Week that Was #14: Regular season ends with 6 days to remember
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It began with an outstanding contest between two young upstarts – Becker and Como Park – and finished with Minnehaha at DeLaSalle, in an atmosphere that can best be described as ‘bonkers.’ In between I witnessed a slugfest at White…
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Continue ReadingIt began with an outstanding contest between two young upstarts – Becker and Como Park – and finished with Minnehaha at DeLaSalle, in an atmosphere that can best be described as ‘bonkers.’ In between I witnessed a slugfest at White Bear Lake, a thriller at Augsburg, yet another snow day, and Hopkins vs Wayzata Part II. Yes, week #14 was one to remember, and a fitting way to wrap up the regular season. Oh, I almost forgot Como Park’s win over Minneapolis South Saturday in the Twin Cities Championship game. Here’s a synopsis of the week that was.
SIX GAMES, SIX DAYS AND MORE SNOW
Monday’s game saw Becker’s babies, led by sophomore Julia Bengston and freshman Adeline Kent, knock off Como’s kiddies by a score of 101-86. It was an outstanding display of run-and-gun basketball as Becker (22-4) demonstrated once again they are team to be reckoned with. The Bulldogs, by the way, ran the tables at 12-0 to win the Granite Ridge conference.
On Tuesday, White Bear Lake put on one of the finest shooting displays of the season to upset Roseville 63-35. I don’t have the numbers, but it seemed like every shot the Bears took in the first 25 minutes found the cylinder. As usual, it was a slugfest between these two teams that featured a broken nose, some technical fouls and a whole lot of chit chat. It wasn’t pretty.
Augsburg prevailed 79-70 over Bethel Wednesday night in the MIAC semifinals. It was a thriller, and every player but one who participated played high school ball in Minnesota. Eagan’s Tamira McLemore has had an outstanding season for the Auggies. Ditto for little point guard Arianna Jones of Osseo. This ain’t your mother’s D3!
Thursday was yet another snow day. There were some games played but there was no way I was going to make my originally planned excursion to Red Wing for their encounter with Austin. Hot chocolate by the fireplace seemed much more appealing.
Hopkins senior forward Dlayla Chakolis will play at D1 Hampton. (Photo courtesy of Hometown Source)Friday was the Hopkins vs Wayzata rematch in front of a packed house at Wayzata. If you were looking for another nail-biter, the much-anticipated encounter was a big letdown. If you enjoy watching Paige Bueckers, Dlayla Chakolis and their Hopkins teammates execute a game plan to perfection, however, it was a thing to behold. The game was basically over midway through the first half as Hopkins scored a 70-49 victory to capture its 18th Lake Conference Championship in the past 20 years. There is no disputing now who is #1 in the state.
Saturday was the annual Twin Cities championship game that features the winner of the Minneapolis City Conference (South) against their counterparts from St. Paul (Como Park). It was an entertaining affair featuring a plethora of young talent. For the 5th year in a row, Como (22-2) took home the hardware doing it on a last-second bucket by Jada James to win 56-55. We’ll have the details in a separate story in a day or two.
The week’s final contest took place at DeLaSalle where the Islanders hosted Minnehaha Academy in a boy-girl doubleheader. It was an electric atmosphere as scores of fans were being turned away at the door before the first varsity game had even tipped off. DeLaSalle ended the Redhawks’ 16-game winning streak with an 88-59 victory. I stayed for the boys game, too – something I very rarely do. It was entertaining for sure, but also featured the kind of testosterone-fueled antics that reminded me why I enjoy girls basketball.
So much happened this week that I can’t possibly mention it all. Here are a few other highlights.
SHE SCORED HOW MANY?
When McKenna Hofschild scored 63 points in a game earlier this season, it was a state-record milestone to remember. Since that time there have been a string of remarkable performances. On Tuesday Lauren Jensen broke the Lakeville North single-game scoring record – again – with 47 points in a win over Apple Valley, but she wasn’t the week’s top scorer. That honor was shared by seniors Frannie Hottinger of Cretin-Derham Hall and Tori Nelson of Henry Sibley, who each posted a 51-point performance this week. Hottinger did the deed Tuesday against Stillwater; Nelson, who had set her school record of 42 points a week earlier, shattered that mark on Friday in a win over Hastings. Nelson’s Spartans have won 11 of their past 12 games.
Junior forward Miranda Broberg of Milaca also broke her school’s single-game scoring record this week with 36 points, including 9 triples. That’s the same number Chanhassen freshman Callin Hake scored in a game during week #13 and one more than the 35 she had on Friday night, enabling her team to score a 94-92 overtime upset of Robbinsdale Cooper. Hake had every one of her team’s 10 points in overtime.
MORE CAREER MILESTONES
This week Shawna Mell (Concordia-St. Paul) became the all-time leading scorer at Rush City surpassing Tigers great Jamie Jacobson, who was on hand for the occasion. Meanwhile, Caitlin Rorman of Blue Earth (Gustavus) scored her 2,000th career point Friday night. The following players reached the 1,000-point mark for their careers:
- Senior Rachel Kelly of Northfield
- Senior Mady Shafer of Princeton (Univ. of Mary)
- Senior Kat Brown-Erdahl of Jordan (Bethel)
- Senior Ashley Koepp of St. Cloud Apollo
- Senior Olivia Youngdahl of Minneapolis Southwest
- Sophomore Miah Monahan of Glencoe-Silver Lake
- Sophomore Jordyn Hilgemann of Marshall
Of course none of these milestones are possible without coaches. One of the best is Wendy Kohler of Alexandria (20-3), who this week won her 600th game. I try to avoid gender distinctions but that is the most wins ever by a female coach in Minnesota. Her team is the #1 seed in section 8AAA.
Senior post Olivia Youngdahl of Minneapolis Southwest is wrapping up her high school career in style. (Photo courtesy of southwestgirlshoops.com)UNSUNG HERO OF THE WEEK
We watch a lot of great players on a weekly basis and manage to chronicle the exploits of a few. There are a ton of athletes, however, who don’t always get their share of the limelight. One such player is Olivia Youngdahl of Minneapolis Southwest (14-11). The 6’2 post has been a rock for Dan Froehlich’s Lakers for years. As mentioned above, Youngdahl hit the 1,000 career points mark this week becoming the 5th player in Laker history to do so. It came in a win over St. Paul Harding, the same night she grabbed 19 rebounds to set the all-time Southwest record at 718. The Lakers won four games last week in which Youngdahl scored 64 points and had more than 40 rebounds. Olivia will play D3 college basketball next season, although she’s not yet sure where.
IT’S A TEAM GAME
Waconia earned a share of the Wright County Conference East title this week with a dramatic last-second 58-55 win over Holy Family as junior Natalie Meath fired a game-winning three from the corner. They did it with their best young prospect – 2021 #32 Addy Salzer – on the sidelines. Salzer has been out since Feb. 2 with a torn meniscus. She could return to action if the Wildcats make it to the section 6AAA final on March 7.
Junior Emma Kniefel led Medford to a perfect season. (Photo courtesy southernminn.com)Led by junior Emma Kniefel (#62 in 2020), Medford finished its season undefeated at 23-0. There were three other teams in Minnesota who also registered a perfect regular season: 24-0 Eden Valley-Watkins, 21-0 Hills-Beaver Creek, and 26-0 Hopkins.
St. Michael-Albertville played its last game as a member of the Mississippi 8 conference this week. They’ll join the Lake next season after winning 86 league games in a row and yet another title. The Knights finished the regular season with a record of 23-3, losing only to Eastview, Hopkins and Wayzata. STMA is the #1 seed in section 8AAAA.
Andover’s rebuilding project under new coach Blake Nicols is trending in the right direction as the Huskies won 5 games in a row to finish the regular season at 12-14. Andover is led by junior guard Sydney White (ranked #27 in 2020), who scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games this season, including a season high of 39 against Spring Lake Park in January. The Huskies are the #3 seed in section 7AAAA where they will face Anoka on Wednesday.
Simley (21-5) captured the Metro East Conference championship Friday with a 64-62 win over Hill-Murray (23-3), the second time they have beaten the Pioneers the season. They did it without junior forward Tee Tee Danso (#16 In 2020) who is out for two to four months with a stress fracture in her shin. In Tee Tee’s absence, her younger sister Champ Danso (#38 and rising in 2022) has more than picked up the slack. The power forward is averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds per game over that stretch, while shooting 70 percent from the floor. We should also congratulate our Prep Girls Hoops colleague Logan Moorse, who is an assistant coach at Simley. Despite their success, the Spartans somehow got the #2 seed in section 3AAA behind 18-7 Holy Angels. Go figure.
DeLaSalle secured its first conference title of the Tanysha Scott era. The Islanders showed very clearly on Saturday night how good they are now that they are getting healthy. Crafty point guard Kiani Lockett is back (#16 in 2022) and she has grown to 5’7 over the past few months. Freshman Sydney Runsewe (#25 in 2022) is also back, although both are still on restricted minutes. And sophomore forward Nora Francois (#7 in 2021) has returned to near-peak form. DLS finished the regular season at 18-5, but are 14-1 in 2019. Their only loss since Jan. 1 was to Hopkins. The Islanders are the #2 seed in a loaded section 4AAA between #1 Hill-Murray and #3 Como Park.
Rosemount knocked off Apple Valley 53-51 on Friday to close the regular season with 8 straight wins, including victories over Eastview, Farmington and Lakeville North. The Irish earned the #3 seed in section 3AAAA and will open post-season play on Wednesday against Eagan. Rosemount finished mid-pack in the South Suburban conference with a record of 9-9. The league title went to Farmington as the Tigers finished a most impressive 15-3 in conference play.
Top photo: Blue Earth senior Caitlin Rorman capped her illustrious career by reaching the 2,000-point mark this week. She’ll play in the fall at Gustavus.