The Week That Was #11, part 1: Rewriting the record books
Every week in this space we bring you player milestones – all-time leading scorers, players who hit the 1,000-career points mark and outstanding single-game performances. We usually cite those achievements at the south end of the The Week That Was, but this week there were so many milestones that we are giving the record-breakers their own piece of real estate.
We’ll put the milestones at the top of the agenda here in part 1. We’ll continue with part 2 on Monday, the only practical way to recap everything else that happened in a week that covered more than 700 miles, a dozen live games, a couple more online and the opportunity to view 14 teams for the first time this season.
In somewhat orderly fashion, these are the achievements we heard about this week.
THE HOPKINS STREAK HITS 50+
Let’s begin with the best team in the state and the best player in the country, shall we? The Hopkins Royals are stunningly good and they showed it once again this week. With their 81-53 win over Minnetonka on Tuesday, Hopkin extended its winning streak to 50 games dating back to November of 2018, a run which included another 4A state championship last season for coach Brian Cosgriff. The Royals followed that up with a 51st win on Thursday against Edina to stretch their season mark to 19-0.
The team’s tremendous success is, of course, in no small part due to the play of Paige Bueckers, who is clearly the top high school player in the country. Slam Magazine, which is the epitome of basketball pop culture, put Bueckers on the cover this week. Only a couple of high school players have been honored in this way before and all of them were male. In fact, Paige is just the fourth female of any level to grace the cover. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it is a privilege to watch this very special athlete go about her business. Paige is down to her final dozen high school games remaining now and I plan to see at least half of them.
Sophie Stork of NRHEG reached 1,000 points as a sophomore.INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Junior Alexis Pratt of Stillwater passed the 2,000-career points plateau this week in a 19-point performance on Tuesday against Woodbury. The 5’5 guard, who is ranked #15 in the class of 2021, leads the Ponies in scoring at nearly 19 points per game. This is the 5th season of varsity basketball for Pratt, who started her career at North St. Paul. She plays for Minnesota Fury 2021 UAA.
Concordia Academy junior Ivane Tensaie became the Beacons’ all-time leading scorer this week. By scoring 34 points against Mahtomedi, Tensaie reached 1,772 points with more than a year of high school basketball remaining. The top-35 prospect will play for North Tartan 2021 Elite.
Another school record fell this week when Triton senior Kendra Petersohn became the Cobras all-time leading scorer, boys or girls. The career record of 1,439 had been held by 2011 graduate Logan Spitzack. At nearly 19 ppg, the 5’11 Petersohn is the leading scorer for Triton, which is located between Owatonna and Rochester in Dodge Center.
Some 90 miles north in Fridley another school record fell this week. That was at Totino-Grace where senior point guard Carla Meyer eclipsed 2012 graduate Gabby Zehrer. When the night was done Carla was sitting at 1,188. The milestone basket came like many of Meyer’s over the years – on a long three-pointer.
Anna Olson of Monticello recently passed 1,500 career points. She is the second Magic player to reach that number, following 2014 graduate Grace Sawatzke. Olson, who is the #25 player in the senior class, scored her milestone basket on a drop step in the lane, the same way she has scored countless baskets before. Olson’s skill in the paint has earned her a Division 1 opportunity at Vermont. Olson kept it rolling on Saturday with 28 points in a win over Minnehaha Academy.
No fewer than nine 1,000-point scorers were reported this week:
- Senior Emma Nelson of Minnesota Valley Lutheran averages 16 points per game and is a 50-percent shooter. No surprise then that the 5’11 forward would reach 1,000 points. It happened Friday in a three-point loss to Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, which rode 41 points by Madison Mathiowetz to the win.
- Moorhead senior Rylie Polomny bagged her 1,000th point on Tuesday in Brainerd, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The MSU-Moorhead commit scored with only a few seconds remaining in the game to give the Spuds a 62-60 victory. Polomny is ranked #41 among the 2020s.
- Power forward Nurjei Weems of DeLaSalle scored 25 points Tuesday in a win over Visitation to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The senior, who is a top-20 prospect, scored 18 more Friday to help the Islanders earn a season sweep of Holy Angels. Weems leads DeLaSalle in scoring at 16 points per game.
- As I mentioned earlier in the week in my story on Belle Plaine (you can read it here), St. Peter senior Sarah Conlon reached the 1,000-point milestone on the road against the Tigers Monday night. The Southwest Minnesota State commit leads the Saints at 17 ppg.
- Senior Abby Schulte of Maple Grove, a North Dakota State commit who is ranked #10 in the senior class, reached the 1,000-point mark on Monday. Abby’s achievement generated a ton of buzz on Twitter, a testament to her popularity among other players and coaches around the state. She is the 8th player in Maple Grove history to hit 1,000.
- Junior Megan Oswald of Blooming Prairie scored her 1,000th point on Thursday in a win over Maple River. The 5’10 junior forward is averaging about 17 ppg for the Blossoms, who are 15-2 on the season.
- On Saturday Becker junior Courtney Nuest reached 1,000 points. Often overshadowed by her higher-profile teammate Julia Bengtson, Nuest is a consistent performer at both ends of the floor and one of the hardest-working players you’ll find. Nuest is a total team-first player, which makes her 1,000 as a junior even more impressive. Both Nuest and Bengtson play for Comets 2021 Elite.
- A pair of sophomores got into the action this week, as well. Kaylynn Asberry of St. Paul Como Park reached 1,000 points only a week after her teammate Ronnie Porter did the deed. Asberry, a savvy point guard who is one of the state’s best play-makers, averaged 22 points per game over her past four outings. KK and Ronnie both play for North Tartan 2022 EYBL.
- The other 10th grader to reach 1,000 was guard Sophie Stork of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, who we wrote about in detail a couple of weeks ago. Stork is the 12th player in NRHEG history to reach 1,000 points. She has a long way to go to break the school’s all-time scoring record. That belongs to the incredible Carlie Wagner, who scored 3,957 points!
We have one final milestone of note. That would belong to Hastings senior Mallory Brake, who recorded her 1,500th career rebound this week. We have run out of superlatives to describe the high school career Brake has had. A top-5 senior with a scholarship from Creighton in her back pocket, Brake has carried a rebuilding Hastings team to eight wins this season, which is eight more than a lot of people thought the Raiders might have. Mal is averaging – yes, averaging – 36 minutes, 28 points and more than 15 rebounds per game. She also happens to be one of the nicest people in basketball.
We’ll continue our weekly recap on Monday
Top photo: Junior forward Megan Oswald of Blooming Prairie was among the players to reach 1,000 career points in the past week.