Breakdown Fall League: The best of week 1 at Hopkins

Elayna Boe is what fall ball is all about. Well not Elayna specifically but fresh faces like her who show up, show out and serve notice that they are ready to make some noise in high school basketball. Boe’s play was among the highlights Sunday on day 1 of the Breakdown Sports Fall League at Hopkins, the annual beginning of the autumn run towards the regular season. That’s why the 5’10 freshman from Lakeville North leads the way in our highlights of opening day. There were 30 teams on hand Sunday for the initial sessions with a few more expected next week. When the four-week main league opens in a couple of weeks there will be more than 200 teams competing at the varsity, junior varsity and 9th grade levels. For Prep Girls Hoops it’s an excellent opportunity to scout up-and-coming talent in a high school setting where they are playing against kids of all ages and skill levels. It’s also a chance to get a peak at what certain high school teams might look like in the season ahead. Here’s what we saw on Sunday. FRESH FACE OF THE WEEK This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Elayna Boe play. We have been intrigued throughout the AAU workout sessions over the past few weeks by what she has to offer. Before that we saw her play with Crossfire Mueller, a D1 unit on the 8th grade summer circuit. This was the first time we have watched her in a high school setting and we came away super impressed by the 2025 guard from Lakeville North. Boe had the hot hand on Sunday and was knocking down shots from long distance with a smooth stroke and quick release. She impressed in the paint with some smooth footwork, excellent elevation, and nice instincts. Her touch around the rim was very good. At about 5’10, Elayna has plenty of length to work with. She’s active on defense and moves well laterally. She’s instinctual, too, with quality anticipation and court vision. That’s a heckuva combination of skills to have if you want to stop the other team from scoring the basketball. You know how much we love light feet. Well Boe has them, as well as long strides and the ability to get up and down the court quickly. Boe isn’t the only athlete in her family, either. Brother Nathan, for example, is rowing the boat for P.J. Fleck’s University of Minnesota football team. We’re not sure if Elayna is Big 10 material but we’ll definitely be watching her progress in the months ahead. NEW-LOOK LAKEVILLE NORTH Boe wasn’t the only girl in red who impressed for Lakeville North on Sunday. It’s not really clear where she fits in the big picture, or how much she will contribute immediately on varsity. As always, the Panthers have plenty of talent. Their biggest challenge will be replacing point guard [player_tooltip player_id="109755" first="Lizzie" last="Berkvam"], the MSU-Moorhead commit who graduated in the spring. That job would appear to belong to junior floor general [player_tooltip player_id="108334" first="Haley" last="Bryant"], who has most definitely earned the opportunity. Bryant is a skilled and gritty competitor with a ton of high-level AAU experience with Minnesota Fury 2023 Premier. At 5’7, she handles the ball well, distributes effectively, can score inside or out, and is a solid defender. She’s got no shortage of toughness or physicality, either. A Top-50 talent who belongs in a scholarship program at the next level, Bryant positively oozes confidence which her teammates should be able to feed off of. Junior shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="108326" first="Emy" last="Wolkow"], ranked #33 in the Class of 2023, will be crucial to Lakeville North’s success as will seniors [player_tooltip player_id="109172" first="Michaela" last="Juaire"] (#124), [player_tooltip player_id="109174" first="Abby" last="Titus"] (#122) and defensive stopper Abby Ruhland. Top 20 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="215957" first="Gabby" last="Betton"] will be huge. Giant sophomore post Trinity Wilson returns from knee surgery and will be counted upon to make an impact. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="186131" first="Mara" last="Westerman"] (#123) will bring energy and hustle to the table. Freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id="296530" first="Gracie" last="Winge"] played a ton of minutes on Sunday and it will be difficult to keep one of the top 2025s in the state off the floor. It’s a good group that showed flashes on Sunday of what is to come. WELCOME TO REALITY IN WACONIA One of the more talented, more entertaining teams to watch in recent years has been Waconia. From the run-and-gun era led by uber-talented Anna Schmitt, who went on to have a history-making career at Concordia-St. Paul, to the more recent success led by 2021 graduate [player_tooltip player_id="109750" first="Addy" last="Salzer"] (Iona), the Wildcats have been on a roll. Reality is about to hit in Waconia, however, as the team will have to overcome mass graduations and a mandated move up to Class 4A. Waconia apparently had eight students too many – yes, just eight! – to remain in 3A. Combined with a move to the Metro West Conference, the Wildcats have a tough road ahead if they want to get through Section 2AAAA, which includes the defending state champions from Chaska, along with such luminaries as Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake. In addition to losing Salzer’s 12.4 points per game, Waconia will also be without [player_tooltip player_id="109762" first="Sydni" last="Olson"] (12.2), Melissa Honnold (7.1), Allie Zimmer (5.9) and Dani Dykstra (5.4). It will be up to MSU-Mankato commit [player_tooltip player_id="109135" first="Ava" last="Stier"] (14.4) and Southwest Minnesota State recruit [player_tooltip player_id="109148" first="Audrey" last="Swanson"] (12.6) to carry the mail. The 42nd-ranked Stier and 37th-rated Swanson will need to do a lot of heavy lifting by handling the ball more, shooting more, and making more plays than they have in the past. Both are certainly capable but who else will help? Coach Dusty Neibauer will need some others to fill the gaps. 6’0 senior Kenzie Amundson is an excellent shot blocker who has been taking steps to become more assertive offensively. We’re told she has excellent touch. Guard Sarah Cravens has battled back from two ACL injuries. She looked very promising as a freshman but she’s just rounding back into form now. The contribution of multi-sport athletes like Grace Seim will be vital. The soccer player has great court vision, plays a physical game and competes hard. Let’s hope that carries over from the pitch to the court. SWITCHING SQUADS One of the more interesting aspects of Breakdown Fall League every year is seeing who shows up in what uniform. Transfer rumors are a constant, of course, but particularly in the weeks that follow the end of the AAU season. We’ve cited a few of late – [player_tooltip player_id="296523" first="Kendall" last="McGee"] from Breck to Benilde-St. Margaret’s, [player_tooltip player_id="109167" first="London" last="Salberg-Thornton"] from Hopkins to Maranatha, and [player_tooltip player_id="186137" first="Kylie" last="Diaz"] from Spring Lake Park to St. Michael-Albertville, for example – but there will be more to come. On Sunday morning we spied 2023 guard [player_tooltip player_id="108325" first="Sydnee" last="Nelson"] wearing the green of Park High School in Cottage Grove rather than the familiar purple of Red Wing, where she has been a stalwart in seasons past. Nelson, the #36-ranked prospect in Minnesota’s junior class, has been a fixture on Minnesota Fury’s much-ballyhooed 2023 UAA squad. The 5’5 combo guard is more of a role player in that group, a defensive specialist whose rather significant contributions sometimes get lost in the shadows of high D1 prospects like 4th-ranked [player_tooltip player_id="108301" first="Kennedy" last="Sanders"], Top 10 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="108321" first="Aby" last="Shubert"] and Providence College commit [player_tooltip player_id="108315" first="Sophi" last="Hall"]. On Sunday Sydnee’s skill set was oh-so-obvious for the Wolfpack. After having a big, physical squad a couple of years ago that garnered some real success, coach Stephanie Tolkinen’s team has struggled to get wins. With Sydnee’s dad Jesse Nelson now teaching and coaching at Park, that opened the door for the junior to step into the Wolfpack lineup right away. Her impact has been immediate. Nelson can do everything fast. She’s got speed and quickness, elite-level handles, is a great shooter and is, of course, known for making a size-large impact defensively. Park’s pace was up substantially on Sunday. The one player who will really benefit from Sydnee’s switch is senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="109178" first="Justine" last="Jameson"] of the Minnesota Heat, a Top 100 prospect in the Class of 2022 and the only other currently ranked player in the Park lineup. Jameson is smooth and long and skillful, and has a ton of promise for the next level. On opening day she was getting the ball from Nelson at just the right time in just the right place and the results were there to show for it. Even though much of the Park lineup was absent due to their focus on fall sports, things are already looking up in Cottage Grove. Top photo: Junior [player_tooltip player_id="108334" first="Haley" last="Bryant"] of Lakeville North was among Sunday’s players to watch.