Minnesota's Section Standouts, Part 1

The first time we watched [player_tooltip player_id="147457" first="Kora" last="Forsline"] as an 8th grader playing in an AAU event at the South Minneapolis YWCA, what we saw was a long and lanky forward with potential. Lots of potential. What we saw last week when we watched the Mesabi East junior in section play was productivity. Lots of productivity. The 6-footer was a dominant force in the Giants’ 54-51 win over Pillager. She scored early and often and forced the Huskies to alter their game plan entirely in order to keep it close. For her efforts, Kora tops the charts today in part 1 of our look at players who have stood out in the sections games we’ve seen. [player_tooltip player_id="147457" first="Kora" last="Forsline"] – 2022 forward, Mesabi East It’s not easy to stay in the limelight when you live way up north in Aurora, and you have a pair of teammates who put up gaudy numbers night after night. We are referring to 2019 Mesabi East graduate [player_tooltip player_id="110531" first="Ava" last="Hill"], who rewrote the record books up on the Iron Range before moving on to run track at the University of Minnesota. The other standout is, of course, [player_tooltip player_id="109776" first="Hannah" last="Hannuksela"], the ME senior who last week topped the 2,000-career points mark. Forsline was largely called upon to rebound over the past couple of years. With Hill now departed, however, Kora has become a go-to scorer and the evolution of her game has been impressive. Forsline’s body has filled out, and she now has the strength to go along with the length that makes her effective at both ends of the floor. Kora has already made it to state in track, earning medals in the process, and she can get up and down the court at pace. She can handle the ball, finish with either hand, and produce points. Oh yeah, she can still rebound the heck out of it. Against [player_tooltip player_id="109156" first="Natalie" last="Mikrot"] and Moose Lake-Willow River in a section game 10 days ago, Forsline had 30 points and 22 rebounds. Against Pillager she scored 14 of her team’s first 22 points, causing Pillager to face guard and double and basically refocus everything they were doing defensively. Forsline still finished the night with 20 and 17, enabling her team to advance. During the first half of the season, Kora averaged about 10 and 7. In the second half of the year she was around 19 and 10. That’s an impressive improvement. It appears Kora will be a late bloomer who morphs into a solid scholarship-level player. It’s the same path that her mom Jessica followed to college basketball – from unheralded high schooler to Northern Sun Player of the Year at St. Cloud State. We’re not saying that Kora’s ultimate destination will be the same, but we’re not ruling it out either. After sitting out last summer due to the pandemic, Kora will compete in AAU this summer for both High Impact and the Wisconsin Playmakers. When she does, D2 coaches need to be parked on the sidelines to see for themselves. Kora wasn’t the only prospect who turned in a solid performance in section play over the past week or so. Here are a few more. <img class="alignnone wp-image-209231 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/165_Aliyah-Robran_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> [player_tooltip player_id="223914" first="Aliyah" last="Robran"] – 2022 forward, Rockford Like Forsline, it appears that Robran is also saving her best for last. When Aliyah first entered the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2022 rankings last fall – she’s currently #145 – we said our feeling was that Robran’s best basketball was two or three years into the future. Well this winter, in an abbreviated season, the 5’11 forward made very nice progress in her overall development. This was certainly on display last week when we watched Robran lead Rockford to a 55-41 section win at Breck. Aliyah had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. It was a hard-fought game throughout, until Robran turned it up a notch and helped the Rockets eventually pull away for the victory. Aliyah has put in a ton of work on her own with trainer Jamal Guy and it has definitely paid off. She has a big frame, is a multi-sport athlete (including track and field), and her skill development has reached the point where it’s obvious she can compete successfully at the next level. A 4.0 grade point average is icing on the cake. [player_tooltip player_id="109783" first="Grace" last="Bany"] – 2021 center, Lake City We have been writing about Grace since December of 2017 when the then-freshman caught our attention at a showcase event in Rochester. At 6’3, she was hard to miss. What we have seen in the ensuing years is the evolution of Grace’s game. Earlier this year, she passed the 1,000-career points milestone, one of four players on the Lake City roster to do so. She also became the school’s all-time leading rebounder, breaking the previous mark of 798. I’m not sure how many blocks she’s had but it’s a good bet Bany has the school record for that, too. In summary, Grace is a force to be reckoned with inside. Against Dover-Eyota last week, it was her defensive presence that was the difference maker. Every time [player_tooltip player_id="109810" first="Kylie" last="Lacey"] and [player_tooltip player_id="109159" first="Malia" last="Nelson"] of the Eagles got rolling – and they had a couple of major spurts to keep the game close – it was Bany who stepped in and gave it the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag and said, ‘No! No! No!’ When it was all over Lake City had advanced with a 64-42 victory. The Tigers continued their winning ways on Tuesday, defeating Winona Cotter (the only team to have beaten Lake City in their past 18 games) 67-46 to advance to the section 1AA finals against Goodhue. <img class="wp-image-209144 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/60_Kadence-Hesse_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> [player_tooltip player_id="178265" first="Kadence" last="Hesse"] – 2024 guard, Sleepy Eye If I had to sum up Kadence’s game in just one word it would be ‘silky-smooth.’ OK, maybe that’s two words but you get the idea. Hesse is blessed with tremendous natural ability, but she has also put in the work to turn that talent into something special. Plus she is a coach’s daughter who is driven to be the best. Add all of that up and you have a top-25 prospect who is one of the brightest young stars in Minnesota basketball. Last week we watched Kadence make one big play after another, especially down the stretch, as Sleepy Eye got past [player_tooltip player_id="182116" first="Coco" last="Duininck"] and Central Minnesota Christian by a score of 58-52. Hesse had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Now 5’10, with super long arms and equally long strides, Kadence can handle the basketball, shoot it from anywhere and distribute with the best of them. Hesse was injured last fall and was late entering the fray this season, but she has picked up right where she left off. The numbers are impressive. She had her first triple-double not long ago against Sibley East. She recorded a double-double (25 & 11) in the final game of the regular season. Then over the weekend she put up 21 and 6 against rival Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Indians were eliminated. If you’d like to see Hesse for yourself, she’ll suit up once again this spring for the Minnesota Rise. It promises to be a show. [player_tooltip player_id="109755" first="Lizzie" last="Berkvam"] – 2021 guard, Lakeville North Lizzie is also a coach’s kid and it shows. The 5’10 point guard, ranked #56 in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2021, is an excellent tactician. She’s not flashy and isn’t super quick, either, but Lizzie is just so dang smart on the court. Berkvam’s vision, distribution skills and basketball IQ were on full display on Saturday as Lakeville North scored a 49-40 sections win over their archrivals from Eastview. While freshman [player_tooltip player_id="215957" first="Gabby" last="Betton"] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="108334" first="Haley" last="Bryant"] were making big shots and drawing attention, it was Berkvam who made pretty much everything those two and the rest of the Panthers did on offense possible. Lizzie has such a nice feel for the game. She was calm and measured in her approach, never being pressured into playing too fast, not tempted to try and do all of the scoring herself. She still ended up in double figures but it was Berkvam’s game management that enabled North to advance to the section 3AAAA final this Thursday against Rosemount. Berkvam will play this fall at MSU-Moorhead. Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id="147457" first="Kora" last="Forsline"] of Mesabi East is a late bloomer in the class of 2022.