Strong Minnesota representation at the women's NCAA tournament
Paige Bueckers with UConn. and Tessa Johnson with South Carolina are just two of the Minnesotans to watch in this year's NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Also in the big dance are 15 players across 12 different colleges from Minnesota, who are all products of the same basketball club in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Fury.
On Sunday, some Fury players and parents watched one of their own shine on the national stage, rookie Olivia Olson of the Michigan Wolverines. Seeing Olson play at this level is inspiring for these young hoopers.
"All that hard work and time put in the gym, the hours of work, 100% all the time, it's just crazy that this is where it can take you," said Sydney Gunderson, a Minnesota Fury player.
"It's just really cool to see someone I know personally on the big screen playing the game she loves," said Peyton Storm, a Fury player.
"She inspires me so much and I really love to see her play. She's awesome," said Maya Gunderson, a Fury player.
Watching this tournament is a proud moment for Fury founder and coach, Nick Storm.
"It's one of the greatest joys of my life to watch these kids achieve their dreams," said Storm. "Help them get ready and feel like you were a little piece of them being ready to play at that level right off the bat is a lot of fun."
Minnesota Fury practice every weekend in the off-season, with some girls traveling several hours just to hone their craft with this group.
"I travel three and a half hours from where I live," said Farrah Thomas, a Fury player, who also plays on the varsity Mountain Iron-Buhl high school team.
Thomas comes to Fury for the training that is proven to get players to the college level.
"I want to be really good, I want to be noticed and get somewhere with my basketball career," said Thomas.
Fury player and sophomore Pressley Watkins will soon be playing in March Madness with over 10 Division 1 college offers. She also played with Olson at Benilde-St. Margaret's.
"Her journey sets an example for me and a lot of younger girls at Benilde. In Fury to be able to look up to her and see I'm on the same path she is and to continue to work hard and use that as motivation," said Watkins.
For these young players with big dreams, it's even more exciting knowing someday they'll get to play in front of a crowd that's growing in size each year.
"It's been really cool to see people tuning in and paying attention, especially because so many girls are good at this sport and love this sport," said Watkins.
Olson and the Wolverines fell to No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday, but Minnesota Fury have players still dancing on in the tournament with Kansas State, Texas Christian University and North Carolina.
