Nate’s Section 7AAA Game Notes: Cloquet vs. Princeton
PRINCETON– It’s tournament time folks! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, in girls’ hoops that is. We checked in from Princeton tonight to watch them take on 7 seed the Cloquet Lumberjacks in the quarterfinals of section 7AAA.…
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Continue ReadingPRINCETON– It’s tournament time folks! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, in girls’ hoops that is. We checked in from Princeton tonight to watch them take on 7 seed the Cloquet Lumberjacks in the quarterfinals of section 7AAA. I have some notes you’ll want to check out to see how Princeton got the win over the Lumberjacks.
KEYS TO THE GAME
- Where Princeton dominated was the athleticism they showed against the Lumberjacks from the Northwoods. You could tell just how much more physical the Tiger’s game was compared to Cloquet, which is why they were favored. One play in particular late in the first half, where I could have sworn every Tiger on the court which included Haley Lupkes (2020, captain), Lauren Bjurman (#144, 2020), Maddie James (#12, 2022) and Johanna Kostanshek (2021) got a block on the undersized Lumberjacks.
- The outside shot was falling most of the night from the Tigers and it was from a senior off the bench that surprised me with her spark. That guard was Whitney Tennison (2020) who was a perfect 4/4 from deep. Tennison was a player I thought would have gotten more minutes after that spark that kept the Tigers up double digits, but that wasn’t the case.
FOUR STARS
Maddie Young, Forward, Cloquet (2022)
I kept looking across the site to see if we’ve ever written about this 2022 small forward, but this is the first time we’ve crossed paths on her play. Young showed she was the most talented player on this Lumberjacks team. What’s even better? She’s just a sophomore. She had a great knack getting to the bucket as a 5’8 forward. Not going to pull in tons of rebounds, but impressed with her scoring of 19 points against a solid Princeton team.
Whitney Tennison, Guard, Princeton (2020)
I always love a good player that comes in off the bench and just starts hitting threes like there’s no tomorrow. Watching Tennison’s pretty catchy and shot from beyond the arch made the gym light up and helped them get insurance on a section win over Cloquet.
Lauren Bjurman, Forward, Princeton (#144, 2020)
Bjurman not only got her 1000 points as a Princeton Tiger tonight, but she also turned in a subpar first half into a great second half. In the first Bjurman struggled with travels while going to the bucket, but the second half was different. She had an extra edge to get to the bucket and muscle in layups causing the bucket and the foul. She has good versatility around the basket but can catch and shoot from outside. Being that this was my second game watching Bjurman this year, I saw a little more “fire” in her game than her game against Proctor earlier in the season. Her 16 points were superb, but her 1000 points will put her in Princeton’s record books forever as only the 10th player from Princeton girl’s hoops to join the 1000 point club.
Maddie James, Forward, Princeton (#12, 2022)
“Big Game” Maddie James had a nice one tonight and showed exactly why she sits in our top 12 for the class of 2022 prospects for Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota. Her outside shot (she shoots way out too) is contiguous, all you want to do is keep watching it. She also possesses a well done all-around game, can knock down the mid-range shot, muscle to the bucket, and is fearless when diving for loose balls. I can’t wait to watch her game get even better over the next two seasons, it’s going to be fun in the Mississippi 8, and I love that I live right in the heart of the conference!
Princeton (15-12) will advance to Section Semifinals played at Duluth Denfield. They will get the 3 seed Hibbing Bluejackets who’s coming off a quarterfinal win against another Mississippi 8 foe, Chisago Lakes in which Hibbing’s Haley Hawkinson dropped 32 points on the Wildcats.