Three area basketball seniors are already being recognized for their efforts on and off the court this season.
Crosby-Ironton's Shyanne Loiland and Joseph Stokman along with Olivia Lane from Pequot Lakes have accepted invitations to play in the Border Battle All-Star game March 26 at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Ralph Romano Gym.
Established in 2009, the Border Battle pits elite players from northeastern Minnesota against players from north-central Wisconsin. The girls will play at 6 p.m. with a halftime boys slam-dunk competition. The boys game will follow at 7:30 p.m.
Loiland and Lane were also named to the list of 32 prep girls basketball players in consideration for Miss Basketball. The award is presented annually by the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association to a player the committee deems as the top senior in the state.
The finalists will be announced March 17 with a winner to be crowned April 12 in Northfield as part of the Minnesota All-Star Weekend and banquet.
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In addition to their successes on the court, all three players are lauded by their coaches for their leadership and character.
Loiland is a 6-foot-2 guard who will be playing for Division I Weber State next season. The Rangers are 17-7 and have won nine of their last 10 games.
"Shyanne is a player who cares about her team," C-I head coach Sue Peterson said. "She's a perfect teammate in that she looks for others to experience success as well. She takes leadership roles on and off the court. She's constantly building up people and that helps to make a cohesive team.
"We have good chemistry on the team this year, and that's largely due to the leadership of Shyanne and our other two seniors, Dani Ryberg, and Mariah Bodle, who isn't able to play right now because of a concussion."
Loiland became the ninth C-I girl to top 1,000 career points when she recorded 16 points in the Rangers' 56-49 win over Aitkin Dec. 6. She's averaging 16.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. She's also accumulated 63 steals, 61 assists and 39 blocks in the team's first 23 games.
"Her versatility is a very real strength," said Peterson. "She's been recruited at the D1 level to play a No. 2 guard and I very often place her in every position on the floor because she can play there.
"Another strength is her athleticism. She is so adept at her scoring that when she reads a situation, she executes in a way that she is unstoppable. She really attacks well."
Loiland is the first girl from C-I to accept an invitation to the Border Battle. Daniel Hudrlik (2015), Jack Silgen (2017) and Noah Gindorff (2017) preceded Stokman to the contest.
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Stokman is a 6-3 point guard who transferred to C-I from Maple Lake this year when his father, Paul, accepted a position as director of physical therapy at the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center.
"Coming into a new system isn't easy, but Joseph is very adaptive," said Ranger head coach Dave Galovich, "and our kids have been very receptive to him. He sees the floor quite well and has kind of taken over the point position. If there was a gap for us going into this season, it was that and he's helped fill that void.
"He's a very coachable kid. He's got a good knowledge of the game. He wants to do things the right way all the time and he's adapted into our system quite well."
Stokman is averaging 15.9 points per game for the 17-3 Rangers. He posted a season-high 32 points against Aitkin Dec. 13. He's accumulated 81 rebounds, 80 assists, 41 steals and four blocked shots.
"His size and length helps us on both ends of the floor," said Galovich. "On offense, it's his vision and being able to make passes over defenders. Defensively, his length helps us, whether he's on top of the zone or on the bottom.
"His size has been a welcome addition to us, but equally important is his leadership. He handles the ball well, sees the floor well and he gets us into our offense against pressure-at times last year that was a little struggle for us."
Lane became the all-time leading scorer for Pequot Lakes when she posted 30 points in a 70-37 win over Mora. She surpassed the old record of 2,174 set by Emily Lueck in 2011. Playing in the forward position, she is averaging 25.2 points and almost 14 rebounds per game for the 13-10 Patriots.
"Olivia is a big aspect to our team this year as she is our leading scorer," said Patriots head coach Katrina Moody. "I have been really impressed in the last 10 games as she has really stepped up as a senior and is averaging 28 points per game. A lot of this has been due to the team and everyone clicking at their role.
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"She is a great leader and she will be the first to say that everything she has accomplished on the floor has come from the help of her team. She has also led as a great role model, coming in early, working out every day, putting in the time in the summer and giving it 110 percent when she steps on the floor. I know a lot of young female athletes look up to Olivia and will continue to work hard just like she has."
Thomas Parker (2011) and Karli Skog (2018) are the only other Pequot Lakes players who played in the Border Battle game.
Admission to the all-star game is $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Additional information can be found at www.dayba.org .
