Minnehaha Academy vs. Orono: Five Takeaways

<strong>ORONO--</strong> Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota was in Orono on Tuesday night to watch the Redhawks take on the Spartans. These are my five takeaways from my night in Orono. <strong>Board Collector Award</strong> That nod goes to <strong>Kalia Youngs</strong> (#44, 2022) of Orono. You see it so often from the younger bigs that their aggression on the boards isn’t what you expect from a player that size, which is certainly not the case with <strong>Youngs</strong>. Her rebounding was proficient against a very fast Redhawks team and although it didn’t prompt a victory for the Spartans, you have to like this Spartans team’s future, as they only have one senior on Varsity total. <strong>Hustlin’ Player of the Game</strong> With this category, it’s not about the stats at all, it’s about how much hustle I see out on the court diving for loose balls, saving a ball out of bounds, and much more. This player comes from a great basketball pedigree and that is <strong>Jennica Suggs </strong>(2024) of Minnehaha Academy. On multiple occasions, I saw her diving for loose balls like the game was on the line on every play. She certainly is going to be a player we are going to watch from the class of 2024. <strong>Knudson’s Everywhere</strong> <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/julia-knudson/">[player_tooltip player_id="109796" first="Julia" last="Knudson"]</a></strong> (#113, 2021) deserves a ton of praise for how efficient she was on Tuesday night against the Redhawks. In her top game this season, Knudson was an efficient scorer from pretty much everywhere on the floor. Her poise to helping the Spartans get close to the Redhawks is why she also gets "Orono MVP" in this game too. Her little sister, <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/lauren-knudson/">[player_tooltip player_id="108340" first="Lauren" last="Knudson"]</a> </strong>(#44, 2023) also had a good showing as a starter for the Spartans on Tuesday night. <strong>Two More Fine Performances for the Redhawks</strong> <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/telia-graham/">[player_tooltip player_id="109128" first="Telia" last="Graham"]</a></strong> (2022) and <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tanna-gallo/">[player_tooltip player_id="110921" first="Tanna" last="Gallo"]</a> </strong>(2020) turned in nice performances for the Redhawks on Tuesday. <strong>Graham</strong> was especially effective under the basket, where she gathered most of her double-digit scoring. Was also a top Redhawk on the rebounds. <strong>Gallo</strong>, who should be back on coaches radar after de-committing from Waldorf (IA) recently, has quite the three-point shot, good free-throw shooter, and can finish at the bucket if you need her to her 12 point effort against Orono, should have scholarship level programs on the edge of their seat to bring her into their program. <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/mia-curtis/">[player_tooltip player_id="110532" first="Mia" last="Curtis"]</a> is an Absolute Star</strong> Minnehaha has not one, but now two unsigned 2020 prospects and <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/mia-curtis/">[player_tooltip player_id="110532" first="Mia" last="Curtis"]</a></strong> (#21, 2020) tallied her 6th 30 point game this season this last Tuesday in Orono. <strong>Curtis </strong>showed the total package at point guard on Tuesday with her snap and pop three-pointer, plenty of finishes at the bucket, and her solid free throw shooting. Minnehaha Academy gets a lot of love for boy’s basketball as far as national recruiting, but if I’m a high Division I college coach, I’m making <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/mia-curtis/">[player_tooltip player_id="110532" first="Mia" last="Curtis"]</a></strong> my top priority based on what she’s done this season and how well she’s played at Minnehaha her whole career. Do you know what else was great about her on Tuesday? I haven’t had a player all year that’s putting up that many points and still be the "team points leader" for their squad as well! <strong>Minnehaha Academy </strong>(12-4) will have the top competitor from their conference, the IMAC on the road as they will head to Plymouth to take on <strong>Providence Academy</strong> (15-4) next Tuesday. <strong>Orono (8-8) </strong>will head to their Highway 12 neighbors to the West and play <strong>Delano </strong>(2-13), a team that’s had eight days off, tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. <strong>Orono </strong>will need to make sure they keep <strong>Olivia Janunich</strong> (2020) in check from deep, as she made <strong>Waconia</strong> pay in the first half of that game before Waconia took over in the second half with her 4 three-pointers. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;