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It was a light day on the girls side on Sunday at the Breakdown Premier Fall League, but the three games I took in all went down to the wire. There’s usually not too much strategy that goes into these…
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Continue ReadingIt was a light day on the girls side on Sunday at the Breakdown Premier Fall League, but the three games I took in all went down to the wire. There’s usually not too much strategy that goes into these games, so it’s a great opportunity to see the kids together in a semi-organized fashion back together after playing other sports or AAU during the summer. The “Game of the Day” was a toss up between two contests, with both involving the Maple Grove Crimson. We decided to go with the Maple Grove vs. Minnetonka as that game was intense and physical from the outset.
The Crimson present a three-headed attack spearheaded by recent commits Claire Stern Claire Stern 6'0" | SF Maple Grove | 2024 State MN (NDSU), Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN (U of M) and highly touted sophomore guard Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 5'11" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN . On the other side, the Skippers were without nationally ranked sophomore sensation Aaliyah Crump Aaliyah Crump 6'1" | SF Minnetonka | 2025 State MN , but still had the dynamic two-way player Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN and the highly touted freshman Lanelle Wright Lanelle Wright 5'8" | PG Minnetonka | 2026 State MN on hand to lead the way. Both squads have a very nice compliment of players to go along with the aforementioned group, so it made for a very entertaining game. Parents and spectators alike were very much into it, shouting out encouraging instructions and attempting to will their respective programs to victory. In the end, Minnetonka escaped with a 44-43 victory with Wright stepping up knocking down the go ahead 3=pointer with little to no time remaining. Klick got a shot off from just before half court but it caromed off the top of the backboard as time expired. These are two teams with state tournament aspirations and Sunday was a great indication of why.
The Maple Grove vs East Ridge encounter was also very entertaining. From the outset, Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 5'11" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN was determined to place her stamp on the game as she was going to work from inside and out with precision. Left hand scoops, pull up 3’s, you name she did it. It’s always fun to sit in the stands and hear opposing fans show respect to opposing players, which there was an abundance of in favor of Ode. Not to be outdone was Top 30 2023 prospect Emily Christenson Emily Christenson 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2023 State MN . She has one of the quickest releases that I’ve seen in awhile, and she shoots if from deep! During the 1st half I don’t recall her missing and each time she hit nothing but the bottom of the net.
Matching her brilliance on the inside was the uber-athletic 2024 prospect Isabella Sanneh Isabella Sanneh 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2024 State MN (photo above). She was quick to get to her spot and made decisive decisions once she got there. Another few inches and she would be a serious low-post threat, but in the meantime, she’s just using her superior quickness, leaping ability and IQ to beat her defender to finish around the basket with either hand. Defensively she was all over the boards and even blocked a few shots that looked more like volleyball kills. She even grabbed a rebound and led the fast break throwing a beautiful bounce pass ahead to a streaking teammate for the finish. The crowd ohhed and ahhhed, but those of us in the know weren’t too surprised as we know she’s been working very hard to up her stock and become a complete player.
In the end, Maple Grove just made a few more plays with the likes of Stern and Klick using their experience and leadership to keep the Raptors at bay. East Ridge will give teams fits all year as they shot the 3-ball well and are just flat out scrappy. Maple Grove will enter the year as favorites to make a state tournament appearance and a deep run if everything falls into place.
I got to the East Ridge vs Park of Cottage Grove game with just under 2 minutes remaining and the game tied up at 34 apiece. It was refreshing to see East Ridge give some of their younger players an opportunity to play some meaningful minutes in a varsity type setting. After a few empty possessions by both sides, the Raptors did it with their defense. Sophomore guard Jada Otoo used her quick hands and anticipation to deflect a pass at the top of the key, scoop it up and race down the court for the game winning lay-up. Cottage Grove had one more opportunity, but the Raptors defense again game up big and forced a tough shot as the horn sounded. Hats off to the East Ridge coaching staff for giving those kids an opportunity get their feet wet in a situation like that in hopes that they’ll be ready when and if their number is called during the season.
Player of the Day:
I’m not sure if it was by design or if Lanelle took it upon herself to use the 1st half of game against Maple Grove to make a conscious effort to get her teammates involved and take command of the Tonka squad in the absence of super soph Aaliyah Crump Aaliyah Crump 6'1" | SF Minnetonka | 2025 State MN . Young guards have a tendency to over dribble or try to force the issue, but not Wright. She kept her head up and passed the ball ahead looking for streaking teammates like do-it-all forward Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN in transition for easy buckets. She may have only taken three shots in the 1st half and one was a deep 3 over Gopher signee Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN . Defensively she took on the responsibility of guarding Klick and top 5 2025 prospect Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 5'11" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN full court. Ode had a monster game herself. Both Klick and Ode made efforts to take advantage of their size in the post but Wright made them work for everything they got. In the 2nd half Wright was more aggressive on the offensive end looking for her shot and putting pressure on the Crimson defense time and time again. The game was nip and tuck the entire 2nd half as Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN , Claire Stern Claire Stern 6'0" | SF Maple Grove | 2024 State MN and Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 5'11" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN took turns making big plays for the Crimson. With Tonka down 2 with under 10 seconds to play Wright calmly stepped up and knocked down a deep 3 with the confidence of a player 2-3 years her senior to give her squad the victory in a very competitive game with nothing more on the line than some bragging rights between friends. We already know Wright has a bright future ahead of her and this was just another feather in her cap.