Minnetonka gets burned by the red-hot Fire

SKIPPERS’ SHIP TAKES ON WATER, RUNS INTO LAND

Sometimes when you play with fire you are going to get burned. That was certainly the case on Monday afternoon when Class 4A Minnetonka – a nationally ranked big-school team – met up with the Holy Family Fire, a small 2A program from Victoria, Minn., at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Showcase. The Fire got hot early causing the Skippers’ ship to veer off course just a little, and then Minnetonka ran squarely into Land. As in Jocelyn Land Jocelyn Land 6'0" | PF Holy Family | 2024 State MN .

The sophomore power forward scored 33 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead Holy Family to a 79-68 overtime victory that led the student section to storm the court and stunned the Minnesota basketball community. “I’m just super-pumped for the kids!,” said Holy Family’s second-year head coach Brandon Antl. “They played so hard. They were so ready for this match-up. They were really well-prepared. For our program this does so much. It’s hard to put into words.”

The dominant display by Land was her fourth consecutive double-double, a stretch that has seen her average 26 points and 15 rebounds per game. Land has been impressive all season, but it’s one thing to dominate against a series of pretty average small-school opponents and quite another to do it against an elite program whose starting lineup consists entirely of Division 1-caliber talent.

Antl was effusive in praising Land, whose family moved to Minnesota last summer from Vermont. “Oh man, you can’t put it into words how much she has meant to our team,” Antl said. “She is the prototypical 5 that every team needs, just a beast down low. She can shoot the three. She rebounds everything, blocks everything. I think any program in the state would love to have her on their team. She would make every team better and she definitely makes us better. A lot better.” It showed on Monday.

Over the past week Land had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Glencoe-Silver Lake, then 27 and 17 versus Delano, 26 and 10 against Southwest Christian and now 33 and 20 versus Minnetonka. Truth be told, a review of the game video will probably credit Land with more than 20 boards but we lost track late in the proceedings! Lest you think Land can only get it done down low we offer you one more statistic: she has made nearly 60 three-pointers this year.

“She does a really good job of getting position down low and finishing. She is really long. She can create separation from her defender. She’s a really good finisher and a really good catch-and-shoot three-point shooter,” Antl said. “She’s also a great teammate.”

Here comes Crump

On Monday afternoon Jocelyn put all of those attributes to work. Holy Family got an early jump on the Skippers and by the midway point of the opening period they led by a score of 18-7. A series of baskets by feisty senior Lucy Hertel Lucy Hertel 5'7" | CG Holy Family | 2022 State MN stretched the lead to 31-19. When Land cashed in on an and-1 as the half ended, the Fire held an 11-point lead. It was an impressive stretch of basketball. Clearly Holy Family was able to give Minnetonka a game, which was all anyone was hoping for going in. Surely the Skippers would right the ship in the second half, wouldn’t they? Aaliyah Crump Aaliyah Crump 6'1" | SF Montverde Academy | 2025 State FL thought so.

Minnetonka opened the second period on the run as Crump, the #1-rated prospect in Minnesota’s Class of 2025, demonstrated how and why she has earned that status. The lengthy wing flew up and down the court in the first few minutes to score a series of one-on-one buckets that could have altered the course of the game in a major way. (She finished with 24 points) But every time Minnetonka landed a punch, Holy Family slugged back. It was Sophi Hall Sophi Hall 6'1" | CG Holy Family | 2023 State MN who kept the Fire burning with three fast field goals for 8 quick points to preserve the margin. The #12-rated junior in the state has committed to Providence of the Big East. She was solid. It also helped that Holy Family had veteran point guard Nicole Bowlin Nicole Bowlin 5'6" | PG Holy Family | 2022 State MN back in the lineup. The Colorado Christian commit had missed six games due to illness but returned to provide the steadying hand one needs in these situations.

The inevitable surge

Minnetonka eventually put a run together. After a slow start, Skippers point guard Kiani Lockett Kiani Lockett 5'9" | PG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN scored 15 in the second half. It was her three-pointer at the 7-minute mark that capped a nice run and put the Skippers ahead for the first time at 56-55. From there it was back and forth all the way to the end. In the final minute Minnetonka forced Holy Family into two big turnovers and with just 12 seconds remaining Crump made two free throws to tie the game at 65 and send it to the extra period.

One big factor down the stretch was fouls. Truth be told, the officials did Minnetonka no favors in this contest. Zero. Sophomore Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN , rated #5 in the Class of 2024, is known for her punishing defense, but she fouled out with just over four minutes left. Tonka guard Desiree Ware Desiree Ware 5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN , a top 10 senior headed for Alabama-Birmingham, also fouled out in regulation time. Emma Dasovich Emma Dasovich 6'1" | PF Valley Vista | 2024 MN , the #6-rated sophomore, exited in overtime. Those absences were crucial.

“Going into overtime we liked our match-ups that we had, especially with Jocelyn,” said Coach Antl. “We thought that she could take her girl off the dribble a little more than the others. We just tried to get her out in space a little bit and tried to get her out attacking the rim. And we were getting to the free throw line a lot.”

Land struck first in OT on a powerful drive to the basket. Two minutes later her transition bucket put the Fire up by four. At that point Tonka had to foul and the Fire made them pay, going 8-for-8 at the free throw line. By the time Hertel scored on a drive with 12 seconds left the lead was a remarkable 14. A Skippers three-pointer at the end was merely cosmetic. For the game, Holy Family was 23-for-25 at the free throw line. Land was 13-for-14; Bowlin went 8-for-9.

Contending for a state championship

Let’s face it, if the two teams played five games against each other, Minnetonka would probably win four. If it was 10, they might win 8 or 9. The gulf between 2A and 4A is just that large. But in a one-game match-up anything is possible, and the Fire proved that on Monday. Pretty much everything that could go well did go well.

Hertel (photo left) had the game of her life. In fact she was the one who set the tone early. Without regard for life or limb, Lucy was attacking the basket as usual and scoring with a combination of power and flash. She has always been a scrappy competitor, but on this day Hertel was at her best. Holy Family starters Reagan Cizek and Sophia Zay Sophia Zay 5'8" | CG Holy Family | 2024 MN were solid. Sophomore Berkley Neubauer Berkley Neubauer 5'7" | CG Holy Family | 2024 State MN returned from an ACL injury just last week and provided some good minutes. As major underdogs, Holy Family had nothing to lose. “That’s how we saw it,” Antl said. “We have high goals this year to get to the state tournament and games like this prepare you for that. We wanted to play the best just to see where we are at. I think this game did that.”

The Fire are now 14-2, having won 11 games in a row. To be honest, though, their schedule has been pretty vanilla. There’s no other singular win you could point to as a sign that the Fire were headed for greatness, but the margin of victory during the win streak (averaging 32) has been impressive. Only their recent four-point win over Delano was close.

While the win is big news as a one-off event – this type of upset is very, very rare – it also has implications in the race for the Class 2A state championship. Everyone and their dog has been talking about Providence Academy and Minnehaha Academy, and then along comes Holy Family which must now be considered with the other favorites. “We definitely feel like we should be in that equation,” Antl said. “We see ourselves as the best team in 2A. That’s why we want to play anyone who wants to play us. We’re excited to go out there and not only make a run to state but to win state. That’s our goal.”

An MLK Day to remember

Holy Family’s win was one for the history books, but the way the match-up came together at the last minute was unusual, as well. The showcase on MLK Day, organized by the Minnesota Fury, has traditionally been played at St. Catherine University in St. Paul and was scheduled to be there again this year. Until last week.

With the surge in the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, the university pulled the plug leaving organizers scrambling to reschedule the games. Nick Storm from the Fury cobbled together a schedule and Holy Family agreed to host. Let’s just say it worked out. We watched Mahtomedi knock off Red Wing, Hutchinson beat Fridley and Eden Prairie take down Spring Lake Park. And we watched one of the most entertaining upsets in Minnesota girls basketball history.

Top photo: Holy Family sophomore Jocelyn Land Jocelyn Land 6'0" | PF Holy Family | 2024 State MN