Lakeville North ranked and rankled

Like the culture shock of landing in foreign territory, Lakeville North girls' basketball still is adjusting after two years of dominance.

"It's been a weird year. I'll admit it's been different," four-year varsity player McKenzie Hoelmenn said.

"It's kind of been a little bit different. We're not really used to facing losses, as many as we have," junior Simone Kolander said.

Lakeville North girls' basketball actually has lost a handful of games, which, compared with previous seasons, is about as odd as Minnesota's winter weather this year.

There is good news for the Panthers. They'd only lost eight games after Monday's 45-43 defeat at the hands of fifth-ranked Bloomington Kennedy. Their 13-8 mark and third-place spot in the South Suburban Conference would be considered a success for many teams.

But that's what three total losses the previous two seasons, including a perfect 32-0 Class 4A state title in 2010, will do to a program: Build a winning attitude. That has since trickled down through the system.

"In our program, our varsity team, JV, B squad, freshman team -- we take pride in all of our teams," Kolander said. "There are not a lot of losses like that."

The Panthers weren't naïve. They knew things would be a little different.

"It was a big wake-up call for this year," said Kolander, who committed this past fall to play soccer for the Gophers. "We knew we couldn't just show up. We need to show up to play now."

And Kolander has done just that. Certain players have been thrust into new roles, like the soccer phenom. The Panthers use her speed in transition. The forward is averaging more than 10 points per game while contributing soundly on defense. Junior point guard Taylor Stewart is rising in her starting role, scoring 14.4 points per game and showing poise.

Hoelmenn, a senior, doesn't put up a slew of points -- not yet, at least -- but is a strong rebounder and impenetrable defender. She will play college basketball at Northern Illinois, one of several Division-I teams interested in her.

"When she boxes out, nobody's going to get it over her," Kolander said of Hoelmenn.

In defense of the Panthers' record, six of their eight defeats have come against ranked teams. All of those games were close.

"We're just not doing the little things. That's basically because we are a very new team. We're just still getting used to each other," Kolander said. "Our plan is to peak during sections. I think once we get all our chemistry together, we'll be a real good team."