Granite City Classic: Dependable veterans who delivered

When it comes to the holiday season every gift giver ordering something from afar wants to know one thing: Will it be delivered on time? We wanted to know the same thing about some of Minnesota’s veteran workhorses playing in the annual array of holiday tournaments: Would they show up when their teams needed them the most? Here are some veterans who definitely delivered at the Granite City Classic. [player_tooltip player_id="109143" first="Mikaelah" last="Counce"] & [player_tooltip player_id="215959" first="Ava" last="Holman"] – Champlin Park ‘Kae’ and Ava delivered not once but twice when we were watching courtside at the College of St. Benedict. That’s not surprising. If you’ve been paying attention you already know that the senior Counce has been a mainstay for the Rebels for several seasons. Ava, on the other hand, only transferred in to CP this year, and the sophomore has made a significant and immediate impact. Both players are quick and skilled and crafty. They aren’t afraid to take the big shot, and they always expect those shots to fall. Counce, who has committed to D2 Livingstone, had 17 points in each game. Holman had an even dozen versus Lakeville South and 20 against Duluth East. As expected. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Taryn-Frazer_CLB-scaled-crop-2560x1681-1641427127.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-372616 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Taryn-Frazer_CLB-scaled-crop-2560x1681-1641427127-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="223913" first="Taryn" last="Frazer"] – 2022 guard, Cass Lake-Bena Frazer found herself in early foul trouble against Holdingford and spent the majority of the first half watching from the sidelines. When Taryn returned in the second half she was very careful to keep her distance defensively. Offensively she did what she does best – score the basketball. Frazer was forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. She was dropping bombs from the outside. And she was slipping the ball to teammates like senior Amira LaDuke and freshman Gabby Fineday who did what was expected of them in that moment. Taryn was virtually unstoppable as she scored 30 points to lead the Panthers to a 64-56 win over the Huskers. Frazer is one of the best point guards still available for recruiting in the Class of 2022. She is a veteran leader with a sky-high GPA who will be an asset wherever she ends up. <img class="alignnone wp-image-372618 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Lindsey-Hartman_Buffalo-scaled-e1641427327563-300x234.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="234" /> Lindsay Hartman – 2022 guard, Buffalo Last week we told you about the rise of senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="298811" first="Brooke" last="Gunderson"] of Buffalo, whose stock has gone up a bunch under new coach Barb Metcalf. After watching the Bison do good work at St. Ben’s, it’s obvious that Brooke isn’t the only one benefiting from a new voice in Buffalo. Hartman had an outstanding performance Thursday in her team’s 65-50 win over Robbinsdale Armstrong. The 5’6 senior guard buried 4 three-point baskets as part of an 18-point performance. She was everywhere at once! Hartman is strong and stocky. She’s got great handles, is deceptively quick, and can create space for herself without difficulty. The Minnesota Comets veteran also demonstrated the type of calm composure we expect from seniors. In other words, she delivered. <img class="alignnone wp-image-370836 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/Sage-Ganyo.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> [player_tooltip player_id="352774" first="Sage" last="Ganyo"] – 2023 guard, Mountain Iron-Buhl Ganyo and Hartman have a lot in common. Sage is also a small, stocky guard with terrific handles, a great feel for the game and a big ‘ol motor that simply doesn’t quit. Ganyo has played a substantial role at MIB for a very long time, and has been a major influence on the rise of sophomore shooting star [player_tooltip player_id="178277" first="Jordan" last="Zubich"]. While JZ was performing at a high level as usual at Granite City – the Top 10 prospect had 22 points against Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa – the spotlight on Wednesday belonged to Sage. She also scored 22, including the 1,000th point of her career. Ganyo is explosive. She’s got way more bounce than you’d expect and is quicker than you might think. She’s also consistently reliable. <img class="alignnone wp-image-372620 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Emma-Dasovich_Minnetonka-scaled-e1641428424804-300x227.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="227" /> [player_tooltip player_id="178260" first="Emma" last="Dasovich"] – 2024 forward, Minnetonka She’s still just a sophomore, but Dasovich has been playing such a big role for the Skippers for so long that we tend to forget what grade she’s actually in. I believe this is Emma’s third season as a full-fledged member of the Minnetonka varsity. Over that time her game has continued to evolve to the point where she can dominate both inside and out, can score equally well at the rim or beyond the arc, and isn’t afraid to take on defenders mano-a-mano. Emma certainly showed all of that skill and versatility last week at St. Ben’s when she was part of a dominant Skippers performance in a defeat of Becker. The 6’1 sophomore scored 21 points in the victory, including going 5-for-5 at the free throw line down the stretch. Emma holds Division 1 offers and there will be many more before it’s all said and done. <img class="alignnone wp-image-372622 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Evelyn-Wiltrout_Maraya-Wiltrout-300x212.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="212" /> [player_tooltip player_id="220838" first="Evelyn" last="Wiltrout"] & [player_tooltip player_id="220837" first="Maraya" last="Wiltrout"] – junior posts, Cambridge-Isanti After writing a number of times about a particular player or players we usually try and set them aside for awhile so that others can spend time in the spotlight. Sometimes, however, the players’ ongoing excellence is simply too good to be ignored. So once again we’ll tell you that the Wiltrout sisters from Cambridge-Isanti are killing it. The Bluejackets scored an impressive come-from-behind win over Alexandria on Wednesday in a physical contest that brought out the best in the twin power forwards. The 6’0 Evelyn had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win; 6’2 Maraya scored 20 and had 7 boards. Yep, the workhorse juniors delivered yet again. Top photo: Mikaleah Counce & [player_tooltip player_id="215959" first="Ava" last="Holman"] of Champlin Park