Previewing the Metro East Conference

Just how much difference can one or two players make? If the recent history of the Metro East Conference is any indication, the answer is ‘a lot!’ Back in the 2017-18 season, Mahtomedi and Hastings were concluding a multi-year run as intense conference rivals with a combined record that year of 24-4. The following season, after [player_tooltip player_id="1448" first="Krystal" last="Carlson"] (Sioux Falls) graduated from Hastings and both [player_tooltip player_id="1449" first="Emma" last="Grothaus"] (Lehigh) and [player_tooltip player_id="1482" first="Annika" last="Sougstad"] (MIT) moved on from Mahtomedi, the two teams dropped  precipitously in the standings as the Zephyrs won just six games and Hastings won three. Last year it was Henry Sibley’s turn to experience just such a loss as the Warriors were significantly impacted by departure of top-10 talent [player_tooltip player_id="1715" first="Tori" last="Nelson"] to South Dakota State, where she is currently having a banner sophomore year. Tartan High School also struggled after losing its top two players to transfer. With that history in mind, we now arrive at the 2021 high school basketball season. After going 14-0 to run the tables in the Metro East, Simley returns minus not one great player, not two, not three, but four standout athletes. Needless to say, Simley is no longer favored to win it all. By every measure Simley had a great season last year. After losing on opening day to Chaska, and falling to AAAA power Stillwater a couple of weeks later, the Spartans reeled off 20 straight victories. They added three more section wins and knocked off Holy Angels in their first game at the state tournament, before bowing out to DeLaSalle.  Simley finished 28-3, and the power foursome of  [player_tooltip player_id="110527" first="Zareia" last="Chevre"] (Monmouth), [player_tooltip player_id="6529" first="TeeTee" last="Danso"] (Bradley), [player_tooltip player_id="1941" first="Sydney" last="Stensgard"] (Montana State) and [player_tooltip player_id="110537" first="Ravyn" last="Miles"] (RCTC) rode off into the sunset. Those four elite-level players combined for 44 points per game last year. Danso was a phenomenal rebounder. Chevre could power to the basket with ease. Stensgard was a standout long bomber. And Myles was a terrific tactician in the backcourt. They had 172 steals and 65 blocks between them, as well. So what now? Simley’s only returning starter is junior [player_tooltip player_id="12749" first="Champ" last="Danso"], TeeTee’s younger sister (#32 in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2022), who averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. She’ll have to do even more in Inver Grove Heights now. Champ will be joined by a couple of veterans in senior guard <strong>Erin Borchard</strong> and senior forward <strong>Abby Heppner</strong>. Let’s hope some youngsters also step up now that the opportunity is there. Here’s how the Metro East Conference finished last spring. <ul> <li>14-0 – Simley</li> <li>12-2 – Hill-Murray</li> <li>9-5 – Mahtomedi</li> <li>8-6 – Hastings</li> <li>7-7 – Sibley</li> <li>3-11 – South St. Paul</li> <li>3-11 – Tartan</li> <li>0-14 – North St. Paul</li> </ul> Here’s how we think it will look in 2020. <strong>THE FAVORITE</strong> <strong>Hill-Murray</strong> Talent wins and so does defense. The Pioneers have plenty of talent to work with and no team defends better than Hill-Murray. Did we mention that H-M has 13 trips to the state tournament in its history books and coach Erin Herman has garnered more than 500 wins? The Pioneers went 12-2 in conference play last winter to finish second in the Metro East while posting a 21-8 mark overall.  Herman runs a no-nonsense program. Her kids are well-prepared, they always compete hard and they defend as well as anyone. That’s a championship formula. Herman’s core group has been together for three years now, and the team has depth at every position. Their only key loss is all-conference honorable mention <strong>Ella Sutherland</strong> and there are a roster full of youngsters knocking at the door. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="2134" first="Lilli" last="Mackley"] (Dakota State) and [player_tooltip player_id="109763" first="Bella" last="Hartzel"], along with junior [player_tooltip player_id="109165" first="Ella" last="Runyon"], combined for 46 points and 17 rebounds per game, and all of them have improved since last spring. That’s a three-headed monster at both ends of the court that will be difficult for anyone else in the Metro East to match. <strong>CONTENDING</strong> Erica Zizzo’s first season as head coach at Mahtomedi was solid as the Zephyrs went 9-5 in the Metro East to finish third while compiling a record of 20-8 in total. Mahtomedi fell to Hill-Murray twice in the regular season and again in the section 4AAA final. The Zephyrs now move on without core veterans  [player_tooltip player_id="110556" first="Julia" last="Salmen"] (Viterbo), [player_tooltip player_id="110879" first="Saley" last="Underwood"] and <strong>Aubree Cummins</strong>. They also lose elite freshman [player_tooltip player_id="178274" first="Amy" last="Thompson"], who had a promising season as an 8th grader but has elected to attend high school at Stillwater. The top returners are seniors [player_tooltip player_id="29489" first="Ella" last="Hronski"] (UM-Duluth) and [player_tooltip player_id="109819" first="Anna" last="Raney"], junior [player_tooltip player_id="109171" first="Zoie" last="Centers"] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="108311" first="Zoey" last="Washington"], who combined for 31 points per game. One player who appears ready for a breakout season is sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="220833" first="Sonya" last="Potthoff"], who is coming off an outstanding summer in AAU and has put in an impressive amount of work to get better. <strong>THE DARK HORSES</strong> <strong>South St. Paul</strong> Coach Austin Junker returns after compiling a record of 3-11 in the conference, 7-18 overall in his first season. While the results were a little better than in recent years for the Packers, the impact of the culture change Junker is in the process of implementing will probably be seen in a more significant way in 2020. Obviously he is biased, but Junker loves his team’s energy and cohesiveness and believes his core group can change the way people think about South St. Paul basketball. As a result our expectations from SSP this time around are much higher than in the past. The Packers’ biggest loss is post [player_tooltip player_id="110939" first="Savannah" last="Youngstrom"] (UW-Whitewater), an all-conference performer. SSP returns a core group of great shooters who set the school record last year for most three-pointers made. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="109812" first="Brynn" last="Bauer"] and <strong>Melody Podgorski</strong>, and juniors <strong>Abby Rosebur</strong> and <strong>Careline McLaughlin</strong> have the experience now. Sophomores <strong>Lauren Bauer</strong> and <strong>Anna Skiwara</strong> are ready for a bigger role. <strong>Henry Sibley</strong> Coach Harry Jenness, Jr. saw his team go 8-8 in the Metro East last winter, 12-16 overall. That was a pretty solid performance after losing [player_tooltip player_id="1715" first="Tori" last="Nelson"] to graduation. Now the Warriors graduate their core in [player_tooltip player_id="110890" first="Sese" last="Burks"], <strong>Hope Korte</strong> (Augsburg soccer) and <strong>Jaelyn Orth</strong> (St. Olaf softball). It’s not as though the cupboard is completely bare, however, as numerous veterans are waiting to take up the challenge. That would include a pair of 5’10 senior forwards in <strong>Cece Bell </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="55397" first="Caroline" last="Anderson"]</strong>, who combined for about 12 points and 9 rebounds per game. Senior guard <strong>Natalie Parnell</strong> is also back along with three quality juniors in <strong>Audrey Parnels</strong>, <strong>Izzy Nachtsheim</strong> and <strong>Michaela Schaffer</strong>. Most interesting will be the return of, perhaps, their most talented performer in junior point guard <strong>Jaylen Rosga</strong>, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. <strong>THE REBUILDING</strong> <strong>Hastings</strong> The Raiders experienced what it means to lose a franchise player two years ago with the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="1448" first="Krystal" last="Carlson"]. Now they’ll have to mop up from the graduation of 2020 #5 [player_tooltip player_id="1918" first="Mallory" last="Brake"] (Creighton) who was their top scorer and rebounder and team leader. It’s hard to overstate just how much Mal has meant to the team. Hastings also graduated a pair of all-conference honorable mentions in <strong>BriAnna Amundson</strong> and <strong>Emily Biscoe</strong>. Coach Scott Addyman’s squad went 8-6 last year in conference play, 12-15 overall. Hastings’ top returner is [player_tooltip player_id="57921" first="Lilly" last="Nuytten"], a 6’1 forward ranked #36 in this year’s junior class. Nuytten, who will play next summer for North Tartan EYBL, averaged 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year, earning all-conference honors. Also returning is 5’5 guard <strong>Shea Levos</strong>. Watch out for 5’9 freshman <strong>Emma Bakker</strong> to make a splash. She nearly made our Freshmen 50 and has a very bright future. <strong>Tartan</strong> The Titans know what it’s like to lose top performers, too, as they dealt last season with the transfer of [player_tooltip player_id="110886" first="Nevaeh" last="Moeschter"] (Iowa Central) and [player_tooltip player_id="109760" first="Takara" last="Mason"] (NIACC) along with the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="28263" first="Kendra" last="Ekereke"] (Bemidji). After losing [player_tooltip player_id="110557" first="Aurora" last="Roberts"] mid-year last season to early graduation, Tartan will now have to adapt to life without 2020 graduates [player_tooltip player_id="13426" first="Ka’Tia" last="Cummings"] (Fisk) and <strong>Bryana Bell</strong>. Second-year coach Zack Vogelsberg’s top returner is probably 5’5 senior guard <strong>Mikayla Harris</strong>, who led the team in scoring at 11 points and 6 assists per game. Lengthy junior post <strong>Emma Munter</strong> also returns as Tartan attempts to improve on its overall record of 4-23. <strong>North St. Paul</strong> What can you say? The Polars went 0-16 in conference play last season, 0-26 overall. It has been a constant struggle at North St. Paul, which hasn’t had a standout performer since [player_tooltip player_id="109738" first="Alexis" last="Pratt"] (Omaha) showed up there as a 7th grader before moving on to Stillwater. NSP is a volleyball school and most of the athletic height seems to gravitate in that direction. Coach Patrick Leslie returns four letter winners, including sophomore guard <strong>Magnolia Jones</strong> who is a solid outside shooter. Let’s hope this is the year things get better. <strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong> Here are some of the top prospects in the Metro East listed in order of their Prep Girls Hoops ranking. <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108311" first="Zoey" last="Washington"] – #20 sophomore, guard, Mahtomedi</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12749" first="Champ" last="Danso"] – #32 junior, forward, Simley</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57921" first="Lilly" last="Nuytten"] – #36 junior, forward, Hastings</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="2134" first="Lilli" last="Mackley"] – #37 senior, guard, Hill-Murray (Dakota State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="29489" first="Ella" last="Hronski"] – #40 senior, guard, Mahtomedi (UM-Duluth)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109165" first="Ella" last="Runyon"] – #51 junior, forward, Hill-Murray</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109171" first="Zoie" last="Centers"] – #65 junior, guard, Mahtomedi</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109763" first="Bella" last="Hartzel"] – #71 senior, guard, Hill-Murray</li> <li><strong>Emma Bakker</strong> – freshman, guard, Hastings</li> </ul> Top photo: Dakota State commit [player_tooltip player_id="2134" first="Lilli" last="Mackley"] of Hill-Murray is the top-ranked senior in the Metro East.