WAYZATA 47, OSSEO-MAPLE GROVE 44
The MYAS organization held their annual grade state championships over a variety of sites in the metro area this weekend. There are 39 separate divisions from grade 8 to 3 (a first with four entrants). My focus has always been on the top tournament in the oldest grade. I have had a long association with this tournament format and won the 1995 8th grade AA (as the 8-A1 division was called then). I can tell you that teams that have won at that age level have had future success in high school. It is not necessarily a guarantee, but the odds are strong the trajectory will continue to rise in high school.
This year the #1 seed was Wayzata and they hosted in front of a packed crowd. Generation next Trojans rallied from a five point deficit in the last 1:45 to beat the Crimson 47-44. OMG had a 42-37 lead when the Trojans finished with a 10-5 kick. The comeback began when Mara Braun drove into the lane and was fouled. Braun was golden at the line all day finishing with a perfect 11 for 11 on her way to a game high 17 points. After an OMG turnover, Braun once again converted two free throws, cutting the deficit to 42-41. Another Crimson turnover gave the ball back out of bounds. Megan Smith drove in for the go ahead basket with 54 seconds remaining. It was the first lead for the Trojans since their first possession of the second half (26-25). A rushed OMG three with the resulting rebound going to Elizabeth Wildermuth resulted in two more free throws. The Wayzata youngsters had a 86% mark for the day (18/21) which would be the envy of some high school programs. OMG’s Allison Lindblom got an offensive rebound and was fouled and she too delivered at the line as the Crimson trailed 45-44 with 21 seconds left. OMG picked up a steal and got the clock down to 7.4 seconds with a time out. But the ensuing pass was deflected forcing a tie up and the ball reverted to Wayzata. With the full court press on, Wayzata went with the touchdown pass to Madeline Drasher for the finishing lay up.
Wayzata’s template has long bodies and they explode to the rim. OMG shot better than the Trojans, but lost the turnover battle by 9.
| Team | PP100 | scorer | Distributor | D stops |
| Wayzata | 95.9 | Mara Braun 17 | Caroline Bokovitz 5 | Mara Braun 6 |
| Osseo-Maple Grove | 88.0 | Ari Gordon 13 | Kieara Albers 5 | Ari Gordon 6 |
| Category | Wayzata | OMG |
| Points | 47 | 44 |
| Rebounds | 27 | 25 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 16 |
| 2FG% | 42 (13/31) | 59 (13/22) |
| 3FG% | 7 (1/14) | 38.5 (5/13) |
| FT% | 85.7 (18/21) | 43 (3/7) |
TRENCH PLAYER: 5-10 guard Mara Braun of Wayzata
FYI
Here is a little past history.
In 1995 my team (City of Lakes) won the state over Coon Rapids. Kate Townley led us and in 1999 she led Cretin-Derham Hall to a state title. In 1996 my team finished second to Armstrong behind a future Miss Basketball named April Calhoun.
In 2013 the 8th grade championship went to Elk River 65-36 over Shakopee. On the Elk team then was Gabi Haack, Ava Kramer and Sidney Wentland, all part of the 2017 State championship team. Also I was able to see the 7th grade championship game with Eden Prairie beating Becker 48-45. Who was on the EP team? Christiana Carr (who moved to Minnetonka and then Kansas), Katey Brattland (who moved to Minnetonka) and Zoe Hardwick (again moved to Minnetonka). Isy Obiazor remained at EP. Becker had Maesyn Thiesen (who move to Sauk Centre).
In 2014 the 8th grade championship (current senior class) was won by Osseo-Maple Grove (more MG than Osseo it turned out) over Eastview 37-27. Megan Walstad was the force for the Lightning. Current Crimson players included Katarina Theis, Autumn Milnar, Paige Hinze, Lauryn Moline, and Rebekah Tyler. Prior to that game the St. Louis Park 6th grade won the championship over Eastview 47-26. StLP was led by Paige Bueckers and Kayla Adams (now both at Hopkins). Shayla Miller stayed in the Park.
In 2015 the 8th grade title went to Eastview over Forest Lake 52-43. Macy Gueber,t Emma Carpenter, and Lauren Glas made the impact for the Lightning. The Rangers had Lexi Hultman, Abby Leach, Abigail Groneweg, McKenzie Stomne, and Lindsey Johnson.
In 2016 the 8th grade championship was back in Elk River’s hands with a 47-43 win over Eastview (third straight year they made the title game).
In 2017 I charted the 7th grade championship because Stillwater was involved. They got beat by Shakopee 52-36.
This year it was back to the same class (2022) with the 8th grade title game. By the way Shakopee played in the third place game—they lost to OMG in the semis.