The I-90 A’s started its season by competing in the AAU girls’ basketball 16 and under division of the MYAS. Austin players on the team are Gretchen Hebrink, Tana Lukes, Anna Hebrink, Lizzie Gunter, Carolyn Molhusen and Brooke Monson.

Albert Lea players on the squad include Leah Walters, Cara Thorn, Niki Hendrickson, Hali Hendrickson, Kat Ladwig and Liz Thompson. The A’s are without the services of the high-flying Ladwig for the duration of the summer as she continues recovery from a knee injury suffered during the high school season.

The opening tournament was held April 23 and 24 in Northfield at St. Olaf College.

The opening round draw was against the Holy Angels Stars, the state Class 3A state tournament runner-up.

The Stars were ready to play and were clearly the aggressor, while the As looked like a team playing its first game of the season in falling 42-21 to the eventual tournament champion.

The A’s came out playing improved basketball and worked the ball inside often to Monson who led the team with a 14-point effort, followed by teammate Anna Hebrink’s 11 in a 48-36 win over Eden Prairie.

Eastview was the next opposition. The Mustangs started hot from the perimeter and held a one point halftime advantage.

The As caught fire themselves in the second half, matching the Mustangs with each team hitting seven three-point shots in the contest. Forty second-half points were more than enough and the As cruised to a 59-41 win.

Hali Hendrickson led three players in double digits scoring 13 points, followed by Hebrink with 11 and Monson with 10. The win brought on the next opponent, again the Starts from Holy Angels. This team though was made up of junior varsity players.

The A’s built a halftime lead of 12 points, and then held the Stars to just seven points in the second half on the way to a third win, 51-28. Thompson put in 13 points and was joined by Niki Hendrickson with 10 in leading the As on the scoreboard.

The win advanced the team to the third place game against the Bruisers. The A’s built double digit leads in both halves only to have the Bruisers narrow the gap each time.

The As would manage to hold off the final charge for a hard fought 37-33 triumph. Guard Anna Hebrink was the lone scorer to reach double figures with 12 points as the As won their fourth straight game after the first round loss to take home third place honors in their opening tournament.

The next tournament was the state qualifier held May 7-8 at Minneapolis. The first match up for the As was against the Northern Lights with their players from the Duluth area. The scoring for the As was balanced with Monson’s 11 points and Hali Hendrickson’s 10 leading the way in a 51-15 blowout.

The following pool play game was against Roseville. The first half saw the As fall behind early and trail by nine at the half. Urging a full court pressure defense that created numerous Roseville turnovers, the girls fought all the way back to take a lead which would then seesaw back and forth through the closing minutes.

Regulation ended with the two teams deadlocked. The first overtime ended the same way. In the second overtime session Roseville converted on seven of eight free throws, while the As were unable to get to the line.

The impressive performance from the line was the difference as Roseville would claim a 60-57 double overtime victory.

Hali Hendrickson and Hebrink tossed in a dozen points each in the loss. A state tournament berth was on the line in the final pool play game against the Eastview Lightning. This time the A’s started better and held a slim two point halftime lead. As the second half wore on, it became apparent that the previous game had taken a lot out of the team. Eastview was able to take the lead with a run midway through the second half and the As were unable to counter.

The Lightning claimed the second state tournament berth from the pool with a 55-45 win. Monson was the top scorer with 13 points in defeat.

The As next journey was to Park High School in Cottage Grove on the weekend of May 21-22. The team was determined to prove that the results from the prior tournament were a fluke.

Game one was against the NC Heat. In a low-scoring, defensive struggle the As would prevail by a 34-23 margin. Monson was the lone scorer to reach double-digits with 10 points.

Game two was against the Rogers Royals. Fueled by five three-point shots, the Royals jumped to an early lead.

The As were able to gain the lead and converted several free throws in the final minute to put away the pesky Royals, 48-41.

Niki Hendrickson enjoyed a big game with a team high 17 points followed by teammates Monson and Anna Hebrink who added 14 and 13 respectively.

The win advanced the team to the tournament finals against Hopkins.

The Royals went on a scoring burst late in the first half and threatened to break open the game with a nine-point advantage in the final minute of the half. The As scoredthe final four points of the half to cut their halftime deficit to 23-18.

Hopkins was unable to solve the relentless pressure that was being applied and committed numerous turnovers resulting in east transition baskets for the A’s.

The backcourt tandem of Lukes and Thorn led the defensive charge followed by the duo of Walters and Gretchen Hebrink who came on to add more of the same tenacious pressure.

By the time the dust had settled, the As had gone on to an impressive 25-8 run to start the half and the scoreboard showed 43-31 in favor of the As.

The As went on to score a total of 41 second half points on their way to a come from behind victory and the tournament championship with a 57-49 defeat of a stunned Hopkins team.

Hebrink dumped in 16 points to lead the offensive attack followed by a season-high 12 from Lukes and 12 more from Monson.

The As would like to thank their sponsors for their generous donations to the team.

Sponsors include Ladwig Farms, Brad and Toni Luke and Dr. Steve and Margie Thorn.