PGH Minnesota Team Preview: Menahga Braves

For my first girl's basketball team preview of the year for PGH Minnesota; we have the Menahga Braves who are located 1 hour south of Bemidji and 3 hours northwest of the Twin Cities. I caught up with head coach <strong>Cody Pulju </strong>about his Braves squad, who was 29-6 last season and placed at the state tournament before losing to Heritage Christian Academy of Maple Grove. <strong>Braves to Watch</strong> <strong><em>Tara Hendrickson, Forward, Senior</em>- </strong>Tara is a four year starter for the Braves and is the highest returning scorer from the Braves (14 ppg). She also will be relied on for her rebounding, which she averaged around 8 rebounds per game last for the Braves <em><strong>Timbr Berttunen, Guard, Junior- </strong></em>Berttunen is now a two year started and at guard, averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore. <em><strong>Martha Peterson, Guard, Junior- </strong></em>Peterson has been key to the Braves since her 8th grade year. Now a junior, Peterson will lead the charge at guard and will be depended on heavily for her clutch shooting she has had over the years. <em><strong>Janie Tormannen, Post, Sophomore- </strong></em>Tormannen played big minutes for the Braves last year as a freshman. She will be the threat in the low post for the Menahga this season with her experience down low. <em><strong>Kate Hendrickson, Forward, Junior- </strong></em>Although it's been a  tough recovery for Hendrickson, she really has rallied back strongly to get healthy after two hip surgeries last season. Look for her to be a key forward for the Braves alongside her sister Tara. <em><strong>Maryn Pinoniemi, Guard, Sophomore- </strong></em>Pinoniemi was also a key contributor off the bench for the Braves last season. You want a play-maker? Look no further than Maryn Pinoniemi as she creates plays with ease and has a good outside shot. <em><strong>Lela Peterson, Guard, Sophomore- </strong></em>Ball control is a large part of Peterson's game. Will get a lot of minutes off the bench for the Braves this season. May cash in on more opportunities throughout the year, as she has a great shooting stroke. <strong>Team Goals for the Braves</strong> When I asked coach Puliju about the goals of Braves, he stated "we will strive to change our best every day" Being that this is a young team, he said they have a very "skilled" basketball team regardless of age. The main goal is to win the conference and section title for the Menahga Braves. <strong>Alumni Coming Back to Build the Braves</strong> One of the things that defines any high school program is how many alumni do you have coming back to chip in to grow the program? Coach Pulju stated he has two alumni that have come back from the 2019 team and that is <strong>Alyssa Peterson</strong> who plays collegiately at Minnesota-Crookston and <strong>Cierra Ahlf </strong>who plays at St. Kates University in St. Paul. <strong>Improving on Last Year's Braves</strong> Although the Braves lost a good amount of playmakers from last year's team like Peterson and Ahlf, they still expect this younger squad to compete with ease. The sophomore class has been winners at every basketball level in Menahga and was 25-0 last season for JV, which is a sign that the future is bright for the Braves. "We have the ability to be deeper" Coach Pulju told to PGH Minnesota and also have the ability to have to feature a more balanced scoring attack. <strong>The Park Region Conference Foes for the </strong><b>Braves</b> Two programs that have a chance to compete for Menahga's 4th year in a row winning the Park Region is <strong>Henning</strong> (15-10 last season) and <strong>Sebeka</strong> (19-13 last season). "Both of these squads are lead by big upperclassmen playmakers" said Pulju. "Our young team will need to be able to rise to the challenge of taking on older more experienced girls quickly".