A month ago the question asked at the girls’ AAU basketball tournament was, “Who are the 1-90 A’s?”

Three tournaments later the questions have stopped.

They answered them with a second-place finish in the state tournament.

The 1-90 A’s are a team of area girls who formed a 15-and-under basketball team. Five of the players are from Albert Lea and four from Austin. The roster includes three eighth-graders who are playing up one level in age, Gretchen Hebrink and Tana Lukes from Austin and Hali Hendrickson from Albert Lea. Freshmen team members are Anna Hebrink and Brooke Monson of Austin along with Niki Hendrickson, Katherine Ladwig, Liz Thompson and Leah Walters of Albert Lea.

The first tournament was at Hastings. A swarming full-court defense coupled with excellent teamwork built a commanding first-half lead on the way to an easy 49-17 romp over Eastview. Hali Hendrickson led the offensive attack with 13 points. All A’s players scored. An ankle injury sidelined Hendrickson for the rest of the tournament, but the team showed its depth and pulled out a 39-29 semifinal win over Hastings. Anna Hebrink poured in 17 points with Thompson also reaching double figures with 10. Leah Walters added seven, including a key three-point shot to help hold off a Hastings rally in the second half. A sluggish first-half ended with the A’s holding a narrow two point lead over North Wind of Rochester. The second half was a different story resulting in a 32-5 advantage for the A’s as they pulled away to the title with a final score of 50-21. Hebrink was again on fire as she tallied 21 points including four three-point shots, followed by 15 from Thompson and seven from Ladwig.

The state qualifier was held at Bloomington Kennedy. The opener was against the Comets, a team from the St. Cloud area. The A’s converted 20 of 28 free throws to help take a 53-37 win. Hebrink scored 11, Hali Hendrickson 10. Niki Hendrickson scored 12 points to lead another balanced attack in a 52-34 triumph over Western Express of Hutchinson. Hebrink and Ladwig added nine each. Sunday’s game was with the Minnesota Ice. After an 18-18 halftime tie, the A’s unveiled a 1-3-1 half-court defense for the first time all weekend and it proved to be a difference in a 44-23 victory. The win qualified the A’s for the Elite Eight Association Championships. Thompson and Hali Hendrickson led with 10 points each. Monson scored seven and Lukes six, both contributing key baskets off the bench.

The Association Championships were also held at Bloomington Kennedy. The Gunners from Osseo, the first opponent, was a physical team and there were several whistles. The A’s seemed to struggle to find a rhythm. Late in the game the team was down to just five players as Lukes was unable to make the contest and three A’s had been whistled for five fouls each. The girls found a way to pull out a 53-51 win as Niki Hendrickson poured in 13 of her 15 points in the second half. Hali Hendrickson and Hebrink scored nine, Thompson eight, and Monson six. The Final Four matchup was with the Park Center Pirates. A 39-point first half explosion was enough to overcome a shaky defensive effort and led to a 67-51 victory. Hali Hendrickson scored 13 points, Ladwig 12, Hebrink and Thompson 11, Monson eight. Gretchen Hebrink, the smallest player on the A’s team, provided a defensive spark by taking a charge from one of the Pirates’ post players. The championship game on Sunday found the A’s in a rematch with the Comets. Another Sunday brought another poor first half. The Comets were ready to play and seemed a step quicker to the ball. They built an early 15-point lead and had made 11 of 12 free throws in taking a 25-13 lead at halftime. The second half saw a different A’s team as the girls came out with more defensive intensity and quickly started to carve into the Comets ‘lead. The A’s had several chances late in the second half to tie or take the lead but were unable to get the ball in the basket. The deficit was shaved to one, but the Comets had an answer when needed, and made more free throws down the stretch to take the game and the championship winning 43-39.

Despite the disappointing loss the A’s hold a record of 8-1 after three tournaments. Their success so far has been built mainly on an active pressure defense, team quickness and depth, as well as the ability to play together as a unit on the floor. They return to action at the Star of the North Games held the last weekend of June in St. Paul. They conclude play with two tournaments, The Great Lakes Shootout at Menomonie, Wis., and The Great American Shootout at Rochester in July.