The Week That Was #11, part 2: Beyond the milestones
It happens whenever we put a list together. Inevitably, there is at least one email, text, Twitter message or call saying we forgot someone. It happened again Sunday night not long after I posted The Week That Was #11, part…
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Continue ReadingIt happens whenever we put a list together. Inevitably, there is at least one email, text, Twitter message or call saying we forgot someone. It happened again Sunday night not long after I posted The Week That Was #11, part 1. Normally these weekly recaps are one-and-done affairs, but there were so many milestones reached last week that it made sense to give the record-setters their own little piece of Prep Girls Hoops real estate. Alas, we forgot one. Of course.
Thus, we will begin The Week That Was #11, part 2 by recognizing guard Ellie Hasz of Pine City, a 5’11 junior from North Tartan 2021 Elite. Ellie is averaging 18.3 points per game for the Dragons, a prolific pace that recently allowed her to pass the 1,500-career points mark. That’s quite a feat considering that her teammate, senior Lily Wilson, is averaging 14.5 ppg and closing in on 2,000 career points. Throw in the production of standout freshman Sophie Lahti at 12.5 ppg and you have a solid example of the benefits that arise from sharing the basketball. Ellie is ranked #52 in the junior class. The big guard will have to keep producing if the Dragons, 17-1 and one game up on East Central in the Great River conference, are going to make some noise in section 6AA, which is also home to 17-2 Albany, 15-4 Royalton and the mighty Sauk Centre Mainstreeters, who are 17-1.
ANOTHER SAINTLY 8TH GRADER
My week of watching basketball began Monday night in Belle Plaine where the Tigers hosted St. Peter. We have already covered that encounter in a separate story (you can read it here) but there is one more young St. Peter prospect we saw in BP who merits a mention. That would be an athletic 8th grader who played solid minutes, was on the court for the nail-biter finish, and showed flashes of what is to come. No, I’m not referring to Rhyan Holmgren, who we have written about a couple of times in the past few weeks. Her minutes were limited by a bad case of the flu, leaving her fellow 8th grader Maddie Kamm to pick up the slack. Kamm, who has clawed her way onto the varsity roster, is small and slight at the moment. She is also pesky and aggressive and totally dialed in on the defensive end of things. Kamm is long and athletic, has a nice mid-range jumper and plenty of time to develop her skills. Holmgren has a very bright future but we will definitely be keeping an eye on Kamm, as well.
THE EVOLUTION OF NEVAEH HUGHES
Tuesday night we were in White Bear Lake for the Bears’ twice-yearly dust-up with the Roseville Raiders. These encounters are always heated and physical and this edition was no exception. Let’s just say emotions were high, tempers flared and the officials had their hands full. Roseville prevailed 63-46 on this night, but I was impressed by the continued improvement of White Bear sophomore Nevaeh Hughes.
Hughes is long, lanky and very athletic. Having now stretched out to 6 feet, Hughes can run, she can jump and she has high-level quickness. She spent part of the night going up against Roseville senior Jayda Johnston, which many an opponent will tell you is one of the more unpleasant match-ups they have ever had. Hughes maintained her cool and played a big role for White Bear Lake. Over time Nevaeh’s production and demeanor has stabilized, and she has become a quality prospect we need to pay attention to. Hughes is averaging 8.4 points per game, more than double her contributions as a freshman. Look for Hughes to make her debut in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2022 rankings in short order.
A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
On Wednesday night I took a rare night off from the gym to watch player video in the comfort of my living room. I started out with a game between Sleepy Eye and Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. That’s pretty much as far as I got because I was so intrigued by Sleepy Eye 8th grader Kadence Hesse. I have been hearing great things about Hesse – she’s #24 in the team photo above – and it didn’t take more than a few minutes of action to see that the long, athletic guard is going to be something special. Hesse has been tearing it up in the Tomahawk Conference this season.
The Minnesota Rise player runs the point for the Indians and pretty much leads her team in every positive statistical category. She sees the floor very well, has a high basketball IQ and has shown she can handle the pressure of running the show. Kadence reminds me a lot Mikayla Aumer of Cambridge-Isanti and Natalie Bremer of Lake City, two pretty nice prospects to be compared to. She’s not the only quality 2024 at Sleepy Eye, either. Brea Mertz has our attention, too, and we’ll circle back with her in the spring.
Mikayla Aumer (bottom left) and Julia Bengtson (next to Mikayla) have been friends and competitors for years.FROM FRIENDS TO FOES AND BACK AGAIN
One of the great things about girls basketball are the friendships the top players make over time from playing with and against each other in travel ball, AAU and high school. People have been sending me flashback photos lately, those blast-from-the past recollections of what today’s star attractions looked like in elementary school. One such photo is posted here. It’s a little grainy, but if you look closely in the bottom left you might recognize the faces of two of Minnesota’s top prospects. That would be Mikayla Aumer of Cambridge-Isanti (bottom row, far left) and Becker point guard Julia Bengtson (next to Aumer). They were teammates back in 4th grade when this photo was taken. On Thursday they were rivals.
I was in Cambridge to watch their encounter as the Bulldogs demonstrated once again that they are a favorite to make it to the class AAA state tournament, where they finished as runners-up to DeLaSalle last spring. Becker jumped out to an early lead, stretched the margin to 20 points by halftime and finished with a 65-46 win. Despite Aumer’s play – she had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on the night – the Bluejackets could not hang with Becker. Bengtson turned in a fine performance in front of at least one D1 coach who had driven over 400 miles specifically to see her. Julia played all 36 minutes, shot better than 50 percent, and finished the night with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Aumer is ranked #37 in the class of 2022 and rising. Bengtson is #29 among the 2021s and trending up, as well. Becker has won 12 in a row for a record of 16-2.
THEY’VE GOT FAITH IN PARKERS PRAIRIE
Junior forward Faith Alberts has had plenty of exposure over the years in summer basketball, but her winters are spent operating in the relative anonymity of Parkers Prairie, a class A program that competes in the Little 8 conference. Parkers, unfortunately, is one of those programs that doesn’t see the importance of posting player stats or otherwise disseminating information about their athletes. That’s unfortunate because there is usually plenty to report on Alberts’ play. This past week, for example, she had a 27-point, 12-rebound performance against Wadena, which made 17 three-pointers to steal the victory. Alberts followed that up with 41 points and 18 rebounds in a win over Rothsay. She was 9-for-9 at the free throw line down the stretch to win that one. Alberts, the #34-ranked prospect in the class of 2021, is averaging 22 and 9. Faith was a long-time member of Minnesota Stars Hersch, but this summer the scholarship-level prospect will play closer to home for Comets 2021 Elite.
COMING UP
I spent Saturday in Moorhead at the Heart o’ Lakes Showcase where we watched eight games featuring teams from West Central Minnesota, including 14 I had not seen yet this season. We’ll have separate coverage of that coming up, including top performers and new faces. This weekend I’ll be up north to watch Duluth Marshall, Proctor and Roseau, plus the classic match-up of Mountain-Iron Buhl versus Cromwell-Wright.