Did state veteran Austin not get its due?
Mar. 15—Austin isn't in much of a complaining mood.
Heck, the Packers are back in the state girls basketball tournament and for the third time in the last four years. What's there to complain about?
Well, there is a little something. It is Austin's draw in a Class AAA event that starts for it at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the University of Minnesota's Maturi Pavilion.
It's not the early start or that they won't be trotting around venerable Williams Arena in their opener that bothers them.
It's who they open against that doesn't sit just right. Despite spending the entire season ranked in the top 10 in Class AAA and a good chunk of it at No. 1, the 24-5 and No. 7-ranked Packers are unseeded and begin against No. 1 seeded and ranked Becker (23-4), the state's defending champion.
They'd hoped for more respect than that. But they've been through it before, in 2019 drawing top seed Robbinsdale Cooper in the first round.
"This is a little bit of motivation now to go out and prove ourselves," Austin fifth-year coach Eric Zoske said. "There will be nothing easy about beating Becker, the defending state champion. But we do bring experience with us. We've been in this situation before."
Austin senior center Reana Schmitt said her team will be undaunted, pointing out the No. 1 status the Packers held this season.
"We're not afraid of anyone," Schmitt said. "We were No. 1 for quite some time. Then we went through a stretch where we weren't playing our best basketball. But now we are again. Our team has really come together. We've played with the same crew for so long, and our chemistry on and off the court is just immaculate."
Austin is searching for its first state tournament win under Zoske, who's done huge things with this program, advancing it to state in three of his five years at the helm.
The Packers looked strong in advancing on Friday, March 11, in the Section 1AAA championship game with Stewartville. Austin was particularly formidable, as well as poised, in dominating the final 6 minutes of a game that had been tight before that. It was then that its senior crew of twin sisters guards Hope and Emma Dudycha and center Schmitt took over, as well as got plenty of hope from super junior athlete Olivia Walsh.
It is that experience that the Packers hope to turn to again at state.
"Becker has a ton of experience," Zoske said. "But we want to bring our experience, too. With the guards we have, that is a good start for us. If we get pressed, we have guards who can break it. And that is going to be a big key for us. But they have to stay out of foul trouble."
Austin has gone against big-time competition already this season. It took on No. 2-ranked Eden Prairie (Class AAAA) and hung with it, losing just 65-58 on Feb. 19. Eden Prairie plays a similar up-and-down and pressing style as Becker, so that experience gives Austin confidence.
It also helps that it has some true stars on its team. Hope Dudycha is the Packers' glossiest one. The senior point guard is her school's record holder in points scored in a career, now with 1,616. Dudycha leads her team in scoring this season at 18 points per game. Walsh is next at 12, then it's junior guard Cassidy Shute (11), Emma Dudycha (10) and Schmitt (9).
As good as Hope Dudycha is, Zoske considers Walsh to be his team's toughest matchup. The junior is a tremendous athlete, with speed, jumping ability, strength and agility. She's also a rangy 5-10.
"Not many girls we've seen in games can guard her," Zoske said. "Eden Prairie couldn't guard her, and St. Paul Como Park couldn't stay with her, either. She's had some big-time games for us."
Zoske is hoping that Walsh — and all of her teammates — can have three more this week.
