The Week That Was #8: A milestone for milestones
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If there’s such a thing as a milestone for milestones, well that’s a milestone we must have reached in the past seven days. After a stretch in which we posted just three career scoring achievements during the first week in…
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Continue ReadingIf there’s such a thing as a milestone for milestones, well that’s a milestone we must have reached in the past seven days. After a stretch in which we posted just three career scoring achievements during the first week in January, we have now been overrun by player accomplishments which we’ll do our best to document in the Week That Was #8. We opened the week by watching Maple Grove’s impressive win over Minnetonka and wrapped things up with Hopkins beating Roseville at the Hall of Fame Winter Classic. In between we saw a bunch of great basketball. Here are the milestone makers and notable performers of week #8.
MILESTONES
- Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN of Minnehaha Academy continued her assault on the record books last week by reaching 2,000 career points. Just a 10th grader, Addi achieved the rare feat at the age of 15 and did so in just 91 games. It happened in a win over Apple Valley in which she scored 33. Mack is a Top 5 prospect in the Class of 2025.
- Taryn Hamling Taryn Hamling 5'9" | PG Grand Rapids | 2023 State MN of Grand Rapids also reached the 2,000 mark, scoring 24 points in a 65-34 win over Hibbing on Tuesday. The 13th-ranked senior in the state, Taryn has committed to North Dakota State where her sister Heaven Hamling is making history of her own.
- Kadence Hesse Kadence Hesse 5'10" | PG Sleepy Eye | 2024 State MN of Sleepy Eye became her school’s all-time leading scorer, breaking the previous mark of 1,697 set by now-Minnesota Rise coach Madi Heiderscheidt. Among current members of the squad, 2024 forward Brea Mertz Brea Mertz 5'10" | PF Sleepy Eye | 2024 State MN has 1,172 career points and will soon pass Sarah Ibarra to move into 6th all time.
- Kristen Watson Kristen Watson 5'6" | CG Hayfield | 2024 State MN of Hayfield became the all-time leading scorer for the Lady Vikings. The junior point guard hit a first half three to reach 1,419 career points. The previous record holder, 2008 graduate Leslie Wilson, was in attendance to offer up her congratulations.
1,000-point scorers
This week nearly a dozen players reached 1,000 career points milestone:
- Avery Templin Avery Templin 5'8" | PG Sartell | 2023 State MN of Sartell-St. Stephen scored 31 points against Buffalo on Tuesday to top 1,000 for her career. Last week she set a school record by making 17 free throws in a game.
- Ella Kuhlman Ella Kuhlman 5'8" | PG North Branch | 2025 State MN broke the North Branch school record for most threes in a career with 149 and then followed up by reaching 1,000 points as a sophomore. She is Top 35 in Minnesota’s Class of 2025.
- Peyton Stevermer Peyton Stevermer 5'5" | CG Mankato East | 2023 State MN of Mankato East is one of the state’s most well-rounded competitors in addition to being a great leader. The senior guard reached 1,000 last week to go along with her 494 assists, 391 rebounds and 169 steals.
- Willow Thiel Willow Thiel 5'11" | PF Perham | 2024 State MN of Perham scored a game-high 24 points against Hawley on Friday to pass the 1,000 mark. The junior forward is ranked #44 in the Class of 2024. She’ll be joining the Metro Stars this summer.
- Jenna Kluxdal Jenna Kluxdal 6'1" | PF Jordan | 2023 State MN of Jordan had a monster game this week against Mound-Westonka, scoring a career-high 46 points. The big senior forward followed that up later in the week by topping 1,000 career points.
- Drew Johnston Drew Johnston 5'9" | PG Roseville | 2023 State MN of Roseville is one of the best three-point shooters in the state, a skill she used to set team records this season for most triples in a game. Now she has reached 1,000 career points. The 31st rated senior in the state has committed to Minnesota-Duluth.
- Tori Miller Tori Miller 5'10" | SF Goodhue | 2023 State MN of Goodhue was outstanding when we watched her last week at the Breakdown Southern Minnesota Hoops Fest and again this weekend at the Hall of Fame Winter Classic. Last week she reached the 1,000 mark in a win over Blooming Prairie.
- Abby Berge Abby Berge 5'10" | CG Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa | 2023 State MN of Belgrade-Bruton-Elrosa had 34 points on Friday in a Jaguars win against Alden-Conger-Grove City. That was enough to enable the smooth-shooting senior to best the 1,000 career points milestone.
- Juniors Jaida Walker Jaida Walker 5'5" | CG Mpls Roosevelt | 2024 State MN and Olivia Wren Olivia Wren 5'10" | SG Roosevelt | 2024 State MN have been instrumental in the transformation of the basketball program at Minneapolis Roosevelt over the past couple of years. The Teddies currently have a record of 10-2. Last week both Jaida and Olivia bettered the 1,000 career points mark.
- Ivy Fasching Ivy Fasching 5'5" | PG Howard Lake-W-W | 2023 State MN of Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted drew notice last month for going 8-of-11 from three-point range to score 41 points in a win over Lester Prairie. Last week she etched her name into the Lakers’ history books by topping 1,000 for her career.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
- Kennedy Sanders Kennedy Sanders 5'8" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN of Chaska scored 42 points for the Hawks in a 92-83 win over Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Tuesday. Sanders, a Colorado commit ranked #4 in the Class of 2023, is averaging nearly 24 points per game.
- Taylor Sodeman Taylor Sodeman 5'10" | CG St. James . | 2023 State MN of St. James scored 37 points Tuesday in a 78-70 win over Maple River. The senior is committed to Briar Cliff.
- Paige Ford Paige Ford 5'9" | PG Randolph | 2023 State MN of Randolph is having a terrific senior season. The crafty guard, who has committed to North Central University in Minneapolis, had 31 points in a 56-48 win over Blooming Prairie along with 6 rebounds and 4 steals.
- Other players who reached the 30-point mark in a single game last week included Lauren Arnold Lauren Arnold 5'9" | CG Chanhassen | 2024 State MN of Chanhassen, Desirai Chappell Desirai Chappell 5'6" | PG Richfield | 2025 State MN of Richfield, Vienna Murray Vienna Murray 6'0" | SG East Ridge | 2026 State MN of Tartan and Maddy Blaylark Maddy Blaylark 5'7" | CG DeLaSalle | 2026 State MN of DeLaSalle, whose performance against Byron included 7 triples.
- Last Friday the Pine City Dragons had not one, not two but three players record double-doubles in the same game as seniors Sophie Lahti Sophie Lahti 6'1" | SF Pine City | 2023 State MN (UW-Green Bay) and Kloey Lind Kloey Lind 6'1" | PF Pine City | 2023 State MN (St. Scholastica) and junior Karly Jusczak Karly Jusczak 6'1" | PF Pine City | 2024 State MN (Nebraska-Kearney) did the deed. Lahti actually had a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Lind had 29 points and 21 rebounds. Jusczak had 22 and 18.
- Meanwhile junior Rachel Kottke Rachel Kottke 5'8" | CG Buffalo Lake-H-S | 2024 State MN of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart went one better posting a rare quadruple double. One of the most well-rounded players in the state, Rachel always seems to fill up the score sheet and on Friday against Wabasso she posted 17 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 11 steals.
- Of course we can’t do a weekly roundup of individual performances without including the latest exploits of Tori Oehrlein Tori Oehrlein 5'10" | CG Crosby-Ironton | 2026 State MN and Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN who are regulars in this space. Oherlein had 36 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists in Crosby-Ironton’s win over Cloquet. She followed that up against Aitkin with 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 steals. Then versus Duluth Marshall put up 46 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. This kid is truly remarkable. Meanwhile Zubich, the elite junior from Mountain Iron-Buhl, scored 36 against International Falls and then had 38 points against Red Lake… in the first half! Jordan is now averaging over 30 points per game.
COMING UP
Monday is usually a fairly light day for games but not this week. With the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday there are 62 games on the docket including a six-game slate at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. There are a total of 483 games scheduled this week. Here are the most interesting games on each day:
- Tuesday – Wayzata at Hopkins
- Wednesday – Eden Prairie at Lakeville North
- Thursday – Lakeville South at Shakopee
- Friday – St. Michael-Albertville at Eden Prairie
- Saturday – Stewartville vs Caledonia (in Rochester)