Week That Was #14: The regular season wraps up

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fourteen weeks complete, just three more to go. That's where we are in the Minnesota girls high school basketball season. With the regular campaign having largely concluded on Saturday, section competition begins Monday. There was no shortage of action in the Week That Was #14. Congrats to all of the conference champions crowned last week – no, we won't be naming all 48 of them – and good luck in post-season play. After the inevitable blowouts this week it should get interesting as the field for four state titles is determined.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RECAPPING OUR WEEK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The snowstorm of Tuesday through Thursday impacted a ton of games with postponements, cancellations and earlier-than-planned contests ruling the day. On Tuesday, we watched Hopkins beat St. Michael-Albertville in spite of a 45-point performance by South Carolina commit [player_tooltip player_id='108299' first='Tessa' last='Johnson'], the top-rated prospect in Minnesota's Class of 2023. It was a one-point game at the half but Hopkins turned up the heat in the second period to win 104-94. Stanford commit [player_tooltip player_id='108348' first='Nunu' last='Agara'] scored 35 for the Royals while Michigan signee [player_tooltip player_id='108298' first='Taylor' last='Woodson'] had 30.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We also saw Minnetonka at Wayzata online, which is one of the best gyms from which to watch a livestream, even if there is no play-by-play announcer. The camera angle is good, the scoreboard is always updated in real time, and the PA announcer in the gym does an awesome job. This time there was even a sideline hype man who used his microphone to fire up the Trojan faithful throughout. The game was a great battle between two very talented teams that seesawed back and forth down to the final whistle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Drake commit [player_tooltip player_id='148340' first='Shannon' last='Fornshell'] of Wayzata scored at the rim with 45 seconds remaining that pulled the Trojans within a single point. It was freshman point guard [player_tooltip player_id='252383' first='Lanelle' last='Wright'] of Minnetonka who sealed the deal for the Skippers, completing both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 18.3 seconds remaining. Final score: Minnetonka 57 Wayzata 54. Skippers' junior [player_tooltip player_id='304930' first='Grace' last='Hamdorf'] had a terrific game, scoring 20 points in the win as did [player_tooltip player_id='252387' first='Aaliyah' last='Crump'], the #1-rated sophomore in the state. Fornshell scored 15 for Wayzata while senior [player_tooltip player_id='108312' first='Abby' last='Krzewinski'] (North Dakota State) had 14 and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='478350' first='Kate' last='Amelotte'] posted 11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other contests we witnessed last week included Minnehaha Academy at Crosby-Ironton and Rochester John Marshall at Rochester Century, along with several college games: Concordia-St. Paul at MSU-Moorhead and Upper Iowa at Northern State in the Division 2 Northern Sun Conference playoffs, both North Dakota State and North Dakota live at St. Thomas, and the Minnesota Gophers' impressive victory over Purdue. This weekend, we'll be at the D1 Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls. We'll preview the Minnesota-heavy field on Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It seems like we have been writing a lot about Providence Academy of late, but how can we not. The defending Class 2A state champions closed out their season last week with wins over Annandale, Roseville and Perham, extending their winning streak to 22 games highlighted with their Jan. 28 upset of Class 4A power Hopkins. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'], who many believe is the best guard in the state regardless of class, finished the regular season averaging 31.5 points per game. Over the last half dozen games that number exceeds 40 ppg. Her elite 2026 counterpart [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] of Crosby-Ironton continued to do likewise, with a 43 point, 10-rebound performance against Staples-Motley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other top individual performances last week included 2026 guard [player_tooltip player_id='453727' first='Kaitlyn' last='Rohloff'] of Hancock who put up 41 against Wheaton-Herman-Norcross. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='478913' first='Anna' last='Stromberg'] of Legacy Christian had a 39-point game in her team's last contest of the regular season after going 36 and 20 in a game last week. We're interested to see what the 6'3 forward does this spring and summer with her new AAU team at Legacy Hoops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MILESTONES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605974,"width":194,"height":256,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/Kadence-Hesse-2000.jpg?w=777" alt="" class="wp-image-605974" width="194" height="256" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/MNRisegirls</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='178265' first='Kadence' last='Hesse'] has been lighting it up for Sleepy Eye since she was in middle school. The Top 20 junior reached the 2,000-career points milestone last Monday in a win over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, the Indians' 20th victory of the season. Hesse became the first commitment in the Class of 2024 when she verballed to Southwest Minnesota State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":606007,"width":512,"height":381,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/Rhyan-Holmgreen-1585.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-606007" width="512" height="381" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/MNRisegirls</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'] of St. Peter became the Saints' all-time leading scorer on Saturday reaching 1,585 points and counting. She did it in a big 52-48 win over Marshall that gave St. Peter the Big South Conference title. Holmgren, ranked #19 in the Class of 2024, has committed to MSU-Mankato.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week we have eight 1,000-point scorers to recognize:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='108302' first='Molly' last='Lenz'] is one of the top performers in the Class of 2023 where she has earned the #6 ranking. An elite passer and floor general, Lenz can also put the ball in the basket and scored her 1,000th career point in a win over Edina on the weekend. Molly (banner photo) is headed for D1 Illinois State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605975,"width":512,"height":307,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/Katelyn-Maciej-1000.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-605975" width="512" height="307" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/rogersgbb1</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='108314' first='Katelyn' last='Maciej'] has been a force inside for Rogers over the past four years, scoring and rebounding at a high rate throughout. On Saturday, the Top 25 senior reached 1,000 career points in a win over Buffalo. Katelyn is headed to MSU-Moorhead in the fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605976,"width":512,"height":311,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/Grace-Knupp-1000.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-605976" width="512" height="311" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/EastRidgeGirls2</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='148316' first='Grace' last='Knupp'] of East Ridge scored her 1,000th in a win over Mounds View. Knupp led the Raptors to a record of 22-4 as East Ridge captured the Suburban East Conference title. Ranked #71 among Minnesota seniors, Grace has yet to announce a college commitment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605981,"width":512,"height":290,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/Molly-Garber-1000.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-605981" width="512" height="290" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/BlaineGirlsBB</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='220845' first='Molly' last='Garber'] of Blaine has been a consistently productive scorer and rebounder for Blaine for a long time. The lengthy forward reached 1,000 career points in a win over Champlin Park. She'll play next season at UW-Stout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605982,"width":461,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/Rachel-Hagen-1000.jpg?w=921" alt="" class="wp-image-605982" width="461" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/ChloeJohnsonMN</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='186140' first='Rachel' last='Hagen'] of Duluth East hit the 1,000 mark on Tuesday in a win over Hermantown. The 2023 forward overcame long-term injuries to return with gusto and earn an opportunity next season at UW-Stevens Point. Rachel celebrated after the game with her AAU teammate, 7th grader [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] of Duluth Marshall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='396438' first='Addison' last='Pilarski'] of Holdingford has already set school rebounding records in her nascent career. Ranked #65 in the Class of 2025, Pilarski has now scored her 1,000th career point, doing it in a win over Ogilvie that was the Huskers' 22nd victory of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan Runde</strong>, a 2023 guard from Leroy-Ostrander, scored her 1,000th in a loss to Hayfield. She has been consistently good for the Cardinals. Leroy-Ostrander is located 30 miles southeast of Austin on the Iowa border.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In one more milestone of note, Top 40 senior [player_tooltip player_id='108336' first='Audrey' last='Kormann'] of Maple Grove set single-season school records for the most rebounds (252) and most blocks (46). Audrey has had an outstanding senior year. She'll play next season for Division 1 New Jersey Institute of Technology.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COMING UP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The opening round of section play can be embarrassing at times as first vs worst takes center stage. Get ready for some 105-18, 87-5, 66-11 type of scores. Even though there are straightforward solutions available to prevent it, the same thing happens every year. That doesn't mean there aren't some games worth watching. In addition, there are a couple of regular season straggler games on the schedule including a fun match-up on Monday night. Here are a few encounters we'll be checking on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Monday – Minnehaha Academy at St. Paul Como Park</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Tuesday – New Ulm at Marshall, Mankato West at Mankato East, New Prague at St. Peter</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Wednesday – Shakopee at Prior Lake, Hutchinson at Orono, Farmington vs Rochester Century, Cambridge-Isanti at Andover</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->