Conference Preview: Northwest Suburban-West Will be a Battle Between Familiar Programs
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR MAPLE GROVE TO REPEAT? MAPLE GROVE had a phenomenal season a year ago, finishing with a record of 21-5 and a state tournament berth. But two of the Crimson’s five regular season losses came at…
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Continue ReadingWHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR MAPLE GROVE TO REPEAT?
MAPLE GROVE had a phenomenal season a year ago, finishing with a record of 21-5 and a state tournament berth. But two of the Crimson’s five regular season losses came at the hands of Park Center, a statistic that I’m sure they’ll be itching to change this winter. Maple Grove will need to replace two college-bound prospects in Autumn Mliner (Wayne State) and Katrina Theis (St. Cloud State). The good news is that the Crimson are reloaded with solid talent across classes. Junior Abby Schulte and sophomore Jordyn Lamker are both legitimate Division I prospects. They combine to make up one of the best backcourt duos in the western metro. The Crimson will be looking for added depth this season. We wouldn’t be surprised if freshman standout Kiera Albers is a player who earns her way to a significant varsity role as the season progresses.
THE CRIMSON’S BIGGEST CHALLENGERS
PARK CENTER will have the unenviable task of replacing two scholarship-level players this winter. Meghan DuBois (Concordia-St. Paul) and Sommer Blakemore (Iowa Western C.C.) have moved on, but the Pirates’ backcourt is in good hands…starting to sound familiar? Adalia McKenzie has worked her way to becoming Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota’s #1 player in the class of 2021. And Lauren Frost is a top 15 player in the class of 2020. Park has plenty of guard depth as well, as Frost’s fellow juniors Kayla Cox and Aaliyah Ragulen will look to step into larger roles this season. And sophomore T’Naye Griffin will be the Pirates’ main post presence inside. Park Center’s balance of speed and size will make them a favorite to win a Northwest Suburban-West championship in 2018-2019.
Continuing the trend of dynamic 1-2 punches in the Northwest Suburban, ROBBINSDALE ARMSTRONG has one of the best. Bucknell commit Carly Krsul and fellow senior Masengo Mutanda are both top 20 players in the PGH Minnesota’s class of 2019. Armstrong got off to a painful 0-7 start last season while Mutanda was sidelined with an injury. The Falcons will go as these two go this year. Mutanda will be joined in the backcourt by sharp-shooting senior Jordan Bloom and sophomore Ella Brugnoli. Sophomore post Savannah McGowan also carved out a nice role for herself last season, and will be expected to increase her production in 2018-2019.
DARK HORSE TEAMS
SPRING LAKE PARK has increased its win total each of the past three seasons. And the Panthers return everyone who played meaningful varsity minutes in 2017-18. Grant recently watched SLP play at the Breakdown Fall League and wrote a great piece about the team’s continued improvement. Sophomore Madi Ngene and sisters Joelle and Jocelyn Talso all averaged between 8 and 10 points per game a season ago. 2021’s Julia Levahn and Ashlea Nienow chipped in an additional combined 10 points per contest. And freshman Averi Dunbar is probably the best of the bunch. Dunbar can score from anywhere on the floor, and will become an increasingly well-known name as her high school career progresses.
IRONDALE had as much of an up-and-down season as any team in the Northwest Suburban last year. The Knights won five games in a row in December and early January, but ended the season losers of six straight. Irondale graduated their leading scorer from that team in Sophie Findell (Hamline) along with post player Sarah Loken (Hamline). But the Knights have a sneaky good core of players coming back in 2018. 2019’s Kahlan Jester and McKenna Clouse (Waldorf commit) will provide senior leadership and experience this winter. And Dora Okpara is a top 50 player in the class of 2021. We’re anticipating that Irondale will improve upon their 5-7 conference record from last year.
REBUILDING
TOTINO-GRACE will need to replace Madison Doran‘s 16 points per game from last year. With Doran’s graduation, the Eagles become junior Carla Meyer‘s team. Meyer is a heady point guard with good length and a smooth 3-point stroke. Brianna Glynn is the other Eagle who has been a consistent scoring threat for TG. The senior forward averaged 9 points per game last year. Totino-Grace will be looking for others to step up this season including sophomore post Grace Sikkink.
OSSEO is in the middle of a true rebuild after a 2-24 finish a season ago. New head coach Doug Erlien, previously an assistant at Maple Grove, brings a culture of infectious energy and positivity to the program. The Orioles bring back their top four scorers from a season ago, including their leading scorer, Jaiden Kline, talented senior Brooke Heisler as well as sophomore guard Anna Corona. Osseo had been expected to add sophomore point guard Jayla Reliford, who would have been a difference maker. Instead the speedy guard elected at the last minute to stay at Robbinsdale Cooper.
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES
Candidates are listed alphabetically
Lauren Frost – Park Center – 2020
Carly Krsul – Robbinsdale Armstrong – 2019
Adalia McKenzie – Park Center – 2021
Masengo Mutanda – Robbinsdale Armstrong – 2019
Abby Schulte – Maple Grove – 2020
**NOTE: A previous version of this article had incorrectly named Park Center as the Northwest Suburban-West’s champion in 2017-18. While the Pirates had the best record against Northwest Suburban-West opponents, conference championships in the NWSC take into account teams’ records against all conference opponents, including the NWS-North. Maple Grove had a better overall conference record last year and therefore was awarded the Northwest Suburban championship along with Centennial.
Cover photo courtesy of MN Girls Basketball Hub
Frost photo courtesy of BeRecruited.com
Mutanda photo courtesy of The Sun Post
Nienow photo courtesy of ABC Newspapers