Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Ofstad signs to play basketball at Upper Iowa

IRONWOOD - After watching Sam Ofstad play, Fox Valley Tech coach Craig Stevens tipped off Upper Iowa coach Carol Russell to the GCC Lady Samsons' star.

"He told her to come watch me," Ofstad said. "I was a little too short (5-4) for her to come to watch me, so he had to call her a couple times."

His persistence paid off for Ofstad and Russell.

Russell came and she must have liked what she saw because on Wednesday, Ofstad signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Upper Iowa, an NCAA Division II school.

"I'm so excited," said Ofstad, a 2013 Hurley graduate. "I can't wait. I wish it was already here. I just want summer to be over with. I'm so excited to play at that higher level."

Ofstad dazzled at point guard the past two years for the Lady Samsons, earning All-Region 13 honors both her freshman and sophomore year.

"I think Upper Iowa's getting a fantastic player," GCC coach Mark Movrich said. "In fact, I don't think Sam's potential has even been reached yet. I think she's going to be a player that continues to get better as, No. 1, she's surrounded by better people, and No. 2, she plays against better competition and she gets pushed a little bit."

When she and the Lady Samsons were pushed this season, Ofstad was at her best. She hit a game-winning 3-pointer before the buzzer to give GCC the upset of Finlandia. She was brilliant in the NJCAA Division II Region 13 championship game, scoring 37 points.

"Her offensive skills are as good as anybody I've seen in the 27 years I've been here," former GCC women's coach and current men's coach Dennis Mackey said. "Her shooting ability, her scoring ability, ballhandling, throw that together, she's as good as we've had in terms of offensive abilities."

Upper Iowa is located in the small town of Fayette in northeast Iowa. The Division II Peacocks compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which also includes the University of Minnesota Duluth.

South Shore's Emily Gustafson is a sophomore for the Peacocks.

"It's a small town; I like it," Ofstad said. "I like the coach. I got to meet the team and everything. It's just a nice environment there."

Figuring out where she belongs in the history of GCC women's basketball players is no easy task. For instance, Gogebic played in NJCAA Division I through 2004 before moving to Division II.

"It's hard to rate someone when you're thinking of different eras, different styles of play, different competition," Mackey said. "With that being said, she's still one of the best. She's right near the top with her abilities and skills."

Mackey coached the women for 19 years and there have been a lot of good players since he started in 1988.

Jaclyn Aijala (2007-09) took the all-time scoring mark from Kristen Ruppe (2003-05). Sheri Domitrovich (1997-99) transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Superior and Tristin Oas (1991-93) to Northern Michigan University to play basketball.

Brooke Hine and Stacy Remondini were standouts on the 1995 national tournament team. Nichole Mazurek played inside with Ruppe, Jesse Mackey (2010-13) could do it all and was a smart player like Debbie Domitrovich (1998-2000).

Comparing a point guard like Ofstad with an inside force like Ruppe is impossible. But Ofstad is certainly one of the players to remember here.

"I improved a lot. With Mark being my coach, he taught me so much more about the game," Ofstad said. "I think towards the end of (this season), I started shooting more and being more than just a passer. I improved my game shooting wise."

Movrich said her decision making has improved the most.

"She always had the ability to see the floor," he said. "She always had the ability to deliver the ball to her teammates in scoring position. Sometimes she maybe forced things. I guess you could compare her to a younger Brett Favre, just that mentality, she thought she could get the ball anywhere."

Her leadership abilities showed much more as a sophomore.

"When we played at Bismarck State (Dec. 13), I thought she showed a full array of her passing ability, along with her shot making ability, ability to defend," Movrich said. "That was the game to me that showed she was more than just a passer or a scorer. She was a complete player, knowing when to pass and knowing when to look for her shot."