Hill-Murray Holiday Tournament: Top Duos

The Hill-Murray holiday tournament has been going on for as long as I can remember. When I was in high school, we played in the tournament all four years and the gym/coach all look the same! The home team was out due to COVID protocol but was still able to host six other teams over three days, including one top 10 4A ranked school in Wayzata, and one Top 10 3A school in Como Park. The other four teams included, Mahtomedi, Forest Lake, Hutchinson and Fridley. The tournament was set up as pool play, and based off wins Wayzata came in first, followed by Como Park and Hutchinson which only lost one game. Here are the top duos who played consistently during all three games and made a big contribution to the team’s success this past week. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="148340" first="Shannon" last="Fornshell"] and [player_tooltip player_id="212489" first="Sophie" last="Hawkinson"] - Wayzata </strong> <strong>Fornshell:</strong> One of the top ranked small forwards in the 2023 class, Shannon had a great week at the holiday tournament putting up big numbers in two of the games. She has stepped up her scoring since [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] (Minnesota) went down with a knee injury. It can be hard to adjust after the best player in the state is out, but the Trojans have done just that, along with junior division 1 prospects, [player_tooltip player_id="108345" first="Brynn" last="Senden"] and [player_tooltip player_id="108312" first="Abby" last="Krzewinski"]. Shannon finished around the rim with ease and shot the ball from the outside with confidence, especially in the game against Mahtomedi, putting up a season high of 27 points. She added another 24 points in the next two games. <strong>Hawkinson </strong> The 2025 point guard, who seems to have jumped right into a group full of division 1 prospects, has handled it well. She is the second-leading scorer on the team, and she hasn’t slowed down yet. 'Hawk' continues to stay calm, cool and collected on the court, as she has the ball in her hands a lot. She was great at knocking down the three ball and attacking to the hoop strong. This week she had a total of 42 points in the three games and hit a season high of 18 against Como Park. This is her just scratching the surface, we haven’t seen her at her best yet, so watch out! She is a gym rat and is always looking to get better. The freshman PG has that IT factor you're born with, I would jump on the Hawkinson train quick! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57914" first="Ronnie" last="Porter"] and </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="108303" first="Shania" last="Van Nett"] - Como Park</strong> <strong>Porter</strong> The senior point guard does what she does best and put the ball in the hoop for her team. She gives you a consistent game every game. At the tournament she was smooth inside the paint showing off different ways to finish. Her speed and hesitation are too hard for anyone to guard. Porter almost put up a triple-double against Hutchinson, scoring 19 points, 10 assist and 8 steals. She finished with an easy 54 points in the three games and added a whole bunch of assists. Her basketball IQ is impeccable. <strong>Van Nett</strong> The 2023 guard played her best basketball this past week at the holiday tournament. After a long recovery from injury, we finally get to see these two play together again. Van Nett compliments Porter very well. As she gets more court time, she continues to get better and better, showing glimpses of her old self. The junior shot the ball well from beyond the arc hitting four threes against Wayzata to try to keep her team afloat. She had a season high of 18 points against Hutchinson and ended up with 45 total points in the three games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="108313" first="Brynn" last="Beffert"] and [player_tooltip player_id="147455" first="Alyssa" last="Stamer"] - Hutchingson</strong> <strong>Beffert</strong> The 2023 power forward got one of her biggest high school basketball achievements, scoring her 1,000th point against Mahtomedi. She made it a good game by putting up a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds. She started the game off dominant and looked like she was on a mission. She established her dominance early, creating space down low for her to finish easily around the rim. The Zephyrs had a tough time shutting her down. She continued her dominance in the tournament ending with a total of 55 points. <strong>Stamer</strong> The senior combo guard does it all and controlled the pace of the game for her team, helping them pull out two big wins this week. She and teammate Beffert compliment each other well on the court. Stamer is a scoring threat and takes on the load when her teammate is being doubled in the post. In the three games the St. Cloud State commit used her speed and motor to get to the hoop a lot and shot well from the outside. She put up 25 against Mahtomedi and added another 26 in the other two games. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id="148340" first="Shannon" last="Fornshell"], Wayzata</em></span>