Breakdown Fall League: Week 2 highlights from Hopkins

It wasn’t long ago that North St. Paul lost 45 games in a row and barely had enough players to keep the program going. They’ve been through a litany of challenges, and numerous coaches, too. The Polars won just twice last season but you would never have guessed it on Sunday at the Lindbergh Center in Hopkins where the 10 girls in red competed hard, executed well and went home with a W. North’s performance was among the highlights of week 2 at the Breakdown Sports Preseason Fall League. Here’s a rundown on what we liked in our 10 hours in the gym. On the way up: North St. Paul It’s not easy rebuilding, but North St. Paul coach Patrick Leslie appears to have the ingredients necessary to make a go of it. He’s full of positive energy, is committed to helping his kids improve, and has the sort of semi-rational belief it takes to turn a program around. After moving here from Texas – yes he also coaches football – Leslie took a job teaching social studies in North St. Paul and inherited the struggling girls basketball program. The fruits of his early efforts were on full display Sunday. After all the program has been through, just having 10 girls show up to compete in the Breakdown league is light years ahead of where they were. I loved the squad’s energy level. I loved how positive their talk was, how hard they competed, how much they seemed to be enjoying the experience. Yes, they made mistakes, but they were also resilient and executed plenty of plays. Two players, in particular, stood out: 2025 guard Aliyah Horton and 2023 guard/wing Lakesha Thomas. Horton is about 5’5 with really quick feet and nice handles. She played fast, made good decisions and was calm under pressure. Thomas is about 5’9 or 5’10 with length. She, too, is athletic and full of energy. She pulled off some terrific moves down low, beating her defender with great body control and finishing at the basket with a soft touch. She also showed a nice mid-range game. Thomas blocked shots and wasn’t afraid to get physical at both ends of the floor. There’s no question that both Horton and Thomas have the potential to be successful at the next level. They just need training, time and opportunity, which describes a ton of city kids who get overlooked in the recruiting process. Make no mistake, it’s a long road back to respectability. The Polars lost by 69 to Stillwater last season. Hill-Murray beat them by more than 50 (twice) and so did Mahtomedi. They did score a pair of victories, however, including a meaningful one over their neighborhood rivals from Tartan High School. This year’s roster will primarily be composed of 8th and 9th graders and we will see what’s possible as they mature and improve. No way the Polars would have scored a win over a high-level JV squad from a big, successful 4A program one year ago but they did on Sunday. That’s progress. Top performer: [player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"] We have never actually measured Miller's height. The senior guard from St. Michael-Albertville has been listed between 5’1 and 5’3 but what difference does it make? The only measurements that really count when it comes to Miller is the size of her heart and the speed of her shoes, and on Sunday she was playing as hard and moving as fast as we’ve ever seen. That’s saying something! STMA filled in for a team that couldn’t make it on Sunday and the Knights’ hastily assembled lineup was an interesting mix that included a pair of transfers – 2023 forward [player_tooltip player_id="186137" first="Kylie" last="Diaz"] and 2024 guard Ja’Kahla Craft – along with elite 2026 guard Cail Jahnke, all of whom played great. But it was Miller who stole the show. Emma was a force of nature against a strong Minnehaha Academy team, flying up and down the court at Mach 1. She attacked the basket from start to finish, distributed the ball like the veteran she is, defended with passion, and spilled her boundless energy on everyone around her. Miller posed a ton of questions for the Redhawks, who did not seem to have a lot of answers on this occasion. Then she promptly did the same thing to Bloomington Jefferson. Miller remains one of the top unsigned seniors in Minnesota. Ranked 31st by Prep Girls Hoops and a veteran of the top-end Minnesota Fury UAA squad, she is a surefire scholarship-level player who can also play elite-level softball. Who knows where Miller ends up. Let’s just hope they appreciate just how much game Emma can bring to the table. Team to watch: Maple Grove For the second week in a row the Crimson of Maple Grove were impressive across the board. Coach Mark Cook probably has as much talent spread throughout the program as anyone in the state. Maple Grove had four teams competing in week two – two varsity and a pair of JV squads. The top group certainly got Hopkins’ attention, although the Royals ultimately prevailed by a score of 50-44 with a late spurt. Wing [player_tooltip player_id="108306" first="Kennedy" last="Klick"], a top 10 prospect in the Class of 2023, was impressive as usual. So, too, was 2024 forward [player_tooltip player_id="215956" first="Claire" last="Stern"], who is quickly emerging as one of the best players in the current sophomore class. Ditto for 2025 [player_tooltip player_id="205298" first="Jordan" last="Ode"], who is an elite-level Division 1 prospect already garnering plenty of interest in that vein. The one player whose improvement was very obvious on Sunday was senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="298806" first="Kyla" last="Nygaard"], who recently committed to Concordia-Moorhead for basketball and golf. Nygaard is long, quick and athletic, but she has never really been able to put it all together at the varsity level. Until now. Coming off an excellent summer with the Minnesota Stars, Kyla is playing with greater confidence, more poise, and fewer ups and downs than ever before. She’ll be a rotation player in a deep Maple Grove lineup but Nygaard certainly made her presence felt Sunday. At the JV level we were impressed by 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id="215944" first="Ava" last="Cossette"], along with 2025s Alyssa Baranick, Kendra Overskei, Bella Hanna and [player_tooltip player_id="206227" first="Lexi" last="Hanna"]. Then there’s elite 2026 guard Kate Holmquist, who was burying shots from everywhere. Kate, who is still a year away from the high school program, is competing in the JV division for North West Elite, a group of strong players who are still in travel ball. But not for long. Fresh face of the day: Haven Fisher [caption id="attachment_336180" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/Haven-Fisher-2025-scaled-crop-2437x1600-1633396239.jpg"><img class="wp-image-336180 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/Haven-Fisher-2025-scaled-crop-2437x1600-1633396239-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Haven Fisher, Prior Lake[/caption] Much like Maple Grove, Coach Demondi Johnson’s Prior Lake program is loaded with exciting young prospects. We’ve told you plenty about 2024s [player_tooltip player_id="215979" first="Cece" last="McNair"], [player_tooltip player_id="215989" first="Julia" last="Thoms"], [player_tooltip player_id="215974" first="Anna" last="Van Helden"] and [player_tooltip player_id="302305" first="Ryan" last="Thue"]. Ditto for 2025s like [player_tooltip player_id="296513" first="Bree" last="Bowman"], [player_tooltip player_id="296514" first="Alaya" last="Carter"], Anna Trachsel and Brooklyn Holmberg, who has been outstanding the past two weeks and is destined for a spot on varsity this year. That’s eight next-level prospects right there. On Sunday we saw another bright young talent who shouldn’t be overlooked: 2025 guard Haven Fisher. This was the first time we’ve seen Haven play at the junior varsity level, but her athleticism grabbed our attention immediately. She’s very long and fluid, with light feet and terrific elevation. She handled the ball pretty well while moving effortlessly up and down the court. We loved her strong instincts and sense of anticipation. She was focused and engaged defensively, using her length and lateral movement well. Her skill development isn't quite at the level of the others just yet, but there’s no question she has the potential to get there. After playing this summer for Crossfire South Grismer, which competed in the D3 version of the AAU State Tournament, Haven tells us she’ll be suiting up for the Fury next summer. Obviously she won’t be off the radar for long. Top photo: Lakesha Thomas (left) and Aliyah Horton (right) of North St. Paul.