Lakeville North shooting for state title in girls basketball this season

Moving on from its heartbreaking 57-56 semifinal loss to eventual champion Elk River at last year's state tournament hasn't really been an option for the Lakeville North girls' basketball team.

Panthers senior co-captain Taylor Brown wouldn't have it any other way. She says she and her teammates are fueled by the disappointing ending of that game every time they think back on it, whether they're rehashing it among themselves or being asked about it by fans or friends.

"It gets brought up a lot. I don't go anywhere that I don't hear about that game," Brown said. "I don't want to forget about it. We're motivated by it and it pushes us to work hard to get back to where we were last year and hopefully have a different outcome."

The Panthers, with a record of 28-2 at the time, led undefeated Elk River by seven points with seven minutes to play before stumbling down the stretch. The Elks went on to defeat Hopkins 64-60 in the Class 4A title game.

"Everyone remembers that game and uses it as a learning point," fellow senior captain Ke James said. "We don't want to have that feeling this year, so we're trying to do everything we can possible to make it to the state championship and win it."

The Panthers have themselves in good position as they cross the midpoint of their schedule. They're 11-3, ranked fourth in 4A and have won seven consecutive games since being handed early-season losses by No. 1 Eastview, No. 2 Wayzata and No. 7 Centennial. The Eastview and Wayzata games both went to overtime.

"We purposely scheduled a tough early season because we knew we were going to have a good team coming back and we wanted to go up against top teams right away to see where we were at," coach Shelly Clemons said. She was part of two state championship teams as a player at Lakeville in 2001 and '02 and has guided the Panthers to state three times in her four years at the helm.

That inexperience showed itself mostly in the backcourt, where the Panthers had replaced a group of three seniors, including Creighton freshman Temi Carda, who combined for 31 points per game last season.

Sophomore Lauren Jensen has emerged to lead the team in scoring with an average of 15.6 points per game. She's joined in the starting lineup by junior Analiese Tschida, contributing 13.7 points per game, and senior Kari Macura, the younger sister of former Panther and current Xavier standout J.P. Macura.

All three players can push the ball up the court or pull up and shoot from the outside for an offense averaging 67 points per game.

"This year's team is a little more run-and-gun. They hit the gas all the time," Clemons said. "We're still learning when to push the tempo and when to pull back. We do our best when we can create fast-break offense off defensive stops."

When the Panthers settle into a half-court game, they have reliable options in James and Brown in the post. Both top 6 feet and have averaged double figures in points while leading the team in rebounding the past two seasons. As co-captains along with senior guard Brooke Hendrickson, they also provide leadership.

The Panthers try to focus on the present and not get distracted by thoughts of state tournament redemption lingering in the back of their minds.