The Freshman Class in the Girls State Tournament

There are those who say the freshman class (class of 2022) could be one of Minnesota’s best ever. There were plenty of freshmen who played well at the state tournament. Here are some of them.                  

Amaya Battle, Hopkins, 5-10, combo guard

Hopkins hasn’t asked Battle to score much, but she scores a ton against her own age group in the summer. She is big and strong and a great ball defender. Ranked #2 in the age group by a leading ranking site. Hopkins will be her team when Paige Bueckers moves on and she will be widely recruited by elite D1 programs.

Adeline Kent, Becker, 5-7, shooting guard

I was going to write that Kent is a long wing, then saw that she is listed at 5-7. She is either bigger than that or simply plays bigger, or longer, than that. She is a scorer and will be a big-time scorer and the perfect foil for (sophomore) point guard Julia Bengtson.

Kiani Lockett, DeLaSalle, 5-6, point guard

She is tiny and just doesn’t look like she could stand up to the rigors of big-time basketball. But, she does. She runs the offense, she hits the corner 3. She plays 100 pounds bigger than she is.

Maya Nnaji, Hopkins, 6-3, post

Nnaji is already one of the top 2-way posts in the state. She is an outstanding defender, and she can shoot it. She has a great FT stroke. Rated #1 in the class. With her size, every program in the country will be coming to call.

Sydney Runsewe, DeLaSalle, 5-8, combo guard

Everything I said about Kiani Lockett, let’s just repeat it here. She’s a very similar player. She’s thin, she doesn’t look strong, but doesn’t get pushed around. She handles it and she hits the 3.

6^thplayer:Kassandra Caron, Holy Angels, 6-0, forward

With the 1^st5 listed here, I figured a little size off the bench would be could and Caron provides that. Being a freshman, she’s been inconsistent, but scored 20 points on just 10 shots in the 1^stround. 

2^ndTeam

Joslyn Carlson, Goodhue, 5-9, guard. A scorer, she attacked the rim for some big buckets. vs. Menahga.

Ellie Colbeck, Fergus Falls, 5-9, point guard. Very nice floor leader, shoots the 3. A little bit tentative sometimes. 

Ari Gordon, Maple Grove, 5-8, forward. As coach Mark Cook said, she’s too young to know that she should be nervous in the state tournament. Athletic, does a little bit of everything.

Payton Rodberg, Proctor, 5-11, forward. Big forward had a stellar 1^stround game with 11 points and 15 boards, then didn’t play a whole lot the rest of the way.

Savannah White, DeLaSalle, 5-10, forward. Long and athletic. Not a lot of production just yet, but it will come. 

3^rdTeam

Twins Emma and Hope Dudycha, Austin, 5-4, guards. They’re identical twins but Austin coach Eric Zoske can probably tell the difference, and so Hope starts and plays about twice as many minutes as Emma. Both handle it, Hope shoots it a little better.

Tori Ratz, Fergus Falls, 5-7, shooting guard. Very athletic, though she scored just 9 points in 2 tournament games. Still, she and Colbeck are the future in Fergus Falls.

Natalee Rolbiecki, Minnesota, 5-10, forward. Long, athletic forward, and a volleyball star.

Mya Williams, DeLaSalle, 5-11, forward. A strong forward who can play pretty big around the basket. 

Janie Tormanen, Menahga, 5-10, forward. Long and athletic, shoots with both hands.