Area Female Athlete: C-I's Loiland peaking come playoff time

The list of accolades off the court continues to grow for Shyanne Loiland.

Loiland was named one of 32 candidates for the Miss Basketball award presented to the top senior female basketball player in Minnesota.

She was selected to represent Minnesota in the Border Battle-an all-star game between northeastern Minnesota players and north central Wisconsin players.

But last week may have been the Crosby-Ironton Ranger guard's best week on the court.

Loiland finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds in the Rangers' 78-59 Section 7-2A victory over Barnum Feb. 4.

"I just came to play as I've always done," Loiland said. "I'm not sure why those games were better than others.

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Shyanne Loiland

• Year: Senior
• School: Crosby-Ironton
• Sport: Basketball
• Position: Guard
• Highlights: Scored 94 points in four wins

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"Against Barnum, I was always just 3 feet away from the basket. They played a zone so it was just easy for me to go right in the middle and pull up and score the ball."

She posted 22 points in the Rangers' 66-55 Mid-State Conference victory over Park Rapids Feb. 5.

Her high-production week continued with 22 points in a 59-57 victory over Aitkin Friday, Feb. 8.

Loiland's hot hand carried over into this week as she registered 19 points and 14 rebounds in another Section 7-2A win over Moose Lake-Willow River Monday, Feb. 11.

"I believe that Shyanne elevated her play in terms of aggressiveness and she is finally coming to a better understanding of her full capabilities as the dynamic player she is," C-I head coach Sue Peterson said. "The opportunities presented themselves and she is so adept at reading the defense that she capitalized appropriately."

She tallied another 19 points in a 55-38 victory over Deer River Thursday, Feb. 14, to push C-I's win streak to five and its overall record to 16-7.

With three games remaining before the Section 7-2A playoffs, Loiland is confident her team is ready.

"I'm pretty confident," Loiland said. "Anybody can beat anybody. Our section is so close. It's just crazy. The teams are crazy up and down this year."

In the team's first 22 games, Loiland is averaging 16.6 points per game on 53 percent shooting from the field and 78 percent shooting from the line. She's also 24-73 (33 percent) from 3-point.

While she was recruited as a shooting guard for Division I Weber State, the 6-foot-2 is making her presence felt in the paint this season. She leads the Rangers with 198 rebounds or 9.0 per game to go with 61 assists (2.8 per game), 63 steals (2.9) and 39 blocks (1.8)

"This year I've been playing one through five, the newest being the four and five roles," Loiland said. "So on offense, I'm in the middle of zone defenses, which is a big change for me because I've always grown up being a guard and after our seniors graduated last year, now I have to be the big post in there that's scoring and rebounding and doing all that stuff.

"But then the next time down the floor, I have the ball and we're pushing it up the floor. I have to be everywhere."

Last season, Loiland finished with 442 points (16.4 per game), 214 rebounds (7.9), 109 assists (4.0), 118 steals (4.4) and 23 blocked shots. She shot 48.9 percent from the field and 75 percent from the line.

While Loiland, a 1,000-point scorer, can impact games on offense, she's also doing it on defense Peterson said.

"Mostly we run a 2-3 zone so I'm dead center," Loiland said. "Everybody who is going toward the basket is coming straight toward me. I try to get as many deflections and stops and all that stuff on the inside. Rebounding is extremely important to me. My teammate Tori Decent does a phenomenal job of rebounding with me."

Peterson said her expectations of Loiland this season were high, but she has far exceeded those with her leadership and her ability to create scoring opportunities for her teammates. C-I has four players averaging in double figures.

Peterson believes having her future figured out has helped Loiland focus on appreciating the game more. Loiland agreed.

"I suppose, not having to worry about all that stuff. Spring basketball really was bad for me because that's all that was about. Who's going to want you? Where am I going to be? Finalize what I'm going for. Now I don't have to worry about all that so it's a weight off my shoulders."

And that's allowed Loiland do what she set out to do this year.

"Win games and get better," she said.

Other notable performances:

Basketball: Tori Decent, Crosby-Ironton, finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds against Barnum.

Olivia Lane, Pequot Lakes, finished with 22 points against Staples-Motley.

Emily Sadlovsky, Pierz, finished with 15 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.

Ramsey Moe, Aitkin, finished with 20 points against Crosby-Ironton.

Nordic skiing: Katie Corbett, Little Falls, placed 11th in the Section 8 meet to advance to the state meet.