Badger Signees Among Top Scorers in Minnesota
December 18, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Two Badger signees from the State of Minnesota are among the state's top scorers. Alyssa Karel, a 5-7 point guard from St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham High School), scored her 1,000th career point Dec. 12 and ranks 12th in scoring with 22.8 points per game. Senior Tara Steinbauer, a 6-1 post player who plays for Kennedy-Bloomington High School in Bloomington, Minn., ranks 27th in the state in scoring averaging 19.6 points per game according to Badger coach Lisa Stone.
Karel is a three-sport standout who, as a junior, averaged 14 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game. A starter since the ninth grade, she earned all-conference and team MVP honors the past three years and was named all-state the past two years. As a member of the Minnesota North Tartan AAU team with fellow signee Tara Steinbauer, she was named to the all-tournament team at the 2006 Nike `End of the Oregon Trail' AAU Tournament. A National Honor Society member, Karel is a 4.0 student and has earned several academic awards. She has lettered three years as a shortstop in softball and three years as a goalie in soccer.
Steinbauer is the top-ranked power forward in the State of Minnesota and ranked No. 2 among all positions according to the 2006-07 Minnesota High School Girls Basketball guide. She averaged 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds as a junior and is on track to surpass 1,000 points as a senior. She was named MVP of the 2006 Nike 'End of the Oregon Trail ' AAU Tournament and led her North Tartan AAU team to a 48-5 record and ninth place at the national tournament. An all-conference performer, she was named to the 2004 and 2006 Minnesota State Championship all-tournament teams. With a 30-2 record, her 2006 high school team was the state AAAA runner-up. She is an honors student and earned a 4.0 as a junior.
