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PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: 2017 Marshall Independent All-Area Girls Basketball First Team

MARSHALL – It was an entertaining season to cover girls basketball for the Marshall Independent.

The Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers defeated the Minneota Vikings in the subsection championship game en route to their second straight appearance in the section championship. The Canby Lancers enjoyed a successful season before falling to Lac qui Parle Valley in the subsection championship.

All three of those teams had one or two girls named to 2016-2017 Independent All-Area teams. Choosing an all-area team is never easy and with so many talented individuals in the area it was a difficult process. In the end the 2016-2017 Independent All-Area First Team is rounded out by Kaylee Kirk (TMB), Evelyn Dolan (TMB), Sadie Stelter (Lakeview), Natalie Dinius (Canby) and Lydia Sussner (Minneota).

Kaylee Kirk

The junior guard helped the Panthers reach the Section 3AA Championship for the second straight season. Kirk reached the 1,000-point milestone and finished her junior year averaging 13.4 points per game. Kirk led the area in assists with 204 and finished second in steals with 124.

“It wasn’t just me scoring 1,000 points, but my teammate (Evy Dolan) scoring 1,000 points as well,” Kirk said. “I think it showed that our team is well-rounded. We’re not just one player. We have a lot of players that contribute.”

Kirk said her favorite memory from this past season was TMB making it back to the section championship game.

“We made it back to the section championship when people didn’t think we could,” Kirk said. “A lot of people though that Pipestone was going to beat Minneota and then Pipestone was going to beat us. We were kind of the underdogs going into the playoffs. It was fun to get there again and prove people wrong.”

The Panthers will have a strong core of returning players next year. Kirk said their goal next year is to take the next step.

“It’s pretty obvious our goal is to get past that section championship,” she said. “We’ve made it there two straight years and next year we want to get over that hump and make it to state. We’d also like to win a conference championship. We got there this year, but we didn’t win it. We just want to take that next step.”

With so many talented players in the area, Kirk said she’s honored to have been named to the Independent All-Area team.

“It’s an honor,” Kirk said. “There are so many good players in the area and it’s so hard to choose. It’s an absolute honor to be chose as one of them. I want to give a huge congratulations to the other girls that were chosen. It doesn’t come easy, you have to work for it.”

Evelyn Dolan

Like Kirk, Dolan reached the 1,000-point milestone for the Panthers this season. She finished the season averaging 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

“There were a lot of memorable moments from this past season,” Dolan said. “It was really memorable to reach 1,000 points. Then there are so many memories that I made with my team, where we worked well together that can’t beat that. It was just a great season.”

Dolan said being named to the Independent All-Area team means that her hard work is starting to pay off.

“It’s really cool to be named to the Independent All-Area team,” Dolan said. “It just means all the hard work that you put in is getting recognized.”

For a post player, playing with a guard that has a great understanding for the game makes life in the paint much easier. Dolan said it’s a joy to play with a great guard like Kaylee.

“Playing with Kaylee is really fun,” Dolan said. “She can do anything. She can do so many moves. If I get open she usually finds me. We just work really well together.”

The past two seasons Dolan and the Panthers have suffered heartbreak in the section championship game. Next year Dolan is hoping to help the Panthers get over the hump.

“Next year we want to make the conference championship game and win it,” Dolan said. “Then we want to make the section tournament again and win that game and make it to the state tournament.”

Natalie Dinius

The Canby Lancers finished this past season with a 22-4 record and had their bid for the program’s first state tournament berth come up two games short.

Dinius was a big part of Canby’s success this season, averaging 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Dinius led the area in 3-pointers (72) and free throw percentage (82.2 percent). She finished sixth in the area in assists (97).

“It’s really an honor to be named to the Independent All-Area team,” Dinius said. “I couldn’t have made it without my coaches and teammates. They all believed in me.”

Dinius said her senior year was special thanks to her teammates and the close bond they formed throughout the season.

“As a team we made a bunch of memories,” Dinius said. “We had a great season. We were a close group and that makes all the memories we made more special.”

Next year, Dinius will be taking her talents to Upper Iowa University, where she’ll be a member of the basketball team. She plans on majoring in sports administration during her time at UIU.

Lydia Sussner

Sussner helped the Minneota Vikings reach the subsection championship and finish the regular season 20-6. The talented sophomore post player reached the 1,000-point milestone, and averaged a double-double with 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

“It was a fun year for us,” Susser said. “I really enjoyed spending time with my teammates and the bus rides we had together. We always had fun no matter what we were doing.”

Sussner finished the season second in the area in scoring and third in rebounding, steals (106) and blocks (43). Sussner said she wouldn’t have been able to have a successful season without her teammates and coaches.

“It’s all about my teammates and coaches,” Sussner said. “They all made me better. They all helped me reach this point.”

Like TMB, the Vikings will have a strong core returning for next season. Sussner said their goal is to continue to get better each day.

“We just want to continue to get better and have fun,” Sussner said. “That’s our goal for next season.”

Coach of the Year

The TMB Panthers finished the regular season with a 22-2 record and reached the Section 3AA Championship for the second straight season. The man pulling all the strings was head coach Derek Ashbaugh, the 2016-2017 Independent All-Area Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.

Kaylee Kirk said Ashbaugh is a true player’s coach.

“He’s very understanding. He knows what its like to be out there. He was an athlete himself,” Kirk said. “It’s fun because he takes ideas from us. With some coaches, it’s their way or the highway. With Ashbaugh, he takes our advice and takes it to heart. If we have a good idea that he hasn’t thought about, he takes it in and we try it. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, but he’s very understanding. He’s always there for all of his players. He has a personal relationship with all of his players. It shows when he’s coaching. He knows all of our strengths and weaknesses and how to get the best out of us on the court.”

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