Week That Was #5: Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Hill-Murray and more were all impressive going into the break

Merry Christmas everyone! We’re five weeks into the high school season now and the players and coaches are on a much-needed break for a few days. Before play resumes later in the week, here’s a recap of what happened in the past seven days from my perspective. [caption id="attachment_21561" align="alignright" width="300"] Eden Prairie power forward Nneka Obiazor put together another stellar week. (Photo courtesy of Eden Prairie News)[/caption] Player of the Week: Nneka Obiazor, Eden Prairie The arrival of coach Ellen Weise in Eden Prairie sparked a revival of the Eagles program last season. It also marked the ascendance of forward Nneka Obiazor into a dominant force. Neither of these things was coincidence, and the trends continue 12 months later. Eden Prairie is 8-1 and Obiazor, now the 7th ranked player in the class of 2020, continues to wow us with her power, determination and touch. This week she had 28 points and 6 rebounds in a win over Bloomington Kennedy. Obiazor followed that 48 hours later by scoring 28 and 14 against Prior Lake to extend her season averages to a double-double of 19 and 10. “As her stats indicate Nneka completely dominated our last two games,” said Weise. “She has been relentless on the boards. Combine that with her ability to finish with the other team draped all over her and you have a dominant presence inside.” Different players have been stepping up each night for the Eagles. Obiazor has stepped up every night and is our Player of the Week. Rookie of the Week: Mara Braun, Wayzata I watched Wayzata twice this week, in Monday’s overtime thriller at Stillwater and again Friday night in a slug-fest at Roseville. You couldn’t have witnessed two more different basketball games. The 9-0 Trojans played well in both, won both, and rookie Mara Braun was very good in both. As a result, she is our Rookie of the Week. Mara’s performance at Stillwater was remarkable, but not altogether unexpected from the #4 player in the class of 2022. If you want to know more, <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2018/12/wayzata-freshman-mara-braun-took-it-to-a-whole-new-level-this-week-and-we-were-wowed/">read my feature on Mara’s big game</a>. [caption id="attachment_21560" align="alignright" width="172"] Hill=Murray coach Erin Herman has the 8-0 Pioneers winning with defense.[/caption] Coach of the Week: Erin Herman, Hill-Murray Hill-Murray coach Erin Herman would have loved Friday’s Roseville vs Wayzata encounter. She and Raiders coach Jeff Crosby are of the same defense-first mindset, and it’s an approach that has worked rather well for the 8-0 Pioneers. I watched Erin’s team do its thing against Edina on Tuesday night. Hornets’ coach Matt Nilssen is a kindred spirit in the defensive department, too, so you knew it wouldn’t be a track meet. Macy Nilsen was great for Edina, while her fellow seniors Jane Korsh and Lauren Oyalo logged big minutes. Freshman Ella Campbell made her presence felt from the outside and it came down to the wire. In the end it was Hill-Murray that prevailed 35-33 behind solid performances from sophomores Lilli Mackley and Bella Hartzell, and seniors Vanessa Wren, Delaney Runyon and Grace Prokosch. Herman, who is also the principal of the high school, is our Coach of the Week. Fan of the Week: Sam Haiby, University of Nebraska It’s not often that a girls’ high school basketball team will draw a celebrity guest in the audience, especially for a road game 200 plus miles from home. The Moorhead Spuds welcomed back 2018 graduate Sam Haiby for their game Thursday at Maple Grove. The University of Nebraska guard is having an outstanding freshman season in Lincoln, averaging 22 minutes and 11 points per game for the Cornhuskers. Haiby was the #1 player in the Prep Girls Hoops graduating class last spring, having scored more than 2,000 career points for the Spuds. She was joined in Maple Grove by, among others, her former North Tartan teammate Erica Hicks of Champlin Park. On Thursday Sam saw the continued development of her protégé, Moorhead point guard Rylie Polomny, the #41 player in the class of 2020. They also saw 2020 point guard Abby Schulte have yet another outstanding game for Maple Grove, along with a fine performance by Crimson freshman Ari Gordon. [caption id="attachment_21562" align="alignleft" width="300"] Lexi Karge (left) and Mackenzie Schweim (middle) are Mankato East's top talents. (Photo courtesy Austin Daily Herald)[/caption] Tandems of the Week Lexi Karge & Mackenzie Schweim, Mankato East – The Cougars are on the long climb back to respectability at Mankato East and they are building their success on the backs of freshmen post Lexi Karge and point guard Mackenzie Schweim. East picked up a win over Rochester Century this week in which Karge had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks while Schweim had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Both members of Minnesota Nice AAU, the 6’4 Karge is the #8-rated player in the freshman class while Schweim is #48. Ivane Tensaie & Lydia Lecher, Concordia Academy – Sophomore guard Ivane Tensaie from Concordia Academy in Roseville had a career-high 30 points in her team’s win over St. Croix Prep on Tuesday. She also had 12 points vs Minneapolis South and 20 against Holy Family. Tensaie, who is the #23-ranked player in the 2021 class, is an excellent facilitator but she can also score as her 19 ppg average indicates. On Monday at Minneapolis South senior forward Lydia Lecher had a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds in a two-point win over the Tigers. She is leading the 6-3 Beacons in rebounding and is averaging 13 ppg. More 1,000 point scorers If they tweeted it, we know about it. If not, send us the information on your 1,000-point scorer and we’ll add her to the list. Among those who crossed the magic milestone were the following: <ul> <li>Amari Piepkorn, junior guard from Christ’s Household of Faith in St. Paul. The #52 player in the class of 2020 is shooting 47 percent on the season en route to averages of 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Given that CHOF has less than 50 students, Amari (pronounced like Amery) may be the best player in Minnesota you’ve never seen.</li> <li>Mackenzie Kramer, junior guard from St. Michael-Albertville. If she was on a team that wasn’t loaded with superstars, I’m confident Kramer would have passed 2,000 points by now. The cerebral point guard stepped onto the national stage with her razzle dazzle ball-handling three years ago at the state tournament but the #4 player in the class of 2020 is more known as a great facilitator who makes everything look easy. Kenzie is averaging 17, 4 and 3.</li> <li>Katie Borowicz, sophomore guard from Roseau, has been a varsity star since 7th grade, following in the footsteps of her sisters Kylie and Kacie. The #5 player in the class of 2021 may turn out to be the best of the Borowicz Bunch. Katie scored 30 points on Friday night in a thrilling 76-75 win over Mountain Iron-Buhl. The 5’6 combo guard also passed the 1,000-point mark. Katie is a big-time player on a small-town team.</li> </ul> [caption id="attachment_21563" align="alignright" width="277"] Suzanne Gilreath of Fridley will face the Gophers in their Big 10 opener on Friday. (Photo courtesy University of Wisconsin)[/caption] A Golden Gopher Christmas The pre-Christmas portion of the college basketball season came to a close Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena as the Minnesota Gophers defeated Rhode Island for their 11th straight victory. It has been a surprisingly good run so far for the Gophers in Lindsay Whalen’s debut season. Employing an inherited roster that isn’t particularly well-suited to the way she wants to play, the Gophers have been winning with defense and it has been fun to watch. I have been fortunate to spend a fair amount of time with the new coaching staff and I could not be more impressed, both by what they have done with the team but also with what great people they are. The current roster has just one Minnesotan – senior Kenisha Bell of Minneapolis, who played high school ball for Bloomington Kennedy. Next year they’ll have just one, as well – Sara Scalia of Stillwater, who is the #2 player in the Prep Girls Hoops Senior 150. Whalen is committed to building a Minnesota-centric roster. She and assistants Danielle O’Bannion, Kelly Roysland and Carly Thibault are working their tails off to land the prize picks of 2020 in Paige Bueckers (Hopkins), Lauren Jensen (Lakeville North) and Alyssa Ustby (Rochester Lourdes), and are in the running for all three. Whalen was at the Roseville-Wayzata game Friday watching the Trojans’ Jenna Johnson and Mara Braun. The competition level will rise come Friday when the Big 10 season opens at the Barn against the 9-3 Wisconsin Badgers, who have three Minnesotans on their roster. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see freshman Carmen Backes of Chisago Lakes or junior Courtney Fredrickson of Minnetonka, both of whom are out with injuries. The one who will likely suit up is three-point specialist Suzanne Gilreath, who played high school ball at Fridley and AAU for Warriors Elite. Game time is 8 p.m. Top photo: University of Nebraska freshman Sam Haiby took in the game Thursday between Moorhead and Maple Grove. Haiby was the #1 player in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2018.