John Marshall girls basketball preview

November 28, 2008 at 5:00 AM

JOHN MARSHALL ROCKETS

Last season: JM had its most successful season in many years in 2007-08, going 16-2 in the Big Nine and finishing atop the conference for the first time since 1990. The Rockets swept two-game conference series with both Mayo and Century, and then JM eliminated Century (60-42) and Mayo (38-28) from the Section 1AAAA tournament. JM lost in the section title game to Owatonna (49-39) and narrowly missed qualifying for state for the first time since 1998. There were six seniors on the team, but just one started.

Returning experience: Coach Terry Heiderscheit starts his 19th season with one of his most experienced and most promising teams ever, and he’s excited about JM’s potential. Four returning starters have a combined eight varsity seasons to draw on. The Big Two are 6-2 senior C Nytor Longar (11 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and 6-1 sophomore F Apiew Ojulu (9.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg), who provide matchup problems with their agility and long wing spans. Senior 5-10 G Alyssa Rushton (6.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and 5-10 senior F Jasmine Dittrich (6.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg) will be third-year starters; Dittrich is a great leaper who can wrap her fingers around the rim. Junior 5-5 G Rachel Stenhaug (6.6 ppg) got her feet wet last year and will be a floor leader this season.

Outlook: JM looks like a strong favorite to repeat as Big Nine champ and end its decade-long state tournament drought. Owatonna, last year’s major obstacle, graduated five senior starters including star center Beth Christensen, who dominated JM in last year’s section final. JM will have more experience, more height and more athleticism than any team in the conference or section. The keys will be staying healthy and keeping the starters out of foul trouble.

Coach Heiderscheit: "This is a pretty exciting group to be starting the season with; we have some size, speed, and kids who can score. We need to develop some depth with the new faces coming off the bench. This team should be competitive with anybody if we work hard; we have a lot of areas we need to improve on, including defense and shot selection."

2008-09 JOHN MARSHALL ROCKETS

VARSITY ROSTER

No. Ht Yr Pos

2 Cali Lakin 5-5 12 G

4 Awadia Charles 5-3 12 G

10 Kristi Thelen 5-8 11 G

12 Rachel Stenhaug 5-5 11 G

14 Ashley Luedke 5-4 11 G

20 Apiew Ojulu 6-1 10 F

22 Nytor Longar 6-2 12 C

24 Taylor Bly 5-6 11 G

30 Alyssa Rushton 5-10 12 G

32 Jeanne Wesley 5-2 11 G

34 Jasmine Dittrich 5-10 12 F

40 Morgan Faber 5-7 11 F

42 Kari Snow 5-7 11 F

44 Stephanie Bany 5-4 11 G

50 Kristina Mileusnich 5-6 11 F

52 Taylor Thompson 5-8 10 G

Head coach: Terry Heiderscheit, 19th season (251-195 career record).

Assistant coaches: Thang Nguyen (junior varsity), Andy Ollenburg (B squad), Tim Strain (freshmen), Phil Schroeder (volunteer). Student managers: Millie Krolak, Patrice Simmons, Stephanie Orlowski.

VARSITY SCHEDULE

Dec. 2 — at Woodbury, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 — at Hastings, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 9 — *at Century, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 12 — *Winona, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 13 — Farmington, 2 p.m.

Dec. 16 — *Mankato West, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 — *Mayo, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 29-31 — at Rotary tournament, TBD

Jan. 6 — *at Mankato East, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9 — *at Austin, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 — *at Owatonna, 7:30 p.m.