Fall League Week 5: Revvin’ up those rivalries

It looked like it might be the game of the day. It turned out to be much more than that. Minnetonka vs Wayzata is always a fun one whenever the two West Metro powers meet up on a basketball court or pretty much any other athletic field of endeavor. So with a limited window available for viewing the action Sunday at Breakdown Fall League, I focused my time and effort on the Skippers vs Trojans rivalry. Well actually there were two rivalry games Sunday morning that caught my attention. Here’s what we witnessed. Who said wins don’t matter at Fall League? Results don’t matter at Fall League. At least that’s what everyone tries to tell themselves, and in the first two or three weeks of the warm-up circuit most of the focus is on seeing which newcomers might be ready to step up and make something happen when the high school season opens for real in late November. By weeks four, five and six, however, winning seems to take more of a priority as the season draws near. That was certainly the case Sunday morning. Minnetonka brings a revamped lineup to the table this season, having added one of the most exciting young talents in Minnesota. Freshman , widely considered to be the #1 prospect in the Class of 2025, transferred to Minnetonka from Hopkins and is adapting to her new shade of blue rather well. Along with Crump came elite 8th grade point guard Lanelle Wright, one of the best two or three players in the class of 2026. They join an already deep Skippers lineup.

Wright wasn’t available on Sunday but Crump was in fine form. She’ll likely be part of a starting lineup this season that include an All-Division 1 backcourt of (Creighton), (Alabama-Birmingham) and Top 10 sophomore . Up front is another top prospect in sophomore power forward . That’s a solid group. Despite losing D1 post (George Washington), D2 guard (Fort Lewis) and a strong supporting cast, this is likely the most talented group head coach Leah Dasovich has had at her disposal since the Skippers won the Class 4A state championship in 2016. Junior Tootie Cade has been impressive this fall while sophomores and should play key roles, as well. There will no doubt be other contributors. Minnetonka went 15-5 last year and was eliminated from the post season by the eventual state champions from Chaska.

Wayzata returns a ton of talent but they will look a little different, too, with the infusion of one Minnesota’s premier freshmen, the return of a high-end junior and the installation of new coach Julie Stewart. The Trojans, who went 11-7 last year, graduated the great , now at the University of Utah. They return 5’11 guard , arguably the top player in the state, who has committed to the University of Minnesota. Mara, who averaged 18 ppg last season, will be joined in the starting lineup by 6’0 junior forward , who is coming off a breakout summer, and 5’11 forward who returns from a torn ACL. Veteran point guard , a Top 25 prospect, will run the show from the backcourt. The most exciting new addition is freshman guard , a strong agile athlete with a compete factor that is off the charts. It certainly was Sunday against ‘Tonka.

Things go by quickly when the clock is always running and the first half was back and forth until Minnetonka gained a slight edge just before the break to lead 14-9 at the half. The Skippers were ahead by 8 points when Hawkinson got rolling with a long three to close the gap. Then Fornshell scored on the run, finishing at the rim with a soft touch off a great feed from Hawkinson to pull within three. Wayzata, which had been a little bit passive in the opening stanza, was suddenly looking very scrappy. It was Hawkinson and Senden who set the tone with that and everyone else seemed to follow. The Trojans finally managed to draw even at 28 on Braun’s pair of free throws with just over two minutes left on the clock.

Following missed opportunities at both ends of the floor, it was Crump who made the big play that should have decided the game – a strong drive to the hoop for a score with 6.2 seconds left to give the Skippers at 30-28 lead. Except it wasn’t over, and the Trojans had one last gasp for air. Not surprisingly it was Braun, who makes a habit of the heroic, who managed to get off a last-ditch bomb from the middle of a mob just in front of her team’s bench, launching from nearly half court. S-P-L-A-S-H!! Game over. Wayzata won it 31-30. Mark your calendars for Friday, Jan. 28. That’s when the rivalry resumes for real. Rivals from the Saintly City

There are rivalries east of the Mississippi River, too. Some 10-12 years ago it was St. Paul Central against everyone who dared venture into the Minutemen gym on Lexington Avenue. These days it is Como Park that rules the roost in the capital city. If you haven’t been to a game in the Cougars’ gym you are missing out. South of I-94, Cretin-Derham Hall has long been St. Paul’s private school athletic factory, an importer of talent, an exporter of professional athletes. At one time they were members of the St. Paul City Conference until being shown politely to the door. They joined the Suburban East where the opponents are more similar in size and resources. All these years later, however, there is still meaning in St. Paul whenever Como and Cretin meet up, even if it’s only in Fall League. Their latest encounter was first up on the breakfast menu on Sunday. Como is coming off a strange season, one in which the school district prohibited the squad from playing outside of its own conference until the post season. No disrespect to the rest of the conference but that’s not exactly the sort of schedule that will prepare a team for a state tournament run. Still the Cougars made it to the section final where they lost by a bucket to St. Croix Lutheran. This time around Como Park is hoping the season proceeds as planned because their senior-laden lineup has as a good a chance of capturing the Class 3A state championship as anyone.

Como starts five seniors, including D1-caliber guard and D1 commit (St. Peters). Scrappy defender (NIACC) and feisty wing (Waldorf) set the mood, and big is an immovable object on the inside. It is a formidable group. Como’s ace in the hole this season may be the return of junior , who has missed back-to-back seasons with consecutive ACL surgeries. Shania is less than a month away from her scheduled return. If she is anywhere near the form she used to display (fingers crossed) her addition will be enormous. In the rotation will likely be sophomores Ellery Tennison, Greta Seppanen and Alice Wagner while freshman Elyana Van Nett will likely see the floor, too. Coach Londa Englund also has other pieces at her disposal if needed. Over at Cretin things aren’t quite so clear for Raiders coach Crystal Flint. What is clear, however – at least from what we saw on Sunday – is the fact that sophomore is about to bust loose. The 5’11 guard with the big frame was in attack mode from start to finish against the Cougars. Lilly’s fire burns hot. Very hot. As in ‘Call 9-1-1!!’ level hot. She is skilled, strong and physical. On Sunday she showed the ability to beat her defender one-on-one to create space and then knock down a sweet mid-range jump shot. She gets to the rim through contact all the time, although James was having none of that on this day. Sophomore guard Lauren Bengtson would look to be a key piece, as well, along with senior point guard . After that the minutes are up for grabs. Freshmen Tank Edwards and Emma Dornan are big factors (literally!) as is 6’2 junior Priscilla Oturo, sister of CDH/Gopher/NBA player Daniel. We didn’t see 6’4 post on Sunday, but she offers even more size! Cretin did lose , who transferred to Bloomington Jefferson, along with graduates and , who are both at NIACC in Mason City, Iowa. The Raiders went 8-12 last season, falling to Stillwater in the section semifinal. Como had things pretty much their own way in the first half on Sunday before CDH managed to slow down the Cougars’ offense and deposit some buckets of their own. The final score was 32-23. Como does everything fast, and when they are pressing and trapping and running and gunning there aren’t a lot of teams that can hang with them. After spinning their wheels for most of last winter, the Cougars have forged a killer schedule to prepare this time around, a docket that includes an opening-night date with Hopkins, a regular-season finale vs Becker, and meetings in between with the likes of DeLaSalle, Providence Academy, Stillwater, Eden Prairie and Minnehaha Academy. They’ll also face Cretin-Derham Hall for real on Feb. 8 in Joe Mauer’s gym. Top photo: Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN of Wayzata is committed to the University of Minnesota.