The Week That Was #9: Wrapping up the regular season

Last week we spent all but one evening glued to multiple laptop screens watching games online. This week we were in the gym five days out of the six. Along the way we saw some great basketball and a few strong individual performances. Here’s our recap in The Week That Was #9, the last hurrah for the 2021 regular season. <strong>WHAT WE WATCHED</strong> <ul> <li>Monday – Minneapolis North vs Minneapolis Southwest, Crosby-Ironton vs Pequot Lakes</li> <li>Tuesday – Becker at Holy Angels</li> <li>Wednesday – White Bear Lake at Forest Lake</li> <li>Thursday – Champlin at Park Center</li> <li>Friday – Pine City at Duluth Marshall</li> <li>Saturday – Rochester Mayo at Eden Prairie</li> </ul> <strong>PLAYER OF THE WEEK</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="108302" first="Molly" last="Lenz"] <strong>– 2023 guard, Eden Prairie</strong> Molly is a top-10 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023. She is a talented, physical, driven point guard with elite potential. We have seen her do a lot of great stuff over the years, but on Saturday night Lenz dialed it up a notch. Molly was in attack mode from the opening tip against Rochester Mayo, as she grabbed the game by the throat and would not let go until the Spartans were done and dusted. Molly moved the ball (setting up sharpshooter [player_tooltip player_id="57120" first="Allison" last="Miranda"] for 5 threes), got to the rim, fired it from distance (she’s a 50% shooter) and was just generally excellent at both ends of the court. This is the best we have seen Lenz play, and we’ve watched her a ton. It has been great seeing her game evolve to the point where she consistently makes excellent decisions, doesn’t get rattled by pressure, and can impose her will on opponents on a regular basis. Molly finished the night with 16 points, but her impact was felt in virtually every aspect of the game as the Eagles scored an impressive 92-59 victory. <strong>Honorable mentions</strong> Senior [player_tooltip player_id="2126" first="Gianna" last="Kneepkens"] of Duluth Marshall delivers every single time out. On Friday night in the Northland, we were in the house to see her performance up close and personal against Pine City. Kneepkens had the most low-key 42-point performance we’ve ever seen. She’s just good at every aspect of the game. Gianna is averaging an unfathomable 43 points per game. She has topped the 40-point mark a dozen times, including three games over 50. She just makes it all look so easy, and there’s not much more you can say. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="109814" first="Gina" last="Stefferud"] of Champlin Park has been a remarkable success story. The first time we saw Gina four years ago she was at the bottom of the AAU food chain, but there was something there that was intriguing. Two years ago she barely got a sniff of the floor in varsity basketball. Fast forward to Thursday night at Park Center where we saw the latest version of Gina, who dominated on the glass, scored inside and out, worked tirelessly from start to finish and brought the most impactful physical presence on the court. Beast mode. She scored 22 points in the win over the Pirates. Gina has put in a ton of work, and it has paid off handsomely with a D2 opportunity at Minot State and an outstanding senior season. <strong>NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="262910" first="Tori" last="Schlagel"] <strong>– 8th grade guard, Eden Prairie</strong> Tori has been patient this year as she has been figuring out what 4A varsity basketball in the Lake Conference  is all about. Along the way her minutes have increased as has her impact on the game. Saturday night against Rochester Mayo it all came together for the standout prospect. She came into the game for the first time about midway through the opening half. At the 5:10 mark she slipped behind the Mayo defenders and finished a terrific feed from senior [player_tooltip player_id="109749" first="Katie" last="Leisen"] (Augsburg). At 4:45 Schlagel nailed a long three-pointer. At 3:05 she scored on a put-back. And at the 2:00 mark Tori completed an and-1, giving her 10 points in just over three minutes of play. She added four more in the second half for a career-high 14. Tori is long and athletic, has a highly advanced set of skills, and she’s playing with poise and composure. A sure-fire top-5 prospect in the class of 2025, Schlagel is a name you will come to know well in the years ahead. <strong>COACH OF THE WEEK</strong> <strong>Jen Wagner – Forest Lake</strong> The consistency and efficiency of the Forest Lake Rangers hardly ever seems to vary. Despite having a lineup that is largely devoid of star attractions, the Rangers play hard-nosed, team-oriented basketball that produces quality results year after year. Credit must go to coach Jen Wagner, who is in her 17th season at the helm and has a knack for getting the utmost out of her athletes. Forest Lake is 15-3 this season and in the driver’s seat for another trip to the state tournament representing section 7AAAA. Wagner has her crew of lunch-pail veterans rolling – players like [player_tooltip player_id="109158" first="Greta" last="Krieger"], <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="146169" first="Logan" last="Anderson"]</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id="109825" first="Olivia" last="Pekron"], <strong>Lydia Bostrom</strong> and <strong>Katie Johnson</strong>. The players don’t have to look far for inspiration given that their coach is also battling breast cancer. <strong>MILESTONES</strong> Last week we brought you a nugget on Wayzata’s string of 1,000-point scorers over the past few seasons. In Lake City, however, the Tigers can boast four 1,000-pointers at the same time! On Thursday, junior [player_tooltip player_id="109142" first="Lilly" last="Meincke"] topped 1,000 in a win over Zumbrota-Mazeppa. As illustrated in the photo above, senior [player_tooltip player_id="109783" first="Grace" last="Bany"] and juniors [player_tooltip player_id="109153" first="Mya" last="Shones"] and [player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"] have all achieved the milestone. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="109156" first="Natalie" last="Mikrot"] of Moose Lake-Willow River set an impressive mark of her own this week as the prolific guard became her school’s all-time leading scorer, boys or girls, with 1,848 points. She passed 2005 graduate Geoff Probst. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="109799" first="Mya" last="Suess"] of Kasson-Mantorville had 26 points and 17 rebounds in a win over Rochester Lourdes, enabling her to reach 1,000 career rebounds. She also has over 1,000 points, making her the second player in Komets history to do the double. The first was the great <strong>Kristin Scott</strong>, who is now wrapping up an outstanding college career at Iowa State. While at Kasson-Mantorville, Scott collected a remarkable 2,253 points and 1,158 rebounds. On Saturday [player_tooltip player_id="109753" first="Sacia" last="Vanderpool"] of Byron had 29 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks against Caledonia, enabling the Wisconsin commit to score her 1,000th career point. Vanderpool, who is averaging 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists per game in her final high school campaign, also has 700 rebounds. This week’s other 1,000-point scorers include: <ul> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id="109751" first="Johanna" last="Langbehn"] of Elk River (St. Thomas)</li> <li>Senior <strong>Katie Johnson</strong> of Perham (Valley City State)</li> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id="109778" first="Megan" last="Oswald"] of Blooming Prairie (Jamestown)</li> <li>Senior <strong>Rachel Winkey</strong> of the Blake School</li> <li>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="148330" first="Ella" last="Pritchard"] of Cristo Rey in Minneapolis</li> </ul> There was a unique milestone this week, as well. That was reached by junior [player_tooltip player_id="109180" first="Bobbie" last="Bruns"] of Blooming Prairie who recorded her 300th career assist. In doing so she broke the previous record that was held by her former babysitter <strong>Madison Worke</strong>! <strong>TOP PERFORMANCES</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"] of Sleepy Eye-St. Mary’s is no stranger to the top performers category. Mathiowetz, ranked 15th in the junior class, was at it again this week in a win over Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. Maddie had 48 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, the third time this season she has bested the 40-point mark. Maddie, who is averaging 33 points per game, led SESM to a perfect 18-0 mark in the regular season.. Meanwhile her teammate <strong>Sydney Windschitl</strong> had 14 points in the same game to become the second-highest scorer in school history behind Mathiowetz. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="186113" first="Aalayah" last="Wilson"] of Osseo has now had two highly productive seasons for the Orioles. On Thursday she scored 35 second-half points and 41 overall as Osseo came from 20 points down to record a 75-73 win over Coon Rapids. It was just Osseo’s second victroy of the season. Wilson, who is averaging 18 ppg, is a top-75 prospect in the class of 2023 and rising. 8th grader <strong>Kendall McGee</strong> of Breck led her team in scoring as a 7th grader and this season she has been even better. Last week she had her first career triple-double against Fridley, scoring 25 points and reaching double figures in rebounds and assists. McGee, who had a 40-point performance last month against Maranatha, is averaging 20 ppg while shooting 49%. Speaking of triple doubles, freshman <strong>Rachel Kottke</strong> of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart last week had not one but two triple-doubles. The crafty guard had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a 60-56 win over Wabasso on Monday. She followed that up on Saturday by going 19-12-10 in a win over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop. Kottke is averaging 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. On Monday freshman [player_tooltip player_id="215981" first="Kylie" last="Waytashek"] of Royalton had 6 blocks to go along with her 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 54-52 win over St. Cloud Cathedral. In doing so Waytashek established a new school record for blocks in a season with 71, reaching the milestone in only 16 games. It’s not as if Royalton hasn’t had any big posts before. 6’4 center [player_tooltip player_id="110874" first="Jenna" last="Anderson"] made her mark in the paint, as well, and just completed her freshman season at Bemidji State.