North Dakota Preps

Are there any outstanding Class A players this year? I have caught a few games, and the caliber of play seems to be down.

I think there are a lot of college players and a solid amount of D2 talent, but not as many D1 caliber girls as we may be used to.

balla45 wrote:I think there are a lot of college players and a solid amount of D2 talent, but not as many D1 caliber girls as we may be used to.

I actually think the talent level is higher in Class B right now. Do you know of any Class A girls who have committed to play college basketball anywhere?

I tend to agree with you, especially with grades 9 and 10.

Ellie Ripplinger - Grand Forks Red River - University of North Dakota
Naomi Rust- Bismarck - Augustana
Jessica Anderson - Fargo Shanley - Northern State

There may be others, but these are the ones I am sure about.

Who are the best 10 girls in the EDC, and best 10 girls in the WDA this year, regardless of grade? And which conference has the best overall talent this year?

EDC (no particular order- rough guess........)

Ellie Ripplinger- GFRR
Jessica Anderson -Shanley
Sarah Jacobsen- Shanley
Caitlyn Olson -Davies
Lexi Bolstad- Davies
Kira Larson -North
Taylor Hammer -GF Central
Lexi Lennon -WF
Lachelle Baumgartner- Wahpeton
Maddy Strandemo- South

Here are the scoring leaders in the EDC as of Feb 13th
Player, Team G Points Avg.
Ripplinger, GF Red River 15 319 21.3
Hammer, GF Central 11 194 17.6
Strandemo, Fargo South 15 255 17.0
Larson, Fargo North 14 230 16.4
Jacobson, Shanley 13 212 16.3
Bumgarner, Wahpeton 11 171 15.5
Lennon, West Fargo 14 214 15.3
Denholm, Valley City 4 60 15.0
Lysne, Devils Lake 16 227 14.2
LaDouceur, GF Red River 15 210 14.0

Vballer, Your list has two Davies players as top EDC players and only one West Fargo player. WF is the top rated EDC team and Davies is in 9th place in the league so if those two players are top players in the league then Davies should not be the second worst team in the EDC. Just my opinion

EDC
Jessica Anderson - Shanley
Sarah Jacobsen - Shanley
Lexi Lennon - WF
Christine Baltezore - WF
Kira Larson - Fargo North
Ellie Ripplinger - GF Red River
Maddy Strandemo - Fargo South
Lachelle Bumgarner - Wahpeton
Lexi Bolstad - Fargo Davies
Taylor Hammer - GF Central

Run4Fun2009 wrote:EDC
Jessica Anderson - Shanley
Sarah Jacobsen - Shanley
Lexi Lennon - WF
Christine Baltezore - WF
Kira Larson - Fargo North
Ellie Ripplinger - GF Red River
Maddy Strandemo - Fargo South
Lachelle Bumgarner - Wahpeton
Lexi Bolstad - Fargo Davies
Taylor Hammer - GF Central

I agree with every one of these picks

WDA

Bismarck - Keisha Engelhardt, Naomi Rust
Century - Hannah Larson, Jordyn Jossart
Dickinson - Ali Moody
Jamestown - Kyra Dewald, Paige Peterson
Mandan - Courtney Goetz
Turtle Mountain - Whitney Wallette, Joee Keplin

These lists are pretty accurate, but unfortunately, the Class A is really down. If I didn't have a roster, and maybe kept some stats on my own, I couldn't point out many of the "standouts". Class A girls programs are going to have to rethink what's going on at the younger ages to bring the level of play back up to even showcase any talent.

scoobyx2 wrote:These lists are pretty accurate, but unfortunately, the Class A is really down. If I didn't have a roster, and maybe kept some stats on my own, I couldn't point out many of the "standouts". Class A girls programs are going to have to rethink what's going on at the younger ages to bring the level of play back up to even showcase any talent.

I don't understand your point. With the exception of Saint Mary's each WDA team seems to have a distribution of grade levels on their varsity. I'm not sure about the EDC.

By the way, what's up with Saint Mary's rostering 10 seniors on their varsity? Are they trying to take a poor program and destroy it for years?????

shelly k wrote:

scoobyx2 wrote:These lists are pretty accurate, but unfortunately, the Class A is really down. If I didn't have a roster, and maybe kept some stats on my own, I couldn't point out many of the "standouts". Class A girls programs are going to have to rethink what's going on at the younger ages to bring the level of play back up to even showcase any talent.

I don't understand your point. With the exception of Saint Mary's each WDA team seems to have a distribution of grade levels on their varsity. I'm not sure about the EDC.

By the way, what's up with Saint Mary's rostering 10 seniors on their varsity? Are they trying to take a poor program and destroy it for years?????

I am saying the level of competition is down. Even when 2 higher caliber teams play, its a battle of turnovers because very few players have good ball handling or shooting skills. The JV, Sophomore, and Freshman programs are really struggling with numbers.

St. Mary's will be fine. They have some talent in the younger players and the school probably just want to keep classes together to avoid drama.