Six All-Metro girls all boast state titles
By Jerry Giese, Journal sports writer | Posted: Friday, March 28, 2008
Sophomore Millie Niggeling is on a pace to match teammate Michelle Lund as a four-time All-Metro girls basketball selection.
The two standouts, who helped Bishop Heelan win the Class 3A state championship earlier this month, join South Sioux City's McKayla Knudson as repeat selections on an honor team selected by girls basketball coaches from Sioux City and South Sioux City.
The team also includes Heelan's Carli Tritz along with McKayla Knudson of South Sioux City and North teammates Steph Robinson and Jalyssa Ceasar.
Remarkably, all six girls have played on a state championship team.
Knudson led South Sioux City to a Nebraska Class B state title this winter, the Cardinals' first since winning their 10th in an 11-year span in 2005.
Meanwhile, Ceasar and Robinson both played significant roles for North's Iowa Class 4A champions a year ago.
North returned to the state tournament this season, but lost a first-round game to eventual state runner-up Cedar Rapids Washington, 75-63.
Lund, a 5-6 senior, finished her career tops on the Sioux City five-player scoring list with 1,837 points. The Bradley University recruit, who shot 55.6 percent from the field, averaged 18.7 points as a senior while also recording 96 assists, 79 steals and 20 blocked shots.
Niggeling and Lund were each all-tournament selections at the 3A state meet for a squad that capped a 25-2 season with a 54-51 win over Pella. Tritz, oddly enough, was left off the all-tourney team despite scoring a game-high 19 points in the title game.
Niggeling shot 60.6 percent while averaging 13.6 points. The 6-footer also averaged 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots.
Tritz, a 5-8 sophomore, led Coach Doug Moody's Crusaders with 112 assists and 98 steals while contributing 14.2 points a game.
Coach Kelly Flynn's South Sioux City squad finished the season with 21 straight wins while winning their 11th state title in the last 14 years. Win number eight in the streak came on Jan. 22, when Knudson scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 68-58 win at Heelan on Jan. 22.
Knudson (14.5 ppg), a 6-1 junior, averaged an even 14 points in the state tournament for the 24-1 Cardinals.
Ceasar (13.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg), a 5-10 junior, has started for North teams that have combined for a 45-7 record the last two years. She ranked second on the squad with 65 steals.
Robinson (11.8 ppg), a 5-5 senior, recorded 78 steals and 76 assists for the Stars of Coach Kirk Walker.
East's Kathleen Reynolds (15.5 ppg) and Lauren Nugent (9.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg) are honorable mention selections along with South Sioux City's Autumn Boyer (14.0 ppg).
The two standouts, who helped Bishop Heelan win the Class 3A state championship earlier this month, join South Sioux City's McKayla Knudson as repeat selections on an honor team selected by girls basketball coaches from Sioux City and South Sioux City.
The team also includes Heelan's Carli Tritz along with McKayla Knudson of South Sioux City and North teammates Steph Robinson and Jalyssa Ceasar.
Remarkably, all six girls have played on a state championship team.
Knudson led South Sioux City to a Nebraska Class B state title this winter, the Cardinals' first since winning their 10th in an 11-year span in 2005.
Meanwhile, Ceasar and Robinson both played significant roles for North's Iowa Class 4A champions a year ago.
North returned to the state tournament this season, but lost a first-round game to eventual state runner-up Cedar Rapids Washington, 75-63.
Lund, a 5-6 senior, finished her career tops on the Sioux City five-player scoring list with 1,837 points. The Bradley University recruit, who shot 55.6 percent from the field, averaged 18.7 points as a senior while also recording 96 assists, 79 steals and 20 blocked shots.
Niggeling and Lund were each all-tournament selections at the 3A state meet for a squad that capped a 25-2 season with a 54-51 win over Pella. Tritz, oddly enough, was left off the all-tourney team despite scoring a game-high 19 points in the title game.
Niggeling shot 60.6 percent while averaging 13.6 points. The 6-footer also averaged 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots.
Tritz, a 5-8 sophomore, led Coach Doug Moody's Crusaders with 112 assists and 98 steals while contributing 14.2 points a game.
Coach Kelly Flynn's South Sioux City squad finished the season with 21 straight wins while winning their 11th state title in the last 14 years. Win number eight in the streak came on Jan. 22, when Knudson scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 68-58 win at Heelan on Jan. 22.
Knudson (14.5 ppg), a 6-1 junior, averaged an even 14 points in the state tournament for the 24-1 Cardinals.
Ceasar (13.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg), a 5-10 junior, has started for North teams that have combined for a 45-7 record the last two years. She ranked second on the squad with 65 steals.
Robinson (11.8 ppg), a 5-5 senior, recorded 78 steals and 76 assists for the Stars of Coach Kirk Walker.
East's Kathleen Reynolds (15.5 ppg) and Lauren Nugent (9.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg) are honorable mention selections along with South Sioux City's Autumn Boyer (14.0 ppg).
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Terry wrote on Mar 28, 2008 7:09 AM: