McKenzie Hoelmenn and the Lakeville North girls won the red division bracket, beating Roseville in the championship game (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen).
Graduating back-to-back Miss Basketball winners doesn't seem to have slowed down Lakeville North. The Panthers cruised to three big victories at the Breakdown's Summer Showcase Invite at Lakeville South, including a 40-31 defeat of Roseville in the championship of the girls' red division.
"We have seniors that are going to get an opportunity to play now. They kind of waited their turn," said coach Andy Berkvam, whose team graduated Cassie Rochel two years ago and Rachel Banham last spring -- both of whom were Miss Basketball winners. "We think we have a pretty good team."
North used a balanced scoring attack and aggressive defense to beat the Raiders. Center McKenzie Hoelmenn scored all eight of her points in the first half to open up a 22-9 halftime lead. She was too powerful and strong for the Raiders to contain on the offensive and defensive boards, while Amanda Goodman cleaned the defensive glass when she was in the game.
"She goes hard for the rebounds and she probably has the best footwork for a post that I've seen," said Taylor Stewart.
When Roseville made second-half adjustments, Simone Kolander, Stewart and Caroline Sjoberg went to work, combining for 16 second-half points. Kolander and Stewart each finished with eight points, while Sjoberg added seven in the game.
"We all played well together as a team," said Stewart. "There's no Rachel Banham this year, so we're all expected to shoot more."
Jaqclyn Poss led the Raiders with 10 points.
Quarterfinals
Maranatha 39, Simley 28
Lakeville North 2, Jackson County Central 33
St. Michael-Albertville 41, Chaska 26
Roseville 28, Isle 25
Semifinals
Lakeville North 46, Maranatha 32
Roseville 56, St. Michael-Albertville 52
Third-place
St. Michael-Albertville 44, Maranatha 25
Consolation semifinals
Simley over Jackson County Central
Isle 47, Chaska 35
Consolation third-place
Jackson County Central 44, Chaska 38
Consolation final
Simley 30, Isle 27
Name | School |
---|---|
Taylor Stewart | Lakeville North |
Jaqclyn Poss | Roseville |
Natalie Van Wyhe | STMA |
McKenzie Hoelmenn | Lakeville North |
Simone Kolander | Lakeville North |
Name | School |
---|---|
Madison Lee | Maranatha |
Kylie Brown | Simley |
Lindsey Lahr | Isle |
Monica Burich | Roseville |
Amanda Goodman | Lakeville North |