Kroeker, Hatterman enjoyed all-star showcase

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Marion County’s two standout girls’ basketball players held their own against the best talent in the state at the 17th annual Kansas Basketball Coaches Association High School All-Star game Wednesday in Topeka.



Angela Kroeker from Hillsboro High School and Erica Hatterman from Centre High School scored only six points between them, but showed by their ball handling, hustle and defense that they belonged with the best.



After leading 38-34 at halftime, their South team lost the lead and the game in the final quarter, 92-89. Kroeker and Hatterman wished their team could have prevailed, but both girls enjoyed the experience.



“I really had fun. The girls were just a lot friendlier than I thought they would be,” said Kroeker, who averaged 16.7 points for the Trojans this past season. She scored both of her buckets in the first half and finished with two buckets on seven attempts.



“You’d like to score a lot of points in an all-star game, but I had a chance to contribute on defense,” she said.



Hatterman struggled from the field, but didn’t let her 1-for-9 shooting performance cloud her experience.



“I knew a lot of the people and was expecting to have a good time,” said the 5-8 guard who averaged 20.5 points a game last season for the Cougars.



Since the sixth grade, Hatterman has been playing on the same summer AAU team with four other KBCA performers: South teammate Laurie Koehn of Moundridge, who led all scorers with 23 points, and three players from the North squad: Dayna Finch of Smith Center, Amber Roadhouse of Osborne and Nicole Ohlde of Clay Center, who scored 19 points.



“It was kind of weird playing against most of them,” Hatterman said. “I’d rather be playing on the same team than against them.”



Kroeker plans to continue her basketball career at Tabor College this year, while Hatterman has signed with Seward County Community College in Liberal.



“After Seward, I’d love to go Division I if I could,” she said. “I’ll just have to see what my options are after a couple years.”

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