The Week That Was #3: Milestones to remember

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What's with the kids these days. All they do is win championships, put up numbers and entertain the heck out of us while doing so. We've had a ton of fun watching [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'] do work over the past three years. She does a lot of things really, really well but the thing she does best is score. And score. And score some more. That's why this week the Duluth Marshall sophomore became the fourth player in Minnesota to reach the 1,000-point milestone in fewer than 50 games. In doing so she joins a very select group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season we watched 2025 #4 [player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack'] of Minnehaha Academy reach the 1,000-point plateau in her 49th game. Then 2026 co-#1 [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'] of Providence Academy did it in 46 games. And 2026 co-#1 [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] set a mark that will be incredibly difficult to top, accomplishing the 1,000 feat in just her 40th varsity contest. After starting with a 31-point performance against Two Harbors in Marshall's season opener, and putting up a remarkable 42 against Maranatha Christian at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic last weekend, Juenemann added 23 more on Tuesday to reach 1,000 career points in her 49th game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All four players represent Class 2A schools, but not your run-of-the-mill small school squads. Many of their games are against much bigger schools and stronger opponents. Providence Academy won the state championship last year. Marshall produced two elite Division 1 players in recent years in <strong>Gianna Kneepkens</strong> of Utah and Brown University's <strong>Grace Kirk</strong>. Minnehaha won a title a couple of years ago and has developed a long line of elite players. As for Oehrlein, she's an elite prospect nationally. In other words, Regan is in great company. Who will be next?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's launch our recap of the Week That Was #3 with some more milestones of note.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MORE MILESTONES OF NOTE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Juenemann joined some elite company this week, New London-Spicer coach <strong>Mike Dreier</strong> is in a class all his own. The long-time leader of the 2A program west of the Twin Cities directed his Wildcats to a tough 52-50 win over Delano on Friday night. It was the 1,013th victory of Dreier's career which began 45 years ago. Coach Dreier is now the winningest bench boss in Minnesota history, boys or girls, and has the 5th most wins in girls basketball nationally. Mike has been to state 19 times and won it all twice. Regardless of the talent at his disposal in any given year, Dreier's Wildcats show up, show out and put up more than 20 wins. Truly remarkable.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week's other milestones include:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Bethany Lutheran commit [player_tooltip player_id='148342' first='Juliana' last='Ewald'] of Pillager had herself a big night last week. She had 33 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and a remarkable 11 steals in a win over Aitkin. In doing so, the all-region performer topped the 1,000-career points mark.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior post [player_tooltip player_id='474478' first='Camryn' last='Lee'] of Lac qui Parle Valley has long been a dominant force inside. Last year the 6'2 center averaged nearly 17 points and 7 rebounds per game so it should come as no surprise that the All-Conference performer reached the 1,000-point milestone, as well.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='436100' first='Alexa' last='Snesrud'] of Cloquet had a 29-point game last week against Princeton. On Tuesday she followed that up with a 21-point performance that enabled the Lumberjacks to slip past their rivals from Duluth East 67-66. The celebration was even more special given that she reached the magic 1,000.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='220834' first='Paige' last='Ford'] of Randolph scored 22 points in a win over United Christian to reach the 1,000-point milestone. The crafty combo guard is committed to North Central University in Minneapolis.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='392476' first='Natalie' last='Beaver'] of Hayfield put up 27 points Friday in a win over Medford to top 1,000 career points. I'd love to know her rebound numbers which have to be impressive.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior power forward [player_tooltip player_id='302273' first='Abigail' last='O'Reilly'] of Plainview-Elgin-Millville also topped the 1,000-point mark. O'Reilly is committed to play for St. Cloud State next winter.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='108313' first='Brynn' last='Beffert'] has made her living in the paint throughout her career at Hutchinson and with the Minnesota Fury. Her will to rebound is unquestioned and this week the Lafayette University commit reached a rare milestone: 1,000 career boards.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you know about milestones that happen throughout the state send us the details and we'll publish them in our weekly recap. The ever-changing Twitter algorithm appears to be a little unreliable right now and it's hard to keep up with all of the players doing great things in Minnesota. You can either email us (<a href="mailto:gmachoops@gmail.com">gmachoops@gmail.com</a>) or reach out via Twitter direct message (@gmachoops). Thanks for the help!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":565344,"width":424,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/Elsa-Ratzlaff.jpg?w=847" alt="" class="wp-image-565344" width="424" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/BrettSmith1515</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='565313' first='Elsa' last='Retzlaff'] <strong>– 2028 guard, Hillcrest Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I must confess that until this week I had never heard of Hillcrest Academy, a private school in Fergus Falls that has only been in business for 106 years. Admission #2: I had never heard of Elsa, either. That changed on Tuesday night when I tuned into the livestream of the season-opening game for the defending Class A state champions from Hancock. The Owls travelled an hour or so up Highway 59 to meet the Comets and Hillcrest gave them everything they could handle. That included an impressive aerial show from Retzlaff, a fast-growing 7th grader who went 5-of-8 from outside the arc for 20 points. It was impressive stuff.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Come to find out that Elsa plays AAU for West Central United out of Alexandria, a club that continues to bring new talent to the fore summer after summer. She's on WCU's 2028 team. The photo above wasn't taken all that long ago but Elsa is now taller than either Brett or Jake Smith. About 5'10 with enormous feet, they tell me she comes from great basketball bloodlines. Retzlaff isn't flashy but she is consistent. Her finishing is improving and she has the length and athleticism upon which a quality game can be forged. Despite falling behind in the second half, the short-handed Owls rallied for a 71-66 victory led by Top 30 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='453727' first='Kaitlyn' last='Rohloff'], who scored 35 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WHAT WE WATCHED</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Monday and Tuesday night we bounced around a number of games online before taking in a pair of Division 1 college games mid-week – Minnesota battled to the end against Kentucky and St. Thomas took down Purdue-Fort Wayne. Friday night offered up a veritable buffet of online options. We started with Wayzata at Prior Lake, a game in which Shannon Fornshel made it oh-so-obvious why she is a Top 20 prospect bound for D1 Drake next season. Shannon was the difference maker on both sides of the ball. After that it was two small-school rivalries that were tons of fun.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. James at Sleepy Eye</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've been watching the youngsters from St. James playing AAU all summer so we were anxious to see how all that experience was going to translate to the high school season. I have to say the Saints looked really, really good in a hard-fought 70-66 win over a very good Sleepy Eye team led by Top 20 junior [player_tooltip player_id='178265' first='Kadence' last='Hesse'] (Southwest Minnesota State). The 9th grade Swanson sisters were exceptionally good with Jacey putting up 9 points and 5 assists and Journey recording 20 points and 5 rebounds. Both are quick, athletic, and fast becoming highly skilled. Sophomore post [player_tooltip player_id='396427' first='Madelyn' last='Malmgren'] (11 &amp; 10) did a really nice job up against the formidable [player_tooltip player_id='304937' first='Brea' last='Mertz'] in the post and veteran [player_tooltip player_id='339225' first='Taylor' last='Sodeman'] (Briar Cliff) posted 17 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. St. James connected for 10 threes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Peter at New Ulm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Sleepy Eye vs St. James, this one offered up a nice rivalry game between two talent-laded teams. [player_tooltip player_id='220839' first='Bryn' last='Nesvold'], [player_tooltip player_id='215987' first='Daviney' last='Dreckman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='339175' first='Brooklyn' last='Lewis'] are averaging 40 points a game between them for New Ulm. [player_tooltip player_id='208187' first='Annika' last='Southworth'] and [player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'] (MSU-Mankato) have combined for 45 ppg for St. Peter. The contest did not disappoint, but the Saints were just a little bit better. St. Peter's ball movement was very good and Southworth, who was knocking down step-back bombs, was particularly fine on the night. She finished with 26, Holmgren had 28 and [player_tooltip player_id='339119' first='Maddie' last='Kamm'] chipped in 12. The big three for the Eagles had a combined 53. We were most definitely entertained as St. Peter scored a 76-68 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":565349,"width":342,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/Chloe-Johnson-leaping.jpg?w=684" alt="" class="wp-image-565349" width="342" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Greg Johnson, Twitter/ChloeJohnsonMN</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With her high-scoring teammate [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'] sidelined with the flu on Thursday, 7th grader [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] of Duluth Marshall took over. The 2028 standout scored 28 points in the first half against Duluth Denfeld, preferring to let her teammates in on the bounty after the break and finished with 36 on the night. Johnson was 7-for-13 from beyond the arc in the game. She followed up on Saturday with a 32-point performance in a win over Hermantown. This kid is truly special.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack'] of Minnehaha Academy had 33 points, 13 rebounds, 6 steals and an assist in the Redhawks win over Breck School. She could make our list every week!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The D1 combo of [player_tooltip player_id='108315' first='Sophi' last='Hall'] (Providence College) and [player_tooltip player_id='322999' first='Jocelyn' last='Land'] (Butler) continued to do great work for Holy Family. Hall had 30 points and Land scored 24 in a win over St. Cloud Cathedral.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big [player_tooltip player_id='215981' first='Kylie' last='Waytashek'] of Royalton is better known for her rebounding than her scoring, but the power forward can definitely put the ball in the basket, as well. Kylie scored 31 points for Royalton in their win over Maple Lake.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perham senior [player_tooltip player_id='220846' first='Mya' last='Morris'] had a big night for the Yellowjackets against a strong Underwood squad. The Valley City State commit went 6-for-11 from three for an 18-point night plus &nbsp;5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Her consistency is impressive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although it's becoming old hat by now, we feel compelled to report on [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway']'s latest exploits anyway. The Providence Academy freshman scored 37 points to lead her team to a 74-54 victory over Mahtomedi, a game in which she was 13-for-14 at the free throw line and added 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. Just another day for the gifted guard. We should probably mention her teammate [player_tooltip player_id='148338' first='Grace' last='Counts'] went 17 &amp; 17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COMING UP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are a few games worth paying attention to this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Tuesday – Minnehaha Academy at Becker, Chaska at Wayzata</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Thursday – Benilde-St. Margaret's at Minnehaha Academy, New London-Spicer at Sauk Centre</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Friday – St. Michael-Albertville at Chaska, Becker at Eden Prairie</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Saturday – Holy Angels at Benilde-St. Margaret's, Mankato West at St. Peter</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->