The Week That Was #10: Bumpy rides & Bulldog pride
These past few days have been a whirlwind. From a rough ride over the Rocky Mountains in a turbulent propeller plane to the hassles of crossing an international border during a global pandemic to a short few hours of sleep…
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Continue ReadingThese past few days have been a whirlwind. From a rough ride over the Rocky Mountains in a turbulent propeller plane to the hassles of crossing an international border during a global pandemic to a short few hours of sleep on Friday night and an early morning ride to St. Michael-Albertville, I can’t say I have enjoyed a day in the gym any more than I did on Saturday at the Breakdown Community Clash. It was a ton of fun. We can’t cover it all in just one installment but let’s at least get the first chapter in the books as we recap the Week That Was #10.
BREAKDOWN COMMUNITY CLASH
There’s a lot to unpack from Saturday’s action at STMA. We saw five of the six girls games, beginning at 9 a.m. with Andover vs Buffalo and concluding around 10 p.m. with the host Knights and Prior Lake. There’s no doubt that the highlight of the day for pretty much everyone in attendance was Minnetonka’s stunning come-from-behind win over Chaska. In a rematch of their section championship game from one year ago, the two elite squads provided one of the most entertaining basketball games you’ll ever see.
The Skippers trailed by 19 in the first half, got their act together in the second, and scored a 71-69 victory in the third. It was epic! We’ll dissect this classic overtime game in more detail in our analysis of the Community Clash on Monday and Tuesday. It might take us some time because there’s certainly a lot of explaining to do.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
It was a tough act to follow on Saturday when Becker and Waconia took to the floor immediately following the conclusion of the Minnetonka-Chaska saga. As the enormous crowd filed out, and the Bulldogs and Wildcats warmed up, we wondered out loud how this one would live up to the opening act. Much like the start to their 2021-22 season, Becker got off to a bit of a slow start.
Becker was down by a half dozen after the first 6 or 7 minutes of play until the Dogs started to do what they do best – get up in your kitchen and defend with a vengeance. Then the track meet was on, beginning with a three-point basket around the 10-minute mark by University of Tampa commit Adeline Kent Adeline Kent 5'8" | CG Becker | 2022 State MN . That was followed soon after by a triple from Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN (UW-Green Bay). Then junior Dani Nuest Dani Nuest 5'6" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN (Michigan Tech) gave Becker the lead at the 6:15 mark before she scored three more times in the next two minutes. By the time Kent put the ball in the basket with 90 seconds remaining in the first half, the Bulldogs had completed a run of 24-4 and held a 38-24 lead. It was never close again. The final score was 88-47.
Saturday’s display was Becker at its best. They shot 57% from the field versus 38% for Waconia. Becker was 12-for-33 from three-point range; the Wildcats were 1-for-17. Becker averaged 1.25 points per possession. Waconia was 0.68. The Dogs won out in assists (19 to 12), steals (16 to 4) and turnovers (8 vs 23). Nuest finished with 21 points, Ayla Brown Ayla Brown 5'6" | SG Becker | 2023 State MN had 19, while Westin and Kent had 17 apiece.
It was the type of performance that has enabled the Bulldogs to win 50 straight games in the Mississippi 8 Conference, a milestone they celebrated this week and commemorated in the team photo above. It was the type of performance that led them to the Class 3A state championship last spring. And now, with the many challenges of trying to overcome the graduation of its core group seemingly under control, the Dogs are 13-4 and looking good. Their difficult losses to powerhouse programs like Wayzata, Minnetonka and Appleton East now in the rear view mirror, Becker travels to Roseville Monday night in what they hope is yet another stop on the road to Minneapolis in March.
BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ja’Kahla Craft Ja’Kahla Craft 5'9" | CG STMA | 2024 State MN – 2024 guard, St. Michael
To say Ja’Kahla is having a breakout season would be an understatement. After transferring to STMA this fall, Craft has earned the trust of Kent Hamre and his coaching staff with an aggressive approach to the game and a strong skill set. She now finds herself in the starting lineup on a very deep Knights team that is 15-4. On Saturday Craft scored 22 points to lead STMA to a solid win over Prior Lake at the Breakdown Community Clash. We’ll have more on Ja’Kahla’s play in our recap of the event on Monday.
MILESTONES
- Taryn Frazer Taryn Frazer 5'4" | PG Cass Lake-Bena | 2022 State MN – Last Saturday the senior guard from Cass Lake-Bena became the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer with 2,261 points. She is one of the top seniors still available for recruitment.
- Lilly Meister Lilly Meister 6'2" | PF Rochester John Marshall | 2022 State #55 Nation MN – The Rochester John Marshall senior scored 29 points Saturday against Hastings to reach the 2,000-point mark for her career. The top 10 senior is committed to Indiana of the Big 10.
- Lilly Nuytten Lilly Nuytten 6'1" | PF Hastings | 2022 State MN – The senior forward from Hastings (MSU-Mankato) reached two milestones this week, becoming the 8th player in program history to score 1,000 points and recording her 750th career rebound.
- Callin Hake Callin Hake 5'8" | PG Chanhassen | 2022 State #64 Nation MN – The senior guard from Chanhassen recorded her 500th career rebound Friday in a 37-point outing against Waconia and is the Storm’s all-time leading rebounder. The Nebraska commit only needs 20 points on Monday against Robbinsdale Cooper to reach 2,000 for her career.
Here are some more 1,000-point scorers who reached the milestone this week:
- Amira LaDuke – senior forward, Cass Lake-Bena
- Audrey Swanson Audrey Swanson 5'11" | SF Waconia | 2022 State MN – senior forward, Waconia (Southwest Minnesota State)
- Kaylie Crabtree Kaylie Crabtree 5'8" | CG Hawley | 2022 State MN – senior guard, Hawley (Montana State-Billings)
- Sydney Anderson Sydney Anderson 5'6" | SG Perham | 2022 State MN – senior guard, Perham
- Aalayah Wilson Aalayah Wilson 5'8" | CG Osseo | 2023 State MN – junior guard, Osseo
- Chloe Jarnot Chloe Jarnot 5'7" | PG Maranatha | 2023 State MN – junior guard, Maranatha
This week coach Mark Cook of Maple Grove reached a significant milestone by recording his 300th career victory. That’s impressive but he’s got a long way to go to catch Mike Dreier of New London-Spicer, who collected his 1,000th win, more than any other girls coach in Minnesota history and just 12 short of the legendary Bob McDonald of Hibbing on the boys’ side. After suffering a rare loss to Litchfield earlier in the week when a litany of former players and other dignitaries were gathered for the historic occasion, Dreier got it done a couple of nights later against Watertown-Mayer. Congrats to a true icon in Minnesota girls basketball.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Over the past two summers we have been very impressed by 2024 guard Claire McGregor Claire McGregor 5'7" | CG Maple River | 2024 State MN of Maple River. Her tenacity, work ethic and willingness to put her body on the line have always stood out. This week she stood out for another reason: McGregor made a team-record 9 threes in a 63-62 win over Randolph. She finished the game with a season-high 33 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. The Top 75 sophomore is 5’6 with a stocky build, a nice touch and terrific intangibles.
Here are some other standout individual performances in week 10.
- We may have to reserve a permanent spot in the weekly wrap-up for Crosby-Ironton 8th grader Tori Oehrlein Tori Oehrlein 5'10" | CG Crosby-Ironton | 2026 State MN . This week she had 43 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over Staples.
- Hill-Murray senior Ella Runyon Ella Runyon 5'11" | CG Hill-Murray | 2022 State MN is having a monster season. On Tuesday she scored 37 points against Hastings before leaving the game with over 5 minutes to play and the Pioneers holding a big lead. She followed that up with 31 points on Friday against Tartan.
- Seniors Ronnie Porter Ronnie Porter 5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022 State MN and Kaylynn Asberry Kaylynn Asberry 5'5" | PG Como Park | 2022 State MN (St. Peters) combined for 61 points on Saturday as St. Paul Como Park scored an impressive 82-62 win over Mountain Iron-Buhl. They managed to hold MIB’s elite sophomore Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN to 19 in the game after she had put up 34 in a win on Thursday over Deer River.
- Jackson County Central senior Sadie Voss Sadie Voss 5'9" | CG Jackson County Central | 2022 State MN has filled the basket for the past five seasons and her last hurrah in high school ball has offered more of the same. On Thursday Voss scored 33 points while her teammate Maci Farmer Maci Farmer 5'7" | CG Jackson County Central | 2023 State MN had 25 in a win over Wadena. It was Voss’ third consecutive 30+ game and her 8th of the season. She’s averaging 26 ppg while Farmer isn’t far behind at 22.
- 11th grader Emily Christenson Emily Christenson 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2023 State MN of East Ridge is having an excellent junior year. This week she scored 30 points against the nearly-always stingy defense of the Roseville Raiders. Emily is a Top 30 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023 and is one of the state’s smoothest shooters.
- Willow Thiel Willow Thiel 5'11" | PF Perham | 2024 State MN ’s breakout campaign continues as the Perham sophomore had another big night this week, scoring 30 points in a Friday win over Wadena. The big power forward is ranked #43 in the Class of 2024.
- Speaking of breakout seasons, how about the play of Holy Angels sophomore Jenna Buer Jenna Buer 5'9" | SG Holy Angels | 2024 State MN . The scrappy guard who can fire it from here, there and everywhere scored 29 points on Saturday in a win over Robbinsdale Cooper. Buer had a remarkable shooting night, going 6-for-8 from three, 3-for-3 from two-point range, and 5-for-5 at the free throw line. She has scored in double digits in 12 of her last 13 games for the 14-3 Stars.