Austin’s ninth grade girls’ basketball team has been invited to the 2000 Minnesota Youth Athletic Services State Grade Championships in the Twin Cities March beginning Friday.

Tuesday, March 07, 2000

Austin’s ninth grade girls’ basketball team has been invited to the 2000 Minnesota Youth Athletic Services State Grade Championships in the Twin Cities March beginning Friday.

The girls portion of the Grade Nine State Basketball Tournament has four Divisions just like the state high school tournament .

The Austin squad will compete in the AAA level (out of four levels), because of its level of play, record and size school. There are 16 entrants into each division with each team guaranteed three games.

The Austin team is a compliation of 11 ninth graders and one eighth grader. During the regular season, the team members were split up at different levels while they competed for the Austin girls’ basketball program – some were on the freshman team, some on the B-team and one on varsity. The team figures to be competitive and versatile with a lot of speed, quickness, good defense, and solid guard play along with superior post play. The team will be up-tempo with an emphasis on creating offense through defense.

The team plays with the motto "94 feet of Chaos."

The roster is as follows:

Guards: Caitlyn Jurgensen, Megan Rider, Amy Kelly, Sandy Wesely.

Forwards: Stephanie Sundberg, Emily Lorenzen, Nicole Turvey, Lisa Bue, Amy Wollenburg.

Centers: Stephanie Eslinger, Teresa White, Shelly Sorensen.

Coaches: Jeff Hovland, Amy Hovland-Palmer and Terry Bue

The team has practiced together since completion of the prep season on Feb. 26.

The state tournament is a three-day affair beginning Friday, when the team will travel north after the school day is completed.

"This team is very athletic, quick and has great basketball sense," Jeff Hovland said. "We expect to do very well against the state’s best.

"This is a great opportunity for these gals to compete at a high level against other top notch teams around the state"

 

Southland boys ousted in semifinals

The Rebels had control of their Section 1A East Division semifinal game leading by as many as eight in the fourth quarter.

But the No. 3 Rebels missed a few free throws and made some costly turnovers in a 56-51 overtime loss to No. 2 seed Spring Grove at the Mayo Civic Center on Monday.

The Lions will now face the top Class A team in the state, Rushford-Peterson, a 58-32 winner over Mabel-Canton, in the East Division finals on Friday at the Mayo Civic Center.

The Rebels took control of the game in the third quarter behind the play of Scott Schammel, who scored a game-high 17 points in the contest.

Southland outscored the Lions 16-8 in the period to take a 40-35 lead into the fourth quarter.

Up eight in the fourth, the Rebels were forced into a few ball handling mistakes. By the end of regulation the game was tied at 45.

"We finally succumbed to their relentless pressure," Southland coach Greg Storey said. "We played hard and had a great game, but couldn’t get the win."

When they weren’t turning the ball over, the Rebels were missing free throws that could have iced the game.

"We were 3-of-11 from the line in the fourth quarter and overtime," Storey said. "We missed all three front ends of one-and-ones. If we had made those we would have won the game."

The Rebels end the year with a 13-11 record.