WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
The Packer girls have claimed the section, now they are ...
No backing down
Austin draws the defending state champs in first round started celebrating just yet. “It still hasn’t really sunk in. We feel proud, but we’re not done yet,” Justice said. “We have a lot of work to do at the tournament and we’re looking forward to it. Hopefully we’re going to come out with some wins at the state tournament.”
By Rocky Hulne sports@austindailyherald.com
If the Packers are intimidated by the prospect of taking on the defending Minnesota Class AAA state champs in the first round of the Minnesota State Girls Basketball Tournament at Maturi Pavilion, they haven’t shown it yet. Austin (20-8 overall) will put its season on the line against the Hawks (20-8 overall) in a quarterfinal matchup at 2 p.m. today at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Hawks play a similar style to Austin as they like to run and gun. “Cooper plays in your face full court defense they put a lot of pressure on the guards,” Zoske said. “They live and thrive off of getting steals and getting points in transition. It’s going to be very important for our guards to take care of the ball against their pressure and manage our offense.” Austin junior guard Colie Justice said the Packers are thrilled to be in their first state tournament since 2008, but the team hasn’t
“We have a lot of work do to at the tournament and we’re looking forward to it.” Colie Justice Austin guard
Austin’s Abby Lewis with the ball during the second half of the Section 1AAA title game against Northfield. Herald file photo
Zoske is in his second year as head coach of the Packers after a six-year stint at Osceola, Iowa. He’s happy to be in the state tournament this year, but he also thought the Packers had a pretty good chance last season, when they finished 14-14 overall before being upended by Northfield in the Section 1AAA semifinals.
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Austin’s Elyse Hebrink cuts through a seam during the first half against Northfield in the Section 1AAA championship in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Herald file photo
“Call me crazy, but I thought we could’ve beat Northfield last year. We hung with them one half of each game in the regular season and in the third game we were within six in the second half,” Zoske said. “This year the preseason magazines come out and we’re favored to win the section. The pressure was there early and I don’t think we handled it well early. We went 6-6 for a stretch and then we figured some things out. We played as a team. We don’t have one outstanding player. We have nine girls that are all pretty good.” Zoske credited Austin grads Paiton
Schwab and Emily Hegna for filling a leadership role last season and this year his team picked up the team concept and ran with it — literally. “(Going fast) is what comes natural to this team. We’re trying to contain the natural desire to run and run and keep it under control. It took a little while to get that comfort level, but I think we’ve got it,” Zoske said. “The faster we can play, while being under control is what we’re aiming for. We’re doing a good job of forcing the other team to be uncomfortable, while doing what we want to do.”
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Minnesota State Girls Basketball Tournament The Minnesota State Girls Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 1316 at various venues in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The following is a breakdown for all classes in this year’s tournament.
Quarterfinals
Class A, Thursday, March 14 at Maturi Pavilion Red Lake (21-7) vs. No. 1 seed Minneota (271), 11 a.m. No. 5 Ada-Borup (26-2) vs. No. 4 Heritage Christian Academy, Maple Grove (26-2) 1 p.m. Mountain Iron-Buhl (25-5) vs. No. 2 Goodhue (24-6), 3 p.m. BOLD, Olivia (22-5) vs. No. 3 Menahga (29-1), 5 p.m. Class AA, Wednesday, March 13 at Williams Arena Redwood Valley, Redwood Falls (19-8) vs. No. 1 Roseau (28-2), 6 p.m. No. 5 Proctor (24-6) vs. No. 4 Caledonia (244), 8 p.m. at Maturi Pavilion Albany (18-10) vs. No. 2 Holy Family Catholic,
Victoria (23-5), 6 p.m. St. Peter (16-10) vs. No. 3 Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis (22-6), 8 p.m. Class AAA, Wednesday, March 13 at Maturi Pavilion Hibbing (27-2) vs. No. 1 seed DeLaSalle, Minneapolis (21-5), 10 a.m. No. 5 Fergus Falls (234) vs. No. 4 Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield (21-7) 12 p.m. Austin (20-8) vs. No. 2 Robbinsdale Cooper (20-8), 2 p.m. Marshall (21-7) vs. No. 3 Becker (25-4), 4 p.m. Class AAAA, Wednesday, March 13 at Williams Arena Lakeville North (18-11) vs. No. 1 Hopkins (290), 10 a.m. No. 5 Maple Grove (23-6) vs. No. 4 Centennial, Circle Pines (25-4), 12 p.m. Shakopee (20-9) vs. No. 2 Stillwater Area (262), 2 p.m. Forest Lake (24-5) vs. No. 3 Eastview, Apple Valley (24-5), 4 p.m. Complete Schedule: See the League’s website at www.mshsl.org.
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Packers are a team first By working together, Austin has put itself in position for a great run In any sport, it is very difficult for a team to win unless it’s winning together. With incredible depth on its side, the Austin girls basketball team has figured out how to win together. Austin has seven players who average at least five points per game, and if they played on teams with less depth, all of those players could consistently put up double figures in scoring on a regular basis. It has taken a great deal of sacrifice and unselfishness to make the Packer offense click this season and the team has seemed to find the perfect balance at the right time. Players are passing up good shots for better shots on offense and they’re putting forth the extra effort to chase after a loose ball or take a charge on defense. The energy has been contagious and the Packers have turned themselves into an upstart team with promise, to the best team in Section 1AAA. A turning point for the Packers basketball program came last season when standouts Colie Justice and Elyse Hebrink went down with injuries. Those injuries did hurt the team, but it gave Hope Dudycha and Emma Dudycha,
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Rocky Hulne Sports Editor
who were still in middle at the time, a chance to step up and play varsity basketball. They helped Austin finish with a 14-14 overall record and the twin sisters helped motivate the rest of the team over the summer with a relentless workout schedule in the gym and in the weight room. By the time this season began, the Packers had a group of hungry players, who were ready to compete in practice for playing time and compete on game nights for wins. There were some bumps in the road, but the Packers have ended up all the better for it. The team made history by advancing to state for the first time since 2008 and it isn’t done yet. Now Austin will put its season on the line against the best teams in Class AAA. If the Packers stick to what they’ve learned and stay unselfish, they may find themselves putting together another historic run.
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Sharing a bond of basketball
Coach Eric Zoske, and forward Krya Walters have past on the hardwood
“We’ve known each other for awhile. I’ve known that family for a long time. Austin head girls basketball coach It’s been great to see her grow and she Eric Zoske can still remember the kind of had the game of her life against first time he had to give junior forNorthfield. She matched Rachel Kelly, ward Kyra Walters direction during a and in my opinion, Rachel Kelly is the basketball game. best player we go against all year.” Walters was a fifth-grader playing Walters said she didn’t consider up a couple of levels on a youth herself a standout player at Osceola, basketball team for Osceola, Iowa, but she did dedicate herself to basEric Zoske which is 217 miles south of Austin, ketball. Since then, she’s been going Packers head coach and she was having enough of it. to as many basketball camps as she “She was playing point guard and can and she’s spent a lot of time in said she wasn’t comfortable bringing the ball up,” Zoske said. gym. Walters is involved in basketball in one way or another for “I told her to get used to it.” about nine months out of every year. Walters moved from Osceola, a town of nearly 5,000 peoWalters has always been motivated by Zoske and this year is ple, to Austin during her eighth-grade year and Zoske came to no different. Austin to coach the Packers last year. The two share a bond that “I try to get to everything (basketball related) I can, so I can be goes back a long ways as Zoske had coached Walters from fifth the best player for myself and the team,” Walters said. “(Zoske) to eighth grade, and he even won a dance competition with has a been a really big part of my basketball career. He’s develWalters and her class during a connects activity. oped every player that he can to the best of their ability. He’s But despite her dance moves back in middle school, Zoske always been there to help. This year he’s used our strengths in isn’t granting Walters any favors as her head coach. the games. He doesn’t set up plays, he just lets us run and go, “It’s very unique and it’s fun. We’re close but I don’t give her because that’s what we’re best at. He’s very encouraging.” Austin’s Kyra Walters with two of her 17 points against anything and they don’t get any special benefits. She has to earn everything she gets just like everybody else,” Zoske said. See BOND, Page 8 Northfield in the Section 1A championship. Herald file photo By Rocky Hulne
sports@austindailyherald.com
“It’s very unique and it’s fun. We’re close but I don’t give her anything and they don’t get any special benefits. She has to earn everything she gets just like everybody else.”
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Minnesota Class 1AAA Girls State Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Wednesday, March 13
Hibbing (27-2)
Thursday, March 14
10 a.m., Maturi Pavillion No. 1 DeLaSalle (21-5)
Noon, Williams Arena
No. 5 Fergus Falls (23-4) Noon, Maturi Pavillion
Championship
No. 4 Acad. of Holy Angels (21-7) 6 p.m., Williams Arena
Saturday, March 16
Austin (20-8) 2 p.m., Maturi Pavillion No. 2 Robbinsdale Cooper (20-8) 2 p.m., Williams Arena Marshall (21-7) 4 p.m., Maturi Pavillion No. 3 Becker (25-4)
Consolation
All games played at Concordia University
Third Place
Concordia Unviersity
2 p.m., March 14 3 p.m., March 16 4 p.m., March 15 4 p.m., March 14
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Tournament Breakdown Austin, Section 1AAA
Record: 20-8 Points per game: 66.1 Points allowed per game: 52.8 QRF Ranking: 19 How they get to state: Beat Northfield 62-50
Where the teams are from
Record: 21-7 Points per game: 57.3 Points allowed per game: 48.1 QRF Ranking: 18 How they get to state: Beat Waseca 53-44 Record: 21-7 Points per game: 66.3 Points allowed per game: 54 QRF Ranking: 11 How they get to state: Beat St. Croix Lutheran 60-53
Fergus Falls
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Hibbing
Robbinsdale Cooper Minneapolis DeLaSalle Academy of Holy Angels Marshall
Record: 20-8 Points per game: 66.8 Points allowed per game: 60.4 QRF Ranking: 2 How they get to state: Beat Waconia 52-51
Hibbing, Section 7AAA
Becker
DeLaSalle, Section 4AAA
Record: 21-5 Points per game: 63 Points allowed per game: 48.2 QRF Ranking: 1 How they get to state: Totino-Grace 65-49
Record: 25-4 Points per game: 72.8 Points allowed per game: 51.4 QRF Ranking: 8 How they get to state: Beat Willmar 56-36
Robbinsdale Cooper, Section 6AAA
Marshall, Section 2AAA
Academy of Holy Angels, Section 1AAA
Becker, Section 5AAA
Austin
Record: 27-2 Points per game: 60.3 Points allowed per game: 40.6 QRF Ranking: 14 How they get to state: Beat Grand Rapids 55-48
Fergus Falls, Section 8AAA
Record: 23-4 Points per game: 62-1 Points allowed per game: 42.1 QRF Ranking: 12 How they get to state: Beat Alexandria Area 43-42
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Hope Dudycha
Emma Dudycha
Colie Justice
Leading by Example Austin guard play is on point when it comes to offense By Rocky Hulne
sports@austindailyherald.com
Bond: A welcoming environment From Page 5 Walters was a little bit overwhelmed when she came to Austin in the spring of her eighth grade year, but she made friends by playing with the Packer tennis team. Since then, she’s participated in volleyball, basketball and softball for Austin. She’s also feeling more at home and has emerged as a leader for the Packers on the hardwood this season. “They were very welcoming and they were excited to have a new girl on the team when I first got here,” Walters said. “It was super easy to get along with them and get to know them.
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“We’re one big family and there’s no drama on the team.” Kyra Walters Packers forward
Head coach Eric Zoske commands from the bench against Northfield. Herald file photo
We had pasta parties and other team activities and it’s made it really easy to build a team bond. We’re one big family and there’s no drama on the team. We work so well together.” Walters will play key role in the paint for the Packers as they play in the Minnesota Class AAA Girls State Tournament this week. She provides the team with toughness inside, while also being a capable scoring threat.
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When it comes to closing out a tight game or running a half-court offense, the Packers have more than enough options to get the job done. Austin has three capable point guards in junior Colie Justice and freshmen Hope Dudycha and Emma Dudycha. All three can handle, pass and shoot the ball when the time is needed. The Packers have shown opponents a variety of different lineups, but Justice and the Dudycha twins were all on the court together to close out the postseason wins over Red Wing and Northfield. It’s a lineup that’s effective, but it’s taken a little bit of time for it to be totally effective. Now, Justice is perfectly comfortable taking the court with her younger counterparts. “It’s kind of natural. We work really well together and we all know where each other are. There were a lot of adjustments, but I feel like we adjusted really well and really quickly,” Justice said. “We don’t have just one standout player on this team. We have a lot of different threats.” Emma and Hope both said they were a little surprised to make it to state in their freshman season and they credited the older players on the team for helping them along. “We feed off each other’s energy,” Emma said. “We’ve looked up to the (older) girls on the team for a long time and it’s great to
The Dudycha twins stand with the rest of the Packers team during the medal ceremony after winning the Section 1AAA title. Herald file photo make it to state in our freshman season.” Hope and Emma spend as much time as they can in the gym and in the weight room and the offseason. Basketball isn’t just a sport to them — it’s a passion. “We’re driven to win. We know our team has a lot of potential and we’ve made it so
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far,” Hope said. “We’ve been working hard this summer. We knew we had a chance (to get to state) coming into this season, it’s just unreal that it actually happened.” Hope said that she enjoys taking the court with her sister and Justice when the Packers need to take control of possession.
“We play really similar, so it’s nice to be out there together. I think we play really well together. Any given play, any of us can bring the ball up. We trust each other,” Hope said. “State should be really fun. It would be nice to see a lot of our fans there and have a lot of community support.”
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The Big Ones Austin had plenty of notable games this season, but these 5 stood out By Rocky Hulne
sports@austindailyherald.com
Austin’s Erica Lundberg drives off the break against Red Wing during the Section 1AAA semifinals at Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Herald file photo
Dec. 7 Austin 86, Winona 36
The Packers established themselves as a capable defensive and offensive squad when they forced 31 turnovers in a 50-point win over the Winhawks. Austin was relentless early in the win as it led 27-4 just five minutes into the contest. Nine separate players scored in the win for Austin and Abby Lewis led the way with 18 points.
Dec. 14 Austin 75, Mankato West 74
The Packers fought off the hard-charging Scarlets to pick up a statement win early on in the season. West, who was ranked No. 4 in
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the state at the time, scored nine points in the final 25 seconds, but the Packers proved to be clutch at the free throw line as they went seven-for-eight down the stretch from the charity stripe. Lewis again paced the Packers with 18 points and Colie Justice added 12 points.
Feb. 21 Red Wing 72, Austin 39
The loss seemed to kickstart the Packers, as Austin responded with eight straight wins to vault its run to the state tournament, that included a win over the Wingers just a week after this shortcoming.
2018-19 SCHEDULE Nov. 27..........................Austin 73, Byron 62 Nov. 29................Stewartville 65, Austin 58 Dec. 1..............Austin 60, Mankato East, 46 Dec. 4.................... Austin 73, Albert Lea 45 Dec. 7.........................Austin 86, Winona 36 Dec. 11.........Austin 52, Rochester Mayo 39 Dec. 14............Austin 75, Mankato West 74 Dec. 18.............Rochester JM 85, Austin 61 Dec. 21.....................Austin 66, Faribault 51 Jan. 3.....................Austin 70, Owatonna 49 Jan. 4.......Austin 71, Rochester Century 30 Jan. 8......................Red Wing 53, Austin 46 Jan. 11...................Northfield 39, Austin 38 Jan. 24...................Austin 66, Albert Lea 37 Jan. 25.........................Austin 78, Winon 34 Feb. 1...............Mankato West 64, Austin 47 Feb. 5...............Rochester JM 68, Austin 52 Feb. 8.......................Austin 84, Faribault 28 Feb. 11...Kasson-Mantorville 65, Austin 61
Feb. 16.........Austin 70, Rochester Mayo 56 Feb. 19...................Austin 62, Northfield 53 Feb. 21....................Red Wing 72, Austin 39 Feb. 22.....Austin 82, Rochester Century 42 Feb. 23...................Austin 87, Owatonna 64
Section 1AAA Tournament
Feb. 27.....................Austin 79, Faribault 49 March 2...................Austin 73, Red Wing 70 March 8...................Austin 62, Red Wing 50
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Austin was outscored 39-22 in the second half of the loss. Elyse Hebrink had nine points to lead the Packers in the loss.
March 2 Austin 73, Red Wing 70
The Packers shocked everyone in Section 1AAA when they shook off an early 11-point deficit to clip the No. 1-ranked Wingers. Austin had lost both regular season matchups to Red Wing, but it didn’t back down with its season on the line as Justice, who had 18 points, and Hope Dudycha, who had 20 points, controlled the tempo down the stretch. The win was Austin’s first Section 1AAA semifinal victory in a decade.
March 8 Austin 62, Northfield 50
The Packers proved they could put together a big time performance on the big stage as they led for much of the majority of the night to bring down Northfield in the Section 1AAA Title game. The win secured Austin’s first trip to state since 2008. Kyra Walters helped control the paint as she scored 17 points in the win for Austin and Justice added 16.
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Can’t make the game? Austin plays No. 2-seeded Robbinsdale Cooper at 2 p.m. today in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. But if you can’t make it, don’t worry. There is still a way for you to follow the Packers by turning to the internet. School space media will livestream all quarterfinal games at www.prepspotlight.tv. Should the Packers advance through the winners bracket then you can follow the semifinals and championship games at www.prep45.com. Both options are free.
Austin’s Kiwi VanZant with the shot underneath in the first half against Northfield in the Section 1AAA championship in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Herald file photo
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