Article Photos

In any sport, flexibility is the key to playing well.

And sometimes that means more than just stretching before a game or practice.

For Fairmont post player Alyssa Niss, it means being able to play different positions on the floor.

Niss is listed as a guard in the hometown lineup, but the 5-foot, 10-inch senior has definitely been a problem for the opposition to stop in the middle of the paint.

Niss' strong post play has been a boon for the Cardinals, enabling them to start the season off 6-1, prior to the team's excursion into the Windom Holiday Tournament.

In particular, Niss has been the model of steady, consistent play for the Cardinals the last five games, scoring 18, 16, 18, 16 and 14 points.

"Not at all. I block everything out," Niss said when asked if she thinks about how many points she's putting up during any given game.

Niss said her transition to the center position was not too difficult, as she saw some time down low last season in addition to the majority of her time at the wing.

"I think I'm fitting in pretty well and I'm not too short so that's a plus," said Niss.

Indeed.

Niss began displaying her mettle in the Cardinals' only loss of the season.

On Dec. 11, Niss scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds, snared four steals and tossed out three assists in the Cardinals' 54-42 loss to St. Peter.

Then on Dec. 15, Niss scored 16 points to complement eight rebounds, five steals and three assists in Fairmont's 52-34 win over Windom. Only a few days later, Niss had 18 points and six rebounds in a 50-30 win over St. James.

The very next day, she scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Fairmont rallied to win on the road, 55-46, against Ellsworth.

And in the team's most recent game, prior to the Windom Tournament, Niss scored half her team's points with 14 and seven rebounds in a 28-23 road win over Blue Earth Area.

"(Fairmont head coach) Don (Waletich) has been teaching me to take it to the hole more. ... Be less passive," said Niss.

That advice certainly seems to be working out.

Two of the games this season already are on Niss' all-time favorites list.

She notes the game against the Bucs, thus far, as her favorite career moment.

"I didn't score a lot of points, but our defense did pretty good and I did pretty good myself," said Niss.

But she noted the team's rally against the Panthers in Elllsworth was the squad's best game of the year.

"We didn't start off very well, we were down 15 points most of the game. Then we got a ton of steals and stepped it up," said Niss.

Niss is not surprised by the Cardinals' early success.

"I thought we had a pretty good team, even though we had two good players graduate. We have three returning starters and two very good people off the bench. I think we can go pretty far," said Niss.

Niss, who also plays volleyball and used to compete in track and field, said she has the most confidence in her passing abiliites, but would like to work on her post moves and outside shooting more.

So far, Niss said she does not really have a preference on playing post or wing.

"It varies. If I'm having a good day shooting, I prefer post. I'm strong enough to put the ball in the hole," said Niss.

Niss also said the team has lofty goals this season, to win the South Central Conference and make the school's second state tournament appearance.

Niss said she plans to attend South Dakota State University or St. Cloud State University next fall and plans to pursue nursing.

She has no plans on participating in a varsity sport at the next level.