There were plenty of Top Performers in week 13

Prep Hoops Graphic

Grant McGinnis February 20, 2018 @ 11:15 PM

So many highlights. So little time. It's hard to know where to begin in a week when at least two players hit the 2,000-point career mark (Jaclyn Jarnot of Maranatha and Makayla Van Nett of Como Park) and there were more 1,000-point milestones, as well. It's almost impossible to keep up. There were far too many fine performances to highlight them all, so here's a few we nominated for the Northstar Girls Hoops Top Performer of the Week honors. Erin Lamb, 6'2" freshman forward, Stewartville Lamb needed 45 points to hit the 1,000-point career milestone as a freshman on Friday night against Pine Island. Guess how many she scored. That's right, she scored 45! This kid is having an unbelievable year. Lauren Jenson, 5'10" sophomore guard, Lakeville North Jensen is the heart of the Lakeville North offense, and in the absence of injured Taylor Brown even more is required of her. Against Prior Lake last week, Jensen scored 34 points to get the job done. It was her 21st game in double figures. Paige Bueckers, 5'11" sophomore guard, Hopkins Round two of the Wayzata-Hopkins showdown was expected to be a nail-biter. It turned out to be a whitewashing, and the primary reason for that on both sides of the ball was Bueckers. She scored 21 in the first half, staking her team to a 22-point lead as Hopkins handed the Trojans their first loss of the season. Jade Hill, 5'9" freshman guard, Minneapolis South Erin Lamb wasn't the only freshman to hit the 1,000-point mark last week. Jade Hill did it as well, staying in the game against Minneapolis Roosevelt just long enough to score 23, eclipse the milestone and take a curtain call. The only thing about Hill that says 'freshman' is her student ID. Kierra Wheeler, 5'10" freshman post, Robbinsdale Cooper Jade's AAU teammate Kierra has been a huge factor in her third year of varsity as Cooper has compiled a record of 22-2. Last week Wheeler had 54 total points in wins over Benilde-St. Margaret's, Minneapolis South and Chanhassen. Delaney Runyon, 5'9" junior guard, Hill-Murray We have seen a lot of very fine displays of three-point shooting this winter but none better than the one Delaney had last week. Runyon had nine – count 'em nine! – triples in a win over North St. Paul, scoring 32 points in all. That, not surprisingly, is a new school record. Kristi Fett, 6'4" senior center, Lyle-Pacelli Whether she scores or doesn't, the 6'4" Fett makes a big impact pretty much every night with her rebounding, shot blocking and ability to draw defenders. Last week against Grand Meadow, the MSU-Mankato commit also scored 36 of her team's 61 in a 14-point victory. Makayla Van Nett, 5'8" senior guard, St. Paul Como Park Van Nett put up 33 points against Maranatha on the night Jaclyn Jarnot passed the 2,000-point mark. Makayla reached the double-century milestone herself 24 hours later, and finished the week with 67 points in three games. And the winner is… Let's face it. We could give this award to Paige Bueckers pretty much every week of the season. She is that good, but it would get somewhat monotonous. Her performance against Wayzata, however, was at a whole other level, never mind the fact that it came in the biggest game of the year to date. Bueckers scored in every imaginable way, and turned in a stellar defensive performance. Earlier in the week she led Hopkins to a 33-point win over Minnetonka with UCONN coach Geno Auriemma in attendance. Now she can add 'Northstar Girls Hoops Top Performer' to her very impressive resume.