YME should be real competitive

YME’s Hannah Stark (32) throws up a lob pass to teammate Ruby Bones (10) during a Section 3A-North play-in game against Dawson-Boyd on March 15, 2021 at Granite Falls. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

The Sting must battle some of the state’s top teams in the Camden

BY TOM ELLIOTT | West Central Tribune

MADISON — The Yellow Medicine East girls basketball team just might play in the best Class A conference in the state.

The Sting have to deal with the Minneota Vikings and Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, Lakeview, Canby and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the Camden Conference South Division. Minneota is defending state Class A champ after going 25-0, including 16-0 in the Camden South.

It means that even if YME is performing competitively, the record might not reflect how well the Sting are playing.

That might have been the case last season, when YME went 4-16, including 3-13 in the conference. The Sting scored 50.6 points per game, which was fourth best in the South Division and seventh best in the Camden overall. They allowed 60.0 points, only 9.4 points more than they scored.

That’s usually not how this goes. They are off to an 0-2 start in 2021-22. But again, it’s who you play. They opened with a 66-48 loss at BOLD, a serious Section 2A contender. Then, YME got its first look at T-M-B, which was 14-2 in the Camden South last season, and lost 69-48.

And, it doesn’t get any easier. The Sting play Minneota and R-T-R on Dec. 7 and 9, respectively, with both games in Granite Falls.

The roster features three seniors, including 6-foot center Shelby Mortenson, 5-8 guard Yansi Flores and 5-9 forward Janessa Bakkelund. Ruby Bones, a 6-0 forward, leads the junior class that includes Stella Schuler, a 5-7 guard, and Hannah Stark, a 5-9 junior forward.

Also on the varsity roster for head coach Ryan Schultz and assistant Lucas Christoffer are two eighth-graders. There is Bayli Sneller, a 5-4 guard, and Hope Stark, a 5-8 guard.

Expect YME to give teams good games every night.

YME’s Shelby Mortenson puts up a shot over a Dawson-Boyd defender during the first half of a Section 3A-North play-in game March 15, 2021 at Granite Falls.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune