OK, the seeds won 15 of 16 1st round games, and the higher seed won 3 of the 1st 4 semi-finals. But, there have been some surprises at the girls state tournament--specifically, some of the girls who have excelled in the 1st 2 days of play. 20 of the 32 teams have played 2 games. Limiting the choice to girls who have played twice, here are the top players of the 1st 2 days.
And, if there's a theme here, well, just count up the number of the top 20 players of the 1st day days who are underclassmen! 9 of the 1st 11.
1. Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, junior, combo guard. OK, no surprise here. Bueckers is the tournament's top scorer so far with 57 points, and she also has 8 boards, 11 assists, 5 blocked shots and 6 steals.
2. Julia Bengtson, Becker, sophomore, point guard. Bengtson has led her team to 2 heart-stopping wins, 68-67 and 68-66, the latter the only semi so far to be won by the lower seed. Granted, she's got 17 turnovers but she also has 44 points, 12 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. And, yes, 2 wins. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.
3. Frankie Vascellero, Holy Angels, sophomore, shooting guard. Vascellero scored 19 points in the 1st round, a 58-57 heart-stopping win over Fergus Falls. She then exploded for 35 points against DeLaSalle, a game her team ended up losing to a last-second bucket. Her signature is a textbook jump shot.
4. Ellie Colbeck, Fergus Falls, freshman, point guard. OK, her team lost both of their games. But she scored 42 points with 16 boards and 9 assists. She is an obvious star on the rise. She is not big, and she needs to get stronger. But, hey, she's a freshman, and she has a super head for the game.
5. Jordyn Lamker, Maple Grove, sophomore, wing. Lamker scored 30 points in a pair of slow-paced games, with 18 rebounds and 5 assists. A very complete player as a sophomore.
Second 5
6. Jordyn Hilgemann, Marshall, sophomore, wing. A pure scorer who finds a way to get the job done. She scored 40 points in 2 games.
7. Haley Garman, Redwood Falls, sophomore, post. Utterly unheralded coming in, but Garman scored 35 points with 18 boards and 5 steals win a pair of losses. Definitely not her fault.
8. Courtney Nuest, Becker, sophomore, wing. She scored 28 points in Becker's 2 wins, including 18 and the game winning 3 at the buzzer against Marshall in the 1st round.
9. Sara Scalia, Stillwater, senior, combo guard. Scored 34 points in 2 wins to put Stillwater in the AAAA final vs. Hopkins.
10 (tie). Aja Wheeler, Cooper, senior, point guard. Scored 47 points, with 18 boards, 10 assists and 9 steals in 2 wins.
10 (tie). Kierra Wheeler, Cooper, sophomore, power forward. Aja's little sister, er, big sister, er, big little sister (?) had 40 points and 34 rebounds in those 2 games.
Honorable Mention
Maya Nnaji, Hopkins, freshman, post
Sara Lavell, Centennial, senior, forward
Taylor McAulay, Centennial, senior, shooting guard
Liza Karlen, Stillwater, junior, post
Mary Claire Francois, DeLaSalle, senior, forward
Jodi Anderson, Centennial, junior, wing
Abigail Groeneweg, Forest Lake, senior, post
Abby McDonald, Hibbing, senior, point guard
Analiese Tschida, Lakeville North, senior, shooting guard
Grace Cote, Stillwater, junior, forward
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