Player Profile: MaKenzie Rensch (2018)
If you had told me before this season began that 5-10 Hutchinson guard MaKenzie Rensch would be scoring 13 ppg—and that she would have broken loose for a career-high 31 point effort in early January—I would have said that the…
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Continue ReadingIf you had told me before this season began that 5-10 Hutchinson guard MaKenzie Rensch would be scoring 13 ppg—and that she would have broken loose for a career-high 31 point effort in early January—I would have said that the then #1-rated Tigers would be riding roughshod over its opponents. That’s because Tori Wortz and Megan Kurth were already well established as the Tiger’s #1 and #2 options. Rensch’s emergence on the offensive end gives them a solid 3rd option and an extremely varied offensive attack.
But it hasn’t translated into team success just yet. Rensch, long a stellar defender, has emerged as an elite offensive threat, and yet the Tigers are just 6-5 in mid-January and have dropped to #11 in Northstar Girls Hoops Class AAA rankings.
But clearly it is not the fault of the Tigers junior point guard. Coach Tim Ellefson is positively effusive about Rensch’s development. She is “among the best defenders in the state,” he says in the Breakdown’s 2016-2017 season guidebook. She is “the best rebounder from the point guard position that I’ve ever see,” he adds, and goes on to say that her “length makes her a threat to score inside as well as out. She has made herself into a complete player.”
As I said, Rensch is now scoring 13 ppg this year compared to 7 ppg a year ago, and she scored 31 points the other night against the arch-rival Orono Spartans. She scored on a combination of dribble drives, pull-up jump shots, 3-pointers and transition baskets off of her own defensive steals. (She had 3 assists and 5 steals to go along with those 31 points.)
And, yet, Hutch lost that game 86-76 to Orono. Hutch is not a short team this year at 5-11, 5-10, 5-10, 5-10, 5-9 but none of the Tigers is essentially an inside player. The loss of last year’s seniors, 6-0 post Erica Ellefson and 5-10 forward Erin Corrigan, both tough, physical, experienced inside players, has been a bigger problem that was anticipated, certainly by those of us who had Hutch rated as the pre-season #1AAA.
Last year, Hutch got 59 percent of available rebounds. This year they were out-rebounded by Orono 46-27. They led in steals 17-6 and had just 15 turnovers while Orono had 26. But they were out-rebounded 46-27. In a loss to Annandale they were out-rebounded 52-30 and Hannah Purcell had a field day for the Cardinals with 26 points and 22 boards.
Q & A with Kenzie Rensch
“We are playing really well at times,” Rensch said, “but not consistently for the entire game. I am confident,” she added, “that we are heading in the right direction for where we have to be for conference play now and then for the end of the season for sections.”
“I started playing basketball when I was 4 years old,” Rensch told us. “I knew I really loved the game when I started playing competitive games in 3rd grade.”
“I love playing defense,” she added. What is the scouting report on Kenzie Rensch? She thought it went something like this. “As a taller point guard my on-the-ball defense makes it difficult for guards trying to run their plays. I am a good ball handler and I see the floor well. I like to drive to the basket to score or to dish it off to a teammate. I enjoy creating plays for my teammates as much as for myself.” She has recorded 4 assists per game so far this year.
Asked what aspect of her game she’s working on and trying to improve on, Rensch said, “I am always working to get better. The one thing I have focused most (recently) on is a quicker release for my outside shot.”
The highlight of her basketball career so far isn’t hard to predict. Indeed, she said, “last season we beat our conference and section rival (Orono) in the section championship game for a chance to play in the State Tournament. That was an experience I will never forget.”
Looking ahead, Kenzie said, “I know I want to play college basketball for sure. I have been talking to D1 and D2 schools and have been on a few visits. I am very excited about the opportunities ahead.”
But first, “I am expecting that our team will work hard every single day with the goal to return to the State Tournament.”