These are the Super Sophomores of Week #2

Sometimes players surprise you – in a good way. Sometimes, perhaps, our expectations are a little low. That’s certainly true in the case of Wayzata point guard [player_tooltip player_id="108345" first="Brynn" last="Senden"], who is proving in the early stages of her high school career that we have probably underestimated what she is capable of. That’s why Senden tops our list today of the Super Sophomores of Week #2 in the Minnesota girls high school basketball season. We already covered a couple of the top 10th graders of the week in our Week That Was #2 recap on Sunday. That would include our Defensive Player of the Week [player_tooltip player_id="148328" first="Hannah" last="Hanson"] of Rochester Mayo. Ditto for Mountain Iron-Buhl guard Sage Ganyo, who was runner-up in the same category. The following are other members of the class of 2023 who stood out in the second week of action. [player_tooltip player_id="108345" first="Brynn" last="Senden"] – 5’5 point guard, Wayzata I have seen Brynn listed at 5’5 and 5’6, but either way she isn’t the biggest guard in the class. While it’s true that size is important, we are sometimes guilty of placing a little bit too much importance on that one particular area. Some players have other assets that supersede their lack of height. That is certainly the case with Senden, who we are probably guilty of selling short in the past, even though she is in the top 30 in the class. On a night when everything that could go wrong for Wayzata did in a humiliating loss to Hopkins, Senden was the Trojans’ one bright light. She knocked down a big three-pointer 90 seconds into the game to get Wayzata on the board, and followed that up with Wayzata’s second bucket – another triple to keep them in the hunt. By the time she scored her team’s next two points the Trojans were already in trouble. Senden finished the night with 15 points, fought hard to the end for every inch, and demonstrated that she is capable of hanging with some of the state’s premier players. Brynn is a terrific ball handler. She’s quicker than you expect and more physical, too. Her two biggest assets, however, are her confidence level and her willingness to do whatever it takes to win. On most nights that is enough to get the job done. On this night the opposing forces were just too strong. Brynn may have broad shoulders but she isn’t capable of carrying the entire team on her back. She certainly tried. [player_tooltip player_id="186133" first="Ella" last="Avery"] – 5’4 point guard, St. Croix Lutheran Senden wasn’t the only small sophomore to stand out in Week #2. Avery also turned in an excellent performance when we saw her direct traffic Thursday in St. Croix Lutheran’s 76-55 win over their rivals from DeLaSalle. Like Senden, Ella set the tone early, nailing a big three to open the first half and then running the show from the point with intelligence and pace. She is a very good ball handler who overcomes her lack of size with smarts. We have seen it before and we saw it again last week. By the time the Islanders were heading for the bus, Avery had finished with 9 points (including two threes in two attempts) and 4 rebounds. The number that truly told the story (and often does) for Ella was the number of assists: seven. As usual it was the Hauge sisters – senior [player_tooltip player_id="109780" first="Lucia" last="Hauge"] and freshman [player_tooltip player_id="178263" first="Laura" last="Hauge"] – who drew most of the headlines in this one for the Crusaders, but Avery’s performance had just as much to do with the final outcome as they did. She is ranked #109 in the sophomore class. [player_tooltip player_id="108315" first="Sophi" last="Hall"] – 6’0 wing, Holy Family It’s pretty rare in the game of hockey for a team to score a short-handed goal to win the game at the buzzer. In basketball, it’s unheard of – until now. That’s exactly happened for Holy Family last week. Down to just four players, the Fire pulled off that feat when Hall buried a three-pointer as time expired to give Holy Family a 62-60 victory over Annandale. The Fire suited up just seven players for this game, and three of them fouled out leaving their teammates to play the final five minutes of the game shorthanded. Somehow the Fire found a way as Hall recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a remarkable 10 blocks. Of course Sophi is no stranger to big plays in big moments. The lanky guard/wing is an excellent shooter with tremendous leaping ability who can also score off the bounce in a variety of ways. She has nice touch and the ability to change a game at both ends of the floor with her exceptional length. That’s why Hall is a Division 1 prospect rated #16 among Minnesota sophomores. [player_tooltip player_id="108319" first="Aniyah" last="Reuben"] – 5’10 forward, Minnehaha Academy We weren’t quite sure what to expect this season from Reuben, who transferred over the summer to Minnehaha. Her high school career started in junior high when she made a pretty good-sized splash at Park Center, but a series of injuries and an in-season departure from the Brooklyn Park squad created some doubt. When we talked to Aniyah at a fall workout she was determined to get back to and move beyond the level she was at before. That certainly appears to be happening. Reuben had 23 points and 7 rebounds in win over Concordia Academy last week. Through three games as a Redhawk, Aniyah is averaging 15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game, and MA coach Matt Pryor is really happy with the leadership she has shown on a young team. Aniyah slipped to #54 in the rankings in 2020 but you can expect that trend to reverse course if she continues to play this well in 2021. [player_tooltip player_id="108318" first="Sophie" last="Lahti"] – 6’1 forward, Pine City Our expectations for Lahti have been very high from the get-go. She, too, emerged early on the high school scene as a skinny youngster with terrific athleticism and a fire that burns bright. Today she has filled out physically, passed the 6-foot mark and honed her game to the point where she has been dominant so far in every game this season. Last week was no exception. Sophie scored 30 points, including 4 three-point baskets, in a win over Ogilvie. The Dragons are now undefeated through five games and have outscored the opposition be nearly 40 points per game. Lahti, along with senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="109757" first="Ellie" last="Hasz"] (University of Mary), has been the driving force behind that success. Sophie is currently averaging 21.6 ppg, along with 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. She is ranked #19 among the prospects of 2023. Top photo: 2023 #30 [player_tooltip player_id="108345" first="Brynn" last="Senden"] of Wayzata