor. Still, they've got size with 6-footers Mackenzie Maki, Kourtney Manning and Lizzie Tuomi and they have guard Abbey McDonald, who scored 20 ppg.
Marshall 21-7 and 57-48. Marshall is led by wiley coach Dan Westby and by the top scorer in the AAA field, sophomore wing Jordyn Hilgemann at 24 ppg. They have more strength than height inside, but they can compete in the lane, and their guards don't score a ton but they can manage the ball and the pace.
The Matchups Wednesday at the Maturi Pavilion
10 a.m. #1 DeLaSalle 21-5 vs. Hibbing 27-2. I don't think Hibbing's 27-2 record will scare the Islanders too much, but Hibbing is probably better equipped than most to match up to DeLaSalle inside. De's bigs would appear to be more dynamic, but Hibbing has the chance to clog it all up and negate some of the Islander's normal advantage in the paint. Then there's Abbey McDonald, who will be the best shooter on the floor. On the other hand, De's guards figure to be a little bit quicker. De has too many weapons. DeLaSalle 66 Hibbing 55.
12 noon Fergus Falls 23-4 #5 vs. Holy Angels 21-7 #4. Like De and Cooper, Holy Angels will have a big edge in tournament experience, playing in their 4th straight. Experience and depth will make the difference here. Holy Angels 56 Fergus 52.
2 p.m. #2 Cooper 20-8 vs. Austin 20-8. Having beaten the state's #1AAA team, Red Wing, in the section, Austin doesn't figure to be awed by Cooper. In fact, they may be too young to know any better. Their 9-deep rotation includes 2 9th graders, a 10th grader, 3 11ths and 3 seniors. Their 1st 5 goes 5-4, 5-5 in the backcourt and 5-11, 5-10, 5-10 in the front. So they're hard to defend as then-#1 Red Wing can attest. Still, Cooper will have a size advantage and an advantage in quickness. Can Austin slow Cooper down without slowing themselves down even more? Austin 63 Cooper 60.
4 p.m. #3 Becker 25-4 vs. Marshall 21-7. Marshall might have a little more juice inside, while Becker has two of the fastest-rising guards in AAA. Becker 57 Marshall 49.
Championship Semi-Finals Thursday at Williams
12 noon Holy Angels 57 DeLaSalle 56.
2 p.m. Becker 62 Austin 56.
Consolation Semi-Finals Thursday at Concordia
2 p.m. Hibbing 52 Fergus Falls 49.
4 p.m. Cooper 56 Marshall 53.
Consolation Final Friday at Concordia
4 p.m. Hibbing 59 Cooper 54.
3rd Place Game Saturday at Concordia
3 p.m. DeLaSalle 70 Austin 64.
Championship Saturday at Williams
6 p.m. Becker 57 Holy Angels 54. Yes, this is going out on a limb. Becker's kids have this kind of potential. Can they put it together so soon, while Julia Bengtson is just a sophomore and Adeline Kent a freshman? But Holy Angels best player is a sophomore. DeLaSalle's top guards are a freshman and a freshman. Austin's roster is filled with 9th and 10th graders. So, who knows. Maybe? Maybe Becker? Like I say, Bengtson and Kent have this kind of potential. Why not now?
All-Tournament
Becker Julia Bengtson, Adeline Kent
Holy Angels Frankie Vascellero
DeLaSalle Nurjei Weems, Nora Francois
Austin Hope Dudycha
Hibbing Abbey McDonald
Cooper Andrea Tribble
Fergus Falls Ellie Colbeck
Marshall Jordyn Hilgemann
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