The Week That Was #15: One last recap of good, better, best

Here we are in the home stretch of the Minnesota high school season that will conclude March 14 on state championship Saturday. That means that this is the final installment of our weekly recap – the Week That Was #15. The goal every week has been to recollect the best and brightest from my previous seven days of viewing while recognizing some of the state’s top performers. This week’s activities were pretty much captured in my story on upsets and near misses in sections play. You can <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2020/03/semifinal-saturday-marked-by-upsets-and-near-misses/">read it here</a>. At this point I’d like to recognize some of the standout seniors whose high school careers came to an end this week. It’s always sad to see as the outgoing players realize in the whirlwind of their section exits that they have worn their high school uniform for the last time. Here are the top 30 seniors who bowed out this week, listed with their Prep Girls Hoops class of 2020 ranking. #5 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/mallory-brake/">[player_tooltip player_id="1918" first="Mallory" last="Brake"]</a> of Hastings (Creighton) #10 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/emily-russo/">[player_tooltip player_id="110526" first="Emily" last="Russo"]</a> of New Prague (MSU-Mankato) #12 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jayda-johnston/">[player_tooltip player_id="56227" first="Jayda" last="Johnston"]</a> of Roseville (Valparaiso) #17 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/zhane-thompson/">[player_tooltip player_id="110528" first="Zhane" last="Thompson"]</a> of Burnsville (NIACC) #18 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/patience-williams/">[player_tooltip player_id="110530" first="Patience" last="Williams"]</a> of Benilde-St. Margaret’s #24 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ava-hill/">[player_tooltip player_id="110531" first="Ava" last="Hill"]</a> of Mesabi East (Minnesota track) #25 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/lindsey-becher/">[player_tooltip player_id="110533" first="Lindsey" last="Becher"]</a> of Mounds View (Concordia-St. Paul) #26 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-white/">[player_tooltip player_id="110534" first="Sydney" last="White"]</a> of Andover (Sioux Falls) #30 <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/karley-motschenbacher/">[player_tooltip player_id="110546" first="Karley" last="Motschenbacher"]</a> of Park Christian (MSU-Moorhead) SHE’S SPECIAL AT THE STRIPE One senior who has yet to be eliminated is forward <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/annika-stewart/">[player_tooltip player_id="28788" first="Annika" last="Stewart"]</a> of Wayzata. The Nebraska commit is a top-15 player in the class of 2020. She may be the best shooter among Minnesota’s bigs, with the ability to knock down threes and mid-range jump shots with great regularity. She is also excellent at the free throw line. A week ago Stewart saw a remarkable streak come to an end as she missed a free throw for the first time since November after making 32 in a row. The state record in that department, as far as we can determine, is held by Irondale’s Liza Kunzman who made 50 in a row during the 1994-95 season. Stewart is shooting 92% at the line this year, up from last year’s 86% pace. Ani is at 64% on two-point field goal attempts and over 40% from three. Who said bigs can’t shoot!. THE ROYALS HAVE A NEW CROWN I try to keep tabs on Minnesota high school graduates playing at the next level but there are never enough days in the week to see all of the games I’d like to. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity on Wednesday to take in the D3 battle between Bethel University of Arden Hills and Gustavus Adolphus College of St. Peter in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference semifinals. The MIAC is loaded with former in-state high school players who are making their mark at the next level, none more so than senior Taite Anderson of White Bear Lake. The big forward has had an outstanding career for the Royals so it’s not surprising that she was at the center of the action on Wednesday as Bethel knocked off Gustavus 70-62 to eliminate the Gusties. Anderson had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in 30 minutes of oh-so-feisty action. Her backup Elizabeth Schwarz, a junior from Savage who played at Southwest Christian, added a dozen points as did senior point guard Haylee Barker of Maple Grove. Freshman guard <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/emma-schultz/">[player_tooltip player_id="55360" first="Emma" last="Schultz"]</a> of Eden Valley-Watkins, playing on a sprained ankle, turned in an outstanding defensive performance and nailed a giant corner 3 in the waning moments. Gustavus was led by a pair of freshmen – <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/caitlin-rorman/">[player_tooltip player_id="55350" first="Caitlin" last="Rorman"]</a> of Blue Earth and <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/anna-sanders/">[player_tooltip player_id="55386" first="Anna" last="Sanders"]</a> of White Bear Lake – who had 15 points each. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the MIAC championship game three days later which took place at the same time as the high school sections in Anoka. Bethel (26-1) prevailed in that one, too, escaping with a narrow 72-70 win over Augsburg. It was an all-out war that featured 54 fouls and came down to the final seconds. The victory gave Bethel the first MIAC title in program history. Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer, who is also known for his AAU success with North Tartan, has 219 wins in 16 seasons at the helm. It was another outstanding season for Augsburg, a program that has been rebuilt by coach Ted Riverso and his primary assistant Jackie Voigt. The pair are among Minnesota’s hardest-working recruiters, and four years ago they assembled their first class. This year’s seniors had terrific college careers: Camryn Speese and Aiza Wilson of DeLaSalle, Tamira McLemore of Eagan, Arianna Jones of Osseo, Kaezha Wubben of Hopkins and Abby Jordan of Rogers. By capturing the MIAC title Bethel earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division 3 tournament which opens later in the week. Augsburg’s fate rests in the hands of the same committee that snubbed them a year ago in spite of credentials that clearly warranted a ticket. MILESTONES Every week this season we have chronicled the top career scorers and rebounders and other such big-time achievers as some of Minnesota’s best players rewrote the record books on a weekly basis. This is our 15th and final milestone recap of the season. 2,000-point scorers Pine City senior guard <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/lily-wilson/">[player_tooltip player_id="110555" first="Lily" last="Wilson"]</a> passed the 2,000 career points mark on Thursday in the Dragons’ section win over Rush City. Wilson has yet to make a college commitment. Junior <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/adalia-mackenzie/">[player_tooltip player_id="6389" first="Adalia" last="McKenzie"]</a> of Park Center, the #1-ranked player in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2021, also topped the 2,000 career points mark on Thursday. She added 38 more points in the Pirates’ section win over Champlin Park. Career-scoring leaders <ul> <li>With her 25 point performance Friday night against BOLD, Sleepy Eye-St. Mary’s guard <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/madison-mathiowetz/">[player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"]</a> topped her uncle Sean’s career record of 1,858 points to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. Earlier in the week, Mathiowetz recorded a triple double against Cedar Mountain with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals. Amazingly, Maddie has two more years of high school ball remaining.</li> <li><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/myia-ruzek/">[player_tooltip player_id="13436" first="Myia" last="Ruzek"]</a> of Lewiston-Altura ended her high school career this week as the Cardinals’ all-time leading scorer with 1,750 points. Ruzek, who is ranked #62 in the 2020 class, will play next season at Rochester Community and Technical College.</li> <li>Point guard <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sam-sibbet/">[player_tooltip player_id="110538" first="Sam" last="Sibbet"]</a> of St. Anthony Village also saw her high school career come to an end as the Huskies fell to Totino-Grace in section play. Sibbet finished with 1,507 career points and 494 rebounds. In an era where injuries always seem to be a factor Sam did not miss a single game. Sibbett, who is ranked #33 In 2020, is one of the top unsigned players in the class.</li> </ul> 1,000-point scorers <ul> <li>Senior <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/colie-justice/">[player_tooltip player_id="110884" first="Colie" last="Justice"]</a> of Austin (UW-River Falls) scored her team’s first 13 points of the second half Wednesday against Faribault, finished with 31 points and in doing so reached the 1,000-career points milestone. Justice missed her entire sophomore season due to a torn ACL but came back strong as an upperclassman.</li> <li>Maple River senior Abby Bruegger passed on a wide open layup Monday against Fairmont so that she could send the ball to her twin sister Ally Bruegger, who promptly deposited it in the cylinder to reach 1,000 career points. Shades of the Miller Twins!</li> <li>Lake City sophomore <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/mya-shones/">[player_tooltip player_id="109153" first="Mya" last="Shones"]</a> finished with 26 points on Monday to reach 1,000 career points as a 10th grader. The talented forward, who plays AAU for Air Minnesota out of Rochester, has been a standout for the Tigers since 8th grade.</li> </ul> A couple more notables <ul> <li>7th grader Addison Mack of Blake scored 33 points on Thursday in a win over Brooklyn Center to establish a new school record for most points in a single season. Addie, who is just 12 years old, topped the old record of 513. This kid is special!</li> <li>Senior <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jana-swanson/">[player_tooltip player_id="1975" first="Jana" last="Swanson"]</a> of Cambridge-Isanti (Bemidji State) had 12 rebounds in the Bluejackets 66-43 win over Anoka on Thursday to break the school record of 829 career rebounds held by standout Jonelle Streed. She followed that up on Saturday with 15 more boards as the Bluejackets knocked off Andover. The career feat is even more remarkable given the fact that Swanson suffered not one but two torn ACL’s during her high school career.</li> <li>In Saturday’s section semifinal <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tiwaah-danso/">[player_tooltip player_id="6529" first="TeeTee" last="Danso"]</a> of Simley also reached the 1,000 career points milestone. Danso, who is the #13 Player in the class of 2020, will play D1 ball next season for Bradley University.</li> <li>Also on Saturday <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ella-grove/">[player_tooltip player_id="2032" first="Ella" last="Grove"]</a> of Alexandria hit the magic 1,000 mark. Grove, the 45th-ranked player among Minnesota seniors, will play D2 ball at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.</li> </ul> Top photo: Maple River twins Ally and Abby Bruegger celebrated Ally’s 1,000th career point with their teammates.