Conference Preview: Players to watch in the Tri-Metro
With nine teams split into two divisions geographically, the Tri-Metro conference stretches from Brooklyn Center in the north to its’ most southerly opponents, the Visitation School in Mendota Heights and St. Croix Lutheran in West St. Paul. That 20-mile gap…
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Continue ReadingWith nine teams split into two divisions geographically, the Tri-Metro conference stretches from Brooklyn Center in the north to its’ most southerly opponents, the Visitation School in Mendota Heights and St. Croix Lutheran in West St. Paul. That 20-mile gap isn’t nearly as large as the disparity in talent from one end of the conference to the other.
At the top of the food chain are the defending class 3A state champions from DeLaSalle (Minneapolis) and the recent titleholders, the Academy of Holy Angels (Richfield), with the always competitive St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders trailing behind, but not by a whole lot. In the middle of the pack are St. Anthony Village and Fridley, which appears rejuvenated this season. And at the bottom, trying to claw their way back up, are Richfield, Columbia Heights and Brooklyn Center, which was down to just a handful of players only a couple of years ago.
Not surprisingly, the pool of talented players skews in precisely the same way. DeLaSalle is loaded, particularly in the sophomore class. The Islanders’ lineup has been depleted somewhat, however, by the departure of highly-rated sophomore Leah Dengerud (to Totino-Grace) and top-10 junior Nora Francois (to Marshall). Holy Angels has quality players at every position and has plenty of experience. St. Croix Lutheran has one of the most dynamic players in the state in 8th grader Laura Hauge and a total of five players who have to be considered solid college prospects. In fact, 19 of the top 25 players in the conference are rostered on those three teams.
Here are the players to watch in the Tri-Metro, including the top overall prospects, the best players by grade, and a handful of sleepers we are paying attention to.
TOP 5 PROSPECTS OVERALL
- Laura Hauge – 8th grade, guard, St. Croix Lutheran
- Kiani Lockett – sophomore, point guard, DeLaSalle (#13)
- Kennedy Klick – freshman, wing, DeLaSalle (#10)
- Frankie Vascellaro – junior, forward, Holy Angels (#19)
- Savannah White – sophomore, wing, DeLaSalle (#16)
Other than the top prospects above, the following are the best players (current level of performance) by class. Their Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking is included in parentheses.
TOP SENIORS
- Sam Sibbett – guard, St. Anthony Village (#32)
- Annika Thomas – guard, St. Anthony Village (#110)
- Ah’Janay Yancy – guard, Fridley
- Emma Henry – forward, Holy Angels (#121)
- Isabelle Henry – forward, Holy Angels (#122)
TOP JUNIORS
- Kenna Moon – guard, St. Croix Lutheran (#75)
- Luci Hauge – forward, St. Croix Lutheran (#88)
- Juel Skrein – guard, St. Croix Lutheran (#98)
- Rachel Kawiecki – forward, Holy Angels (#108)
- Cherish Henderson – guard, Holy Angels (#122)
TOP SOPHOMORES
- Sydney Runsewe – guard, DeLaSalle (#19)
- Mya Williams – forward, DeLaSalle (#31)
- Kassie Caron – guard, Holy Angels (#49)
- I’tianna Salaam – guard, DeLaSalle (#106)
- Caroline Fenlon – guard, Visitation (#113)
TOP FRESHMEN
- Lilah Bergen – guard, Columbia Heights
- Taleigha Powell – guard, Richfield
- Ella Avery – guard, St. Croix Lutheran
- Saniah Howard-Reynolds – guard, Columbia Heights
MORE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Cadence Hansen – junior guard, Fridley
- Rebecca Little – junior forward, Holy Angels
- Ellen Slawin – sophomore guard, Visitation
- Olivia Johanns – sophomore forward, Visitation
Top photo: Senior Isabelle Henry of Holy Angels (left) and sisters Laura and Luci Hauge of St. Croix Lutheran are chasing a championship in the Tri-Metro Conference but they’ll have to get past the defending 3A state champions from DeLaSalle to win it. (Photo courtesy of StarTribune)