St. Kate's MLK Classic Standouts

The significance of what Dr. King accomplished in his short life has not been lost on me and millions of others around the world. It really wasn't that long ago that the mix of people we see sharing space on the court and in the bleachers was unheard of. To get an opportunity to play in his name is a great honor for anyone lucky enough to get the chance. Coach Don Mulhern and his staff did an amazing job hosting the MLK Classic in St. Paul at St. Kate's. My only gripe was there was no coffee on site! Of course I'm kidding, but the facility was top notch and everything went off without a hitch. Below are a handful of players that really took the bull by the horns and left it all out on the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'] - 2026 - Providence Academy   There's not much that I can say that hasn't already been said, but I'll give it a go! From the outset, Greenway was in attack mode against a tough St. Croix Lutheran team. The pressure she puts on you makes it impossible to catch your breath. She was at the basket early and often, and if you backed up a step, she was taking and making long range bombs. She went down hard a few times which made a few of us in the crowd gasp, but she was back on her feet within seconds and on to the next play. Defensively, her basketball IQ and anticipation gave SCL fits as a few times she was more than a few passes away and before you know it, she was there deflecting passes or racing down the other way for uncontested layups. Outside of Hopkins, I haven't seen a team compete from beginning to end quite like Providence does, and Greenway is the head of that monster. Greenway finished with 25 points and was just a complete menace of the defensive side of the ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='148338' first='Grace' last='Counts'] - 2023 - Providence Academy   I don't know if I've seen as complete a performance from Grace as I did on Monday. St. Croix Lutheran has a very formidable front court in [player_tooltip player_id='362575' first='Callie' last='Oakland'] and Haley Orvick, but I'm not sure if anyone would've been able to slow Counts down the way she was rolling. She cashed in early and often to the tune of 27 points to lead her squad and 11 boards in an impressive win over SCL. She just seemed to be in the right place and the right time whether it was in transition or crashing the offensive boards for the hoop and the harm. Her "little" sister Hope has been making a lot of noise lately, but Grace put everyone on notice that she's a force to be reckoned with.   Haley Orvick - 2023 - St. Croix Lutheran   Orvick's numbers don't jump out at you as she cashed in 11 points against a tough Providence squad, but it's all the little things that caught my attention. Her ability to set solid screens, roll and catch passes in traffic is somewhat of a lost art in today's game. She was just as impressive rim running that led to a few buckets from put backs and teammates finding her in transition. Her ability to compete and keep her composure against the Counts towers garnered respect, as that's never an easy day at the office. She held her own, giving St. Croix Lutheran a very impressive one-two punch with her manning the lane and Oakland's ability to step out on the perimeter. They ultimately fell to the Lions 77-52, but Orvick's play was consistent and a definite bright spot in an otherwise tough contest.   [player_tooltip player_id='304932' first='Jenna' last='Buer'] - 2024 - Academy of Holy Angels   Pick your poison when it comes to Buer, the tough solidly built guard can beat you from the perimeter, knocking down 3 trey balls, or to the basket where she is isn't afraid of contact. Holy Angels' ability to turn over Cloquet with their 1-2-1-1 full court press put Buer and her teammates in position to score on a bunny here and there; but most of her points are earned the hard the way. Buer did a great job against the Cloquet backcourt, making it very difficult for them to be able to get into their sets and taking advantage of her size and strength. Cloquet did not go down easy, eventually falling 60-50, but Buer did more than her part to keep them at bay, finishing with a game high 20 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='302283' first='Olivia' last='Walsh'] - 2023 - Austin   The match-up between Visitation and Austin was one of the few competitive games we were blessed with at the MLK Classic, and Olivia had a lot to do with it. She had a great battle with top 10 2025 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='296528' first='Sam' last='Wills'], and while her squad fell just short of pulling off a big win, her fingerprints were all over the game. Walsh. who has committed to UM-Crookston, played with great pace, taking her time whether it was pushing the ball in transition or setting up a teammate with a well-placed pass for a bucket. She scored from all three levels and helped force Wills into a tough day shooting from the field. Walsh finished with 16 for the game but her Austin squad fell to Visitation 55-53.   [player_tooltip player_id='322999' first='Jocelyn' last='Land'] - 2023- Holy Family   From the outset, I would've said jump, but due to an issue with the official book, the game started with a technical foul and side out of bounds in Holy Family's favor; Land was dominant. Side note, 1st time I've ever witnessed a game start that way. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, Land. She had her way whether it was at the basketball or from the perimeter. She made tough shot after tough shot with defense draped all over her to help keep her team to within striking distance. She was the most physical player on the court and finished with a game high 25 points and 11 rebounds. [player_tooltip player_id='108315' first='Sophi' last='Hall'] chipped in 15, but it wasn't enough to overcome Duluth Marshall as they fell 63-54.   [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] - 2028 and [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'] -2025 - Duluth Marshall   I've seen this dynamic duo just bury teams with their ability to shoot the 3 and get out in transition, but against Holy Family, they took it back to the basics. I thought Holy Family's size advantage would ultimately be the deciding factor, but I had it in favor of the wrong side on this day. Coach C.J. Osuchukwu simplified the game plan and trusted his two best players to deliver a win, and they didn't disappoint. Johnson and Juenemann literally took turns putting Holy Family in high ball screen action leading to mid-range jumpers that are like lay-ups to these two dynamos. When Holy Family adjusted the strategy and switched, they would just take the bigs off the dribble and get into the lane for a lay-up or a kick-out to wide open shooters. As mentioned before, [player_tooltip player_id='322999' first='Jocelyn' last='Land'] had a heck of a game, but in the 2nd half, Juenemann had the primary responsibility of trying to slow her down. She didn't do it alone as she had help, but Juenemann did not back down from the challenge and you could see Land was exhausted from having to work so hard on both sides of the ball. J and J both finished with 20 points and probably assisted on the majority of the others to lead Marshall to an impressive 63-54 win over Holy Family.   Other top performers   [player_tooltip player_id='840297' first='Ava' last='Carlson']- Cloquet   [player_tooltip player_id='436100' first='Alexa' last='Snesrud']- Cloquet   [player_tooltip player_id='108301' first='Kennedy' last='Sanders']- Chaska   [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] - Eden Prairie   [player_tooltip player_id='296528' first='Sam' last='Wills']- Visitation   [player_tooltip player_id='453728' first='Ajiem' last='Agwa']- Austin

The significance of what Dr. King accomplished in his short life has not been lost on me and millions of others around the world. It really wasn't that long ago that the mix of people we see sharing space on the court and in the bleachers was unheard of. To get an opportunity to play in his name is a great honor for anyone lucky enough to get the chance. Coach Don Mulhern and his staff did an amazing job hosting the MLK Classic in St. Paul at St. Kate's. My only gripe was there was no coffee on site! Of course I'm kidding, but the facility was top notch and everything went off without a hitch. Below are a handful of players that really took the bull by the horns and left it all out on the court.