February 26, 2018 By Chris Varney
The Game: 3A Girls Basketball state tournament, #1 seed Crestwood Cadets (23-0) v. #8 seed South Tama Trojans (15-9) with a 11:45 am tip-off at the Wells Fargo Arena
The Background: South Tama is the only unranked team in the entire state tournament. The Trojans upset #6 ranked Roland-Story in the regional semifinals 56-52 and then beat West Marshall 38-36 in the regional finals. This is the 4th appearance for South Tama at the girls state tourney, first since 2011. Crestwood is in Cresco, IA which is north of Decorah and about 10 miles from the Minnesota line. The Cadets are making their second straight state tourney appearance, 4th in the last 5 years and 7th overall. Crestwood lost in the first round last year 70-61 to Cherokee, Washington.
The Players: South Tama is led by 5’9″ Junior Jessica Musgrave (22.2 ppg) who ranks 3rd in Class 3A in scoring and 10th in the entire state. Musgrave is shooting 54 percent from the field but has only 13 three pointers all season. She is also a terrific rebounder, averaging 8.3 per game and leads the Trojans in assists (83), steals (137) and 2nd in blocks (29). The steals rank third in the state. Rounding out the probable starters for the Trojans are 5’8″ Senior Sadie Smith (3.9 ppg); 5’11” Junior Jaelin Berger (4.4 ppg); 5’5″ Freshman Tylese Rosenberger (5.1 ppg); and 5’8″ Junior Madison Rohach (4.5 ppg).
Crestwood is led by 5’9″ Senior Shannon Pisney (19.9 ppg) and 6’2″ Sophomore Sharon Goodman (19.3 ppg). Pisney has been balanced offensively with 26 threes and is shooting 60% overall from the field and is the 7th leading scorer in Class 3A. Goodman is an inside player who has not attempted a three pointer all season and is shooting an incredible 74.4% from the field. Both players have the same number of rebounds (161) on the year. The Cadets also have point guard 5’6″ Senior Ellie Friesen (12.6 ppg) who can light it up from the outside, with 57 threes in 120 attempts for a 47.5% average; the 57 3’s are 7th in Class 3A. Friesen also has 208 assists on the season which leads the entire state. Rounding out the Crestwood probable starters are 5’4″ Senor Emily Friesen (5.8 ppg) and 5’6″ Senior Brynn Bodermann (5.8 ppg).
The Keys: South Tama has very little height so containing Goodman inside is the number one priority according to Trojans Head Coach Todd Dale. 5’10” Junior Zoee Buffalo (3.8 ppg) could see some significant minutes for South Tama, maybe even start, in order to give them more size inside. Expect Musgrave to guard Pisney on the outside and that should be a fascinating match-up. South Tama has only one senior on the roster but inexperience did not seem to matter during the regional playoffs — how they will deal with their first trip to state will be very important.
The Trojans are a dangerous opponent — their record is deceiving because they play in the WaMaC and a 4A schedule. They have played Marion and Center Point Urbana twice each in addition to Grinnell early in the season. All losses but all to state tournament teams. Crestwood plays in the Northeast Iowa conference and has played some tough competition — they have thrashed Waverly Shell Rock and Waukon twice. The Cadets closest game this year was a 21 point victory at Caledonia, MN, a team that has lost just 3 games all year. Crestwood beat Kee, Lansing 56-34, the Kee Hawks are seeded 6th in the 1A tournament and it was their only loss of the year.
South Tama are the clear underdogs but they have been there all season long. Nobody expected them to be in the state tournament this season. Crestwood is the favorites and picked by many to win the 3A state title.
The Broadcast: Tuesday morning scheduled tip-off is at 11:45 am, coverage on 1410 KGRN and myiowainfo.com.
