This 6-2 center has led Lakeville High to a 40-game winning streak and two consecutive state titles.

After helping Lakeville High School win the Minnesota Class 4A title in 2001, Liz Podominick wasn't content to rest on her laurels. Only a sophomore that year, she was ready to go after another championship immediately.

"I was talking with her after the game," said Lakeville Head Coach Andy Berkvam in the Brainerd Dispatch, "and she told me, 'I want to win two more of these.' We weren't even back to the motel yet."

Podominick lived up to her words, however, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds while leading Lakeville to a perfect 29-0 season that was capped by a second straight state title. In the championship game, Podominick racked up 25 points and 11 rebounds, hitting some key free throws down the stretch to lead the Panthers to a 55-46 victory over Blaine High School.

"The first one was really special," Podominick said in the Brainerd Dispatch. "To do it a second time was just a greater achievement. We've had a target on our back all year. It's not going to be anything new next year. We'll have to work harder."

Widely considered Minnesota's best high school female player, Podominick was named Player of the Year and to the girls' all-state team by AP after the season. She's known for her toughness, tenacious defense, and nose for the basket--she shot 61 percent from the field despite constant double and triple teaming during the 2001-02 season.

Next year, Podominick is looking to expand her repertoire by developing an outside game. "I'd like to move around more," she said of moving away from the lane. "You get elbowed and bruises and stuff down there, not that I mind them, but it's not always a lot of fun."

Yet she always keeps her composure on the court. "We can put her on their best player if we have to," Berkvam said. "But I've told people all along her best quality is that I've never seen her get upset on the court or talk back to a referee or another teammate. She's such a likable girl."

Not just an outstanding hoopster, Podominick is also an top-flight shot-putter--she's the two-time defending state champion, and will go for a third title in early June. Her toss of 51' 2-1/2" ranks ninth all-time among high school girls. But it looks like basketball will be her main sport in college, especially since it's likely that she'll be among the most highly recruited players in the nation this fall.

Podominick has stated that she would prefer to choose her college during the early signing period in November. She was considering attending in-state favorite University of Minnesota, but that may change now that Head Coach Brenda Oldfield has left for the University of Maryland.

"I thought I was developing a relationship with her and the coaching staff. It's going to be hard to do that with a new coach in a short amount of time,'' said Podominick in the Duluth New Tribune. "I want stability in a program, and her leaving will definitely play a little part in my decision.''

Article written by Gball Associate Editor Jim Catalano.

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