Best of Thursday at Williams

By Marc Hugunin
Posted On: 03/17/18 1:30 PM

On Thursday, we saw 4 Class A quarter-finals. Here are some of the best individual performances we saw.

Center—Kristi Fett, Lyle-Pacelli, 6-5, senior

It’s very, very hard for a big girl to satisfy people. She should score a million points. She should get down the floor quicker. Whatever. Well, here’s what Kristi Fett does do. She catches the ball in traffic and on the move. She gets her feet underneath her and her shoulders squared up, she puts the ball in the basket 10-12 times every night, and she wins—51 times versus 7 losses the past 2 years. She can play on my team any time.

Power Forward—Lydia Sussner, Minneota, 5-10, junior

OK, she’s really a post on a team without any other player bigger than 5-9. She looks and plays bigger than 5-10. She scores mostly in the post and mostly with classic post moves. She has good hands and good feet, she’s very athletic. In fact, she wants to play 2 sports in college. The college coaches I talked to said, hey, she can play 2 sports for me!

Small Forward—Mary Burke, Mountain Iron-Buhl, 6-2, senior

OK, she’s really a post, too, but even at 6-2, she can play the wing if necessary, and she can hit the 3. But, yes, she’s also got some size and she is effective around the rim, too. Basically, does it all.

Point Guard—Madi Heiderscheidt, Sleepy Eye, 5-9, senior

The MVP for the day with 25 points scored every which-a-way that you can score—on the 3, off the dribble drive, off the steal, you name it. That includes a 40-foot 3 to put her team ahead at the end of the 1st half. It includes a dribble drive with 22 seconds left on the clock that put her team ahead for good. It includes the most dramatic scores of the day, all from a skinny left-hander with all the savvy and all the heart you could want.

Shooting Guard—Taylie Scott, Heritage, 5-9, junior

She is really a point guard but her skills extend all over the court. She even turned out to be her team’s best option for guarding 6-5 Kristi Fett.. “I wish I had put Taylie on (Fett) the whole time,” said coach Lori Crellin afterward. Scott also scored 24 points in a losing cause.

Second Team

Center—Mya Ibberson, Sleepy Eye, 6-0, senior

Ibberson is a long,scrapy player who tracked down 7 rebounds and blocked a couple of shots. But her most notable contribution came with her stepping out on the wing to hit a couple of big 3s in the Indians upset of Ada.

Power Forward—Abi McGlynn, Stephen-Argyle, 5-10, junior

Everyone knows that Autumn Thompson is the Storm’s senior leader at the point guard, but McGlynn was their best player today. She is very mobile and super-active for her size, and finished with 13 points and 8 boards.

Small Forward—Lizzy Gillingham, Minneota, 5-8, junior

Her dad played football at the U and for the Green Bay Packers, and her daughter is a mobile and active wing who scores in the lane and gets to the FT line. She scored 19 and added 6 boards.

Point Guard—Alyssa Peterson, Menahga, 5-7, junior

Quick on quick. When Minneota coach Chad Johnston said that Menahga “really dribbles hard,” he obviously meant Peterson. And when he said that he was “worried about their dribble penetration,” he clearly meant Peterson. She drained 4-of-15 3s, but it was her dribble penetration into the lane that really made the Braves go. She scored at the rim but mostly she dropped off little bounce passes for Megan Hendrickson, Leah Schwartz and Cierra Ahlf.

Shooting Guard—Madisen Overbye, Mountain Iron-Buhl, 5-6, junior

After Mary Burke, Overbye was the Rangers most reliable scorer, and they needed every one of her 4 3s, as it turned out.

Breakouts

Center—Morgan Hennen, Minneota, 5-8, sophomore

OK, Hennen’s not really a post, but Lydia Sussner needs a rest now and then, and she was also out with leg cramps briefly in the 2nd half. Hennen is the one who steps inside at that point though, as coach Johnston said, “She’s not super comfortable.” Still she scored 18 points for the night on 7-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc.

Power Forward—Kora Kritzberger, Ada, 5-11, sophomore

A tough, physical player who scores in the lane and crashes the boards. She almost single-handedly kept Ada in the game with Sleepy Eye with 17 1st half points—mostly from the FT line and in to about 8 feet in the lane with an accurate (7-for-10) jumper.

Forward—Natalie Rolbiecki, Minneota, 5-10, 8th grade

Long and active and athletic, Rolbiecki was impressive in 15 minutes of action off the bench with 2 points and 7 boards.

Small Forward—Olivia Christianson, Lyle-Pacelli, 5-10, sophomore

A great athlete with a nice combination of strength and mobility, and with perimeter ball skills. Attacks the rim and gets to the FT line.

Combo Guard—Abby Hennen, Minneota, 5-9, freshman

Ho hum, just another active and athletic youngster for Minneota. She scored just 6 points, all from the line, but she was the primary ball-handler and recorded 6 assists and 3 steals.