The Week That Was #12: ‘Up North’ as they say in Minnesota
Last weekend we were in Moorhead for the Heart O’Lakes Showcase, this weekend we were Up North for games at Duluth Marshall, Proctor and Mountain Iron-Buhl, and in between there were stops at Concordia Academy, Richfield and Minnetonka. It was…
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Continue ReadingLast weekend we were in Moorhead for the Heart O’Lakes Showcase, this weekend we were Up North for games at Duluth Marshall, Proctor and Mountain Iron-Buhl, and in between there were stops at Concordia Academy, Richfield and Minnetonka. It was a whirlwind that including plenty of windshield time and a lot of great basketball. Here’s a recap of the Week That Was #12.
MONDAY
I had yet to see Mayer Lutheran in the regular season so I took the opportunity to check in on the progress of prospects Lexi Schermann and Emma Lade during their visit to Concordia Academy in Roseville. Both played well, but there was not much the Crusaders could do about the Beacons’ red-hot shooting. CA shot lights out, earning a 75-64 victory as a result. Junior guard Ivane Tensaie made 5 threes en route to 22 points in the game while Sidney Pelzer continued her outstanding junior year with 20. Even freshman Lainey Draack got into the action with three triples for Concordia, which also went 21-for-29 at the free throw line. Mayer Lutheran had solid performances from seniors Brooke Paulsrud (17 points) and Olivia Tjernagel (14) while junior Mya Chmielewski had 12. Mayer is 18-4, Concordia has won 12 in a row.
TUESDAY
Richfield has won 16 games this season, and I have been trying to get over there to watch them play for several weeks now. The last attempt was snowed out so Tuesday was my opportunity. Unfortunately, the Spartans have hit the toughest part of their schedule with losses to St. Croix Lutheran and Holy Angels now on their record. DeLaSalle was also just too tough for the young Spartans, who fell 70-34 to the Islanders. Freshman guard Taleigha Powell is a nice prospect for Richfield, but DLS comes at you in waves with a flurry of Division 1-caliber athletes on the roster. Senior Nurjei Weems, sophomores Kiani Lockett and Sydney Runsewe, and freshman Kennedy Klick (despite her foul trouble) were strong as usual. I was very impressed with junior Isabella Thomas, who turned in another solid performance.
WEDNESDAY
At mid-week I did something I very rarely do: I watched men’s basketball. Thanks to an invitation from my son and his father-in-law, I saw the Minnesota Gophers turn in a fine performance in a win over Wisconsin. It was fun but I’ll stick with the womens/girls game.
THURSDAY
AT 14-8, Minnetonka has been playing some solid basketball of late thanks largely to the evolution of 8th grade forward Emma Dasovich, and the continued development of junior forward Sophie Haydon and sophomore guard Desiree Ware. 8th grader Tori McKinney has also made great strides. The Skippers were no match, however, for the Lake Conference newcomers from St. Michael-Albertville. The Knights came out running and gunning, led by senior guard Mackenzie Kramer (Lehigh) and freshman guard Tessa Johnson, who combined to put on a clinic. By the 6-minute mark of the first half, STMA was ahead 28-12 and Kramer and Johnson had accounted for 26 of the 28 points. Minnetonka had no answers as STMA cruised to a 66-46 victory. Johnson, the #3 player in the class of 2023, just continues to get better as she molds herself into a high D1 prospect. Kramer, ranked 4th among Minnesota seniors, finished the night with 4 threes and 22 points; Johnson made three triples and scored 28. Haydon was the only Skipper in double figures with 11. One player to keep an eye on is STMA freshman Piper Carlson, a 5’11 forward whose role continues to grow.
UP NORTH WEEKEND
I spent the weekend Up North watching five of the best teams in that part of the state: Duluth Marshall, Roseau, Proctor, Cromwell-Wright and Mountain Iron-Buhl. I will have a report on the Cromwell-MIB game on Monday followed by more on my Up North adventure on Tuesday.
MILESTONES
Once again this week we have had a flurry of players reaching scoring milestones. Let’s began our statistical salute with senior Claire Ricard of Benson. Entering Tuesday night’s game against Paynesville, the 6’0 forward needed 26 points to reach the 1,000 mark. She scored 28, becoming the 5th player in Braves history to reach the career milestone. Ricard’s teammate Kaitlyn Berreau, a 5’4 guard who is committed to Bethany Lutheran in Mankato, had a monster outing last week in a win over Minnewaska when she went 7-of-8 from three-point range. Kaitlyn needs just six more points Monday night against Yellow Medicine East to hit the 1,000 mark herself.
Obviously scoring is important, but Ricard and Berreau will leave a much bigger legacy than just a spot in the 2A school’s record books. You see in the previous four seasons prior to their arrival as varsity regulars, Benson won just three games. Total. In four years. This year they have 12 wins, including 8 of their last 10. Ricard and Berreau were long-time members of the AAU West Central Wildcats, who put in the work over the years to improve. As a result, both will play at the next level.
Emily Olson of St. Clair celebrated her 1,000 points in the best possible way… with cake.Here are some other milestones reported this week:
- Creighton commit Molly Mogensen, a top-10 prospect in the class of 2020, became the all-time leading scorer at Farmington for both boys and girls.
- Junior Ellie Dague of Henning did the same thing, passing Dick Peterson of the famed Peterson twins with 1,586 points. The feat is remarkable given that Dague is only a junior and she has missed more than a full season’s worth of games due to injury.
- Senior Sara Kottke scored 32 points Monday to become the all-time leading scorer at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. The Bethany Lutheran commit broke the record held by Carly Illgen, a 2011 graduate who finished with 1,863.
- Also on Monday, senior Sydney Hauger of Springfield scored her 2,000th career point in a game versus Wabasso.
- Senior Annika Stewart, who transferred here from North Dakota, reached 1,000 points scored at Wayzata. She’ll play next year at Nebraska.
- Mackenzie Schweim of Mankato East had a 39-point game on Tuesday against Northfield before topping the 1,000-career points mark on Friday. She is only a sophomore.
- On Friday Taylor Janssen of Rosemount reached 1,000. She is committed to Montana State
- Also on Friday Patience Williams of Benilde-St. Margaret’s reached 1,000. She began her high school career at Fridley.
Other 1,000 point scorers this week included:
- Sydney Gilliland of Triton
- Tori Tollefson of Chanhassen
- Emily Olson of St. Clair
- Makenna Johnson of Jordan
- Brigid Boyle of St. Agnes
- Emily Malikowski of Royalton
Two more notable achievements this week belong to Lily Schwen of Southwest Christian in Chaska, who set a school record for career assists. Schwen passed 2005 graduate Kylie Dirks who had 439 helpers. In Eagan. sophomore forward Jocelyn Plonski set a single-season school record for rebounds with 230.
THE WEEK AHEAD
I will be burning the midnight oil this week as we put the finishing touches on the new Prep Girls Hoops prospect rankings. We’ll roll out the updated class of 2020 later in the week with the other three classes to follow. I’m not 100 percent sure on my schedule for the week just yet but I know it will begin Monday night at Robbinsdale Armstrong where the Falcons host Rogers. Wednesday’s Park Center versus Blaine match-up is intriguing but I may be at Anoka versus Andover. And of course, Friday is the big rematch as Hopkins travels to Wayzata. See you in the gym.
Top photo: Claire Ricard of Benson celebrated her 1,000-point milestone with teammates.