The Week That Was #1: The high school season is underway
Welcome to the Week That Was #1, the first of 17 similar installments scheduled throughout the 2021-22 Minnesota girls high school basketball season. Every Sunday we will provide a recap of the previous week’s events, including top performers, fresh faces, notable milestones and other odds and ends picked up along the way. We’ll hand out some accolades to players we saw during the week and bring you various odds and ends that didn’t find their way into our regular coverage. Notice we said, ‘players we saw.’ When it comes to accolades we’ll only be handing out gold stars for things we witnessed first-hand, either in person or online. We’ll try to make note of top performances around the state, as well, but we need to see it to reward it.
Here goes for the Week That Was #1.
OPENING NIGHT
The Thanksgiving tournaments normally mark the opening of the high school season but there’s usually a couple of other games that jump the gun the night before the holiday. There were three this year, including a solid Class 4A encounter between host Elk River and the visitors from East Ridge. We made the trek up to Elks country to check out the proceedings in the flesh. Some opening night jitters were expected, of course, so we weren’t surprised when the recorded version of the Star Spangled Banner failed and we instead participated in a collective off-key recitation of the national anthem. That’s always fun and a good reminder about why they try to bring in actual performers before most games.
Even in the absence of big Britt Carlson Britt Carlson 6'4" | PF East Ridge | 2022 State MN – the major league volleyball recruit has hung up her basketball shoes – East Ridge is expected to make some noise this season and might even be the favorites to take the Suburban East tiara from Stillwater. They certainly looked like it early after Jenna Ritzer and Carly Rekstad buried back-to-back threes to open the season as the Raptors sprinted to a quick 18-6 lead. Elk River soon settled in and went on a nice run of their own to tie the game at 23 before East Ridge built a little cushion to end the half up 31-25.
In the second half the speed, quickness and skill of the East Ridge guards was a bit too hot to handle for Elk River as juniors Grace Knupp Grace Knupp 5'8" | CG East Ridge | 2023 State MN and Emily Christenson Emily Christenson 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2023 State MN , sophomore Sidney Klauer Sidney Klauer 5'7" | CG East Ridge | 2024 State MN and freshman Elle Wildman Elle Wildman 5'8" | PG East Ridge | 2025 MN had their way with things. They amped up the defensive pressure, turned up the offensive pace and assembled a pair of big runs to forge a 20-point cushion with about 5 minutes left. That was all she wrote and the Raptors won it 65-48. Knupp led East Ridge with 17 points while Klauer and Rekstad had 10 apiece. Knupp and Isabella Sanneh Isabella Sanneh 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2024 State MN were a combined 12/14 at the free throw line. Senior Ava Berg Ava Berg 5'7" | CG Elk River | 2022 State MN and sophomore Kayla Christy Kayla Christy 6'0" | PF Elk River | 2024 State MN led the Elks with 15 points each.
East Ridge looks legit. Carlson’s decision to forego the basketball season has made it easier for coach Ashley Ellis-Milan to reestablish the team’s guard-centric identity and the kids are clearly buying in. The team culture installed in the coach’s first season will likely bear big fruit this time around. The team plays fast, they are aggressive and they work well together. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?
Elsewhere on opening night Duluth East scored an impressive 74-55 win over Princeton as Rachel Hagen Rachel Hagen 5'10" | SF Duluth East | 2023 State MN (26 & 14) and Ashlynne Guenther Ashlynne Guenther 5'11" | SF Duluth East | 2023 State MN (22 & 7) lit it up for the long-suffering Greyhounds. Maddie James Maddie James 6'0" | SG Princeton | 2022 State MN had 16 for the Tigers. In the third game, Hibbing beat Greenway 71-48.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hannah Herzig Hannah Herzig 6'0" | CG Totino Grace | 2022 State MN of Totino-Grace got off to a torrid start at the Twin Cities Thanksgiving Tipoff at St. Thomas Academy. She opened the season Friday afternoon by scoring 26 points to lead the Eagles to an impressive win over Stewartville. Some 24 hours later, the 6’0 wing scored 29 against Cretin-Derham Hall in another victory. Hannah combined beautifully with teammate Leah Dengerud Leah Dengerud 5'9" | SF Totino Grace | 2022 State MN (Concordia-St. Paul) as the two set the tempo and tone for both games. The timing couldn’t be better for Hannah, who is one of the top unsigned prospects in the Class of 2022.
Last year Herzig took an impressive 20-place jump up the Prep Girls Hoops rankings where she now resides at #41. She is long and lean, runs the floor extremely well, can handle the ball at pace, and knows how to finish in multiple ways at the basket. Players with these attributes and dimensions always draw a ton of interest and Herzig is no exception. But in a very tight recruiting market that has been tainted by the extra year granted to all current players – removing 750+ scholarships from the table for those still in high school – Herzig has yet to find the right fit. She certainly didn’t hurt her case on opening weekend.
Honorable mentions:
- Kiani Lockett Kiani Lockett 5'9" | PG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN of Minnetonka turned in a pair of excellent performances in the Skippers’ two victories at the Pat Patterson Tournament at Hamline University. The Creighton commit scored 16 against White Bear Lake, 26 versus St. Louis Park and ran the show from start to finish for ‘Tonka. She is the alpha dog’s alpha dog.
- Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN of St. Michael-Albertville had a quiet first half at Hamline on Friday as the Knights fell behind by 15 points against Rosemount. At halftime coach Kent Hamre made a couple of tweaks, Tessa got more touches and the big guard took over the game to give STMA a win in the final few minutes. Saturday she was equally good in a dismantling of Como Park. Tessa is #1 in the Class of 2023.
- Audrey Swanson Audrey Swanson 5'11" | SF Waconia | 2022 State MN has become a force to be reckoned with. The Waconia forward, who has committed to Southwest Minnesota State, had 16 in a romp over Apple Valley on Friday and scored 25 on Saturday to prevail in a physical battle with Lakeville South. She is Top 40 in the Class of 2022.
UNSUNG HERO OF THE WEEK
Tayah Leenderts Tayah Leenderts 6'0" | PF Rosemount | 2022 State MN of Rosemount drew the thankless job of defending 6’4 center Maya Nnaji Maya Nnaji 6'4" | PF Hopkins | 2022 State #7 Nation MN of Hopkins on Saturday night at the Hamline tournament and did as good a job against the Arizona recruit as anyone we have seen lately. It’s a big ask having a 6-footer match up with a monstrous opponent who has been touted by national observers as the one of the best bigs in the country. Nnaji was held to only 13 points in the game, over half of which were scored when Tayah was on the bench catching her breath.
Of course #29-ranked Leenderts is no stranger to tough assignments. At the state tournament she had to guard 6’4 Sophie Hart of Farmington (North Carolina State), 6’2 Jenna Guyer of Centennial (UW-Green Bay) and 6’1 Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN of Chaska (Minnesota) in consecutive games. Leenderts keeps things simple, never gets rattled, uses her physical presence well, and doesn’t try to overdo things on the offensive end. It’s a great package and one that will serve her well at the University of Sioux Falls.
Honorable mentions
- Tootie Cade (Lewis) of Minnetonka is a role player on a team loaded with Division 1-bound stars, but her contributions for the Skippers were impressive. The big 5’10 forward offers a physical presence, a good amount of skill, and the junior can knock down shots.
- Ava Butler Ava Butler 5'9" | SF Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2022 State MN tends to be overshadowed at Mountain Iron-Buhl by the great Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN , but the work she does in the trenches has won the Rangers a ton of games over the years. The undersized forward averaged 14 points and nearly 4 rebounds per game this weekend, shooting 50% from the field and 91% at the line.
- Emma Lade Emma Lade 5'9" | CG Mayer Lutheran | 2022 State MN of Mayer Lutheran just goes about her business game after game, year after year. She has drawn plenty of notice on the volleyball court but in basketball the big guard does just as much with little fanfare. Lade scored 17 Friday in a win over Winona Cotter and followed that up with 18 in a defeat of Maranatha Christian and was solid all around.
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Lanelle Wright Lanelle Wright 5'8" | PG Minnetonka | 2026 State MN of Minnetonka is a name you may already know and one you will be hearing about a lot in the years ahead. This weekend the 2026 point guard made her Skippers debut. Not only did the 8th grader fit in, she stood out. Although she scored 11 in Saturday’s win over St. Louis Park, point production is not what Wright is all about. It is her vision, passing and distribution skills that are truly special. Wright has put in a tremendous amount of work to develop her game and she was more than ready when the time came to strut her stuff on a bigger stage.
MILESTONES
Each week we’ll bring you the milestone performances were are aware of. We scour Twitter for posts about record-setting events and folks let us know about such things, as well. If we miss something be sure to let us know and we’ll post the details the following week. Feel free to email me at gmachoops@gmail.com or send a direct message via Twitter (@gmachoops).
- Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN of Minnehaha Academy scored 29 points in a win over St. Paul Central to reach the 1,000 career points mark. What’s truly remarkable is it was the first game of Addi’s freshman season and she just turned 14. She’s Top 5 in the Class of 2025.
- Kiani Lockett Kiani Lockett 5'9" | PG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN of Minnetonka, the 8th-ranked senior in the state, also reached 1,000 career points. The Creighton guard’s playmaking is outstanding but she can definitely fill up the basket, as well.
- Madison Mathiowetz Madison Mathiowetz 5'10" | CG Sleepy Eye St. Mary's | 2022 State MN of Sleepy Eye St. Marys continued her remarkable career over the weekend. The South Dakota State commit, ranked #12, reached 1,000 career rebounds. Not bad for a guard! She also had 55 points in two games.
TOP PERFORMANCES
- Malia Nelson Malia Nelson 5'9" | CG Dover-Eyota | 2022 State MN of Dover-Eyota broke her sister’s single-game scoring record Friday night with 41 points in a win Friday over Zumbrota-Mazeppa. The senior guard did it again on Saturday with 42 in a defeat of Minneapolis North. Madison Nelson scored 40 in a game in 2015 before going on to a stellar career at the University of Denver. She plays pro ball in Europe.
- Megan Morgan of Winona Cotter also set a team single-game scoring record with 35 points against Mayer Lutheran. That a big number for a defensive-minded program where it’s all about team.
- Ella Runyon Ella Runyon 5'11" | CG Hill-Murray | 2022 State MN ’s Hill-Murray squad is all about stopping opponents from scoring, too, but with the loss of much of its offense to graduation, Runyon will need to step up her production this season. That’s exactly what she did on opening day by scoring 36 points in a win over Grand Rapids at the Twin Cities Thanksgiving Tipoff. She averaged 19 ppg last season with a high of 27.
- Mikayla Aumer Mikayla Aumer 5'9" | CG Cambridge-Isanti | 2022 State MN of Cambridge-Isanti has been known to put up points in recent seasons and the Top 20 senior did it again on opening night with a 35-point performance. Unfortunately for the North Dakota commit, the Bluejackets lost by a basket to Spring Lake Park.
- Hadley Sammons of Windom started her freshman year off right. The 9th grade guard scored 26 points in the first half Saturday against Hill-Beaver Creek before finishing with 32. The Minnesota Rise prospect is a quality defender, as well.
- Kassie Caron Kassie Caron 6'0" | SF Holy Angels | 2022 State MN is off to a fine start in her senior season. The Missouri Western commit from Holy Angels opened with a 19-point performance against Roseville on Friday and followed that up by scoring 41 on Saturday against Eastview.
Coming up: We’ll have separate stories on the Thanksgiving tournaments we watched over the weekend. Coverage begins on Monday.
Top photo: Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN of Minnehaha Academy topped 1,000 career points in the first game of her freshman year.