Was over at the new Schoenecker Arena at the Anderson Athletic Complex on the campus of UST on this Friday night to take in the first day of the 2013 Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association All Star Series - The Best Of The Best. This years teams were not divided by class which sometimes led to some blowout games but rather the teams were drafted at random whereby each of the four teams had a smorgasbord of players from each class. Now, it would just be a matter of each team being able to "mesh" and come together. In any event, it provides a great opportunity for each player to come out and showcase their skills in a fun event where the players can come out and do their thing - and not have the pressure that a normal game would produce. Rather, it's a chance to have fun with the other players out there and share a few laughs on the bench as well.
The first game on this Friday night featured the Blue Team vs the Green Team and, despite the Green Team having the services of Esko's 6'9" Savanna Trapp who is UCLA-bound, the Blue team quickly asserted itself. Trapp, however, showed early on how dominant she can be by getting two easy scores inside early on. But, at the 15:07 mark, the Blue team made its decisive move. Annandale's Kaitlyn Kuefler, bound for St. Cloud State, nailed a "3" to make it 12-6 Blue. Richfield's Jessica January who is headed for De Paul tried to keep the Green team close by snaring a steal and dashing the other way for a lay-up at the 12:53 mark that temporarily halted the Blue team's assault but consecutive scores by Minnetonka's Joanna Hedstrom who is Minnesota-bound upped the Blue team's lead to 27-19 with 10:33 left in the first half. Red Wing's Tesha Buck who is bound for UW-Green Bay made a drive and finish for the Blue team that made it a two-touchdown lead at 35-21 and then diminutive Tarah Cleveland out of Menahga who is bound for Valley City State drilled a "3" that helped up the Blue team's advantage at 41-21 with 6:45 left. A jumper by Hedstrom from the right baseline with 4:11 left along with a score in the paint by Marshall County Central's Tori Davidson who is bound for Northland Community College upped the Blue's lead to 45-25. St. Paul Humboldt's LaShay Holt - bound for St. Kate's just down the street - nailed a "3" from the left wing with 2:22 left made it a 50-29 game for the Blue. Late scores by the Green team's Mikaala Shackelford from Hopkins who is bound for Illinois and January bit into the deficit a bit but the Blue Team still held a decisive 54-35 lead at the half.
Defense tends to be a four-letter word at these All Star events and the Green team only saw the gap grow wider in the second half. Cleveland used her 5'3" frame to maneuver inside for a score to start another assault for the Blue team and, despite the Green team's Brigette Audette who hails from Big Lake and is SMU-bound getting a score at the 19:30 mark, both Buck and Cleveland got scores right after that and a blowout was officially on tap. Hedstrom snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 17:52 mark and treys by Davidson and Kuefler plus two from Buck alone helped balloon the Blue's advantage to 78-45 with 10:17 left. The Green team was still battling, of course. "Big Country" Erin O'Toole, who had a stellar senior season at Hopkins and is bound for North Dakota, used her strong frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 9:33 left and then Audette was able to get into the paint for a score with 8:24 left as did Shackelford at the 7:18 and 6:39 marks but the Blue team would not be denied on this night. De La Salle's Allina Starr - bound for Auburn - nailed a "3' off the glass (I THINK I heard her call it anyway!:) ) with 5:25 left and then Holt scored on a lay-up with 3:16 left. With their sights set on dropping a C-note, the Blue team did not let up on the gas pedal. Hedstrom knocked down a "3" from the left corner with 1:44 left then a score in the paint by Davidson with :56 left along with a "3" from Starr with just :27 left helped the Blue Team reach the century mark. Despite the final 100-70 blowout, both teams had a good time in this one.
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