Holiday hoops standouts: The best of day 1

With the leftovers digested – and way too many sweets to count – it was back to work on Wednesday as the Minnesota girls high school basketball season resumed. Actually, the annual holiday tournaments began 24 hours earlier up in Esko but the action got serious with more than 50 games played across the state on Dec. 27. We were at St. Michael-Albertville for a pair of contests that kicked off four days and 20 games of viewing between Christmas and New Year's Day. Here's the best of what we saw on day 1.   A TRIO OF TOP PERFORMERS   [player_tooltip player_id='215990' first='Lauren' last='Arnold'], [player_tooltip player_id='763004' first='Lyla' last='Hentges'], [player_tooltip player_id='630241' first='Kate' last='Arnold'] – Chanhassen   What we watched on Wednesday was essentially the passing of the torch for Chanhassen – the ongoing transition from the long-time leadership of senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='215990' first='Lauren' last='Arnold'] to her younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='630241' first='Kate' last='Arnold'] and rising star [player_tooltip player_id='763004' first='Lyla' last='Hentges']. The way Lauren opened Chanhassen's win over Rogers at the St. Michael-Albertville tournament is indicative of how her high school career has gone.   Just 20 seconds into the game, Lauren buried a sweet mid-range jumper for the first points of the contest. Less than a minute later, the crafty point guard followed that up with a bucket in transition and then made a pair of free throws less than 30 seconds after that. Only 100 seconds or so had elapsed and the score was Lauren 6 and Rogers 0. A minute or so later Lyla snagged a long pass from Kate in transition and finished with a nifty reverse layup. Soon after, Lauren scored on a smooth floater and a couple more free throws and the tone for the game had been set in stone. By halftime it was 43-20 in Chanhassen's favor. When the final buzzer sounded, the Storm had won 69-38.   What we saw from Lauren was par for the course for the top 50 senior who has committed to the College of St. Benedict. She handled the ball with aplomb and finished with style. Arnold saw the floor, made good decisions, got the ball to her teammates as needed, and led her team to the win while scoring 19 points. The play of Hentges and the younger Arnold showed us what is possible for the two gifted 9th graders, both of whom are among Minnesota's top freshmen. Kate is a 5'9 guard rated #12 in the Class of 2027; Hentges is a 5'10 guard/wing ranked #15. Both are highly-talented Division 1 prospects just scratching the surface of what's possible. Lauren (19 points per game), Kate (15.5) and Lyla (10.6) have accounted for 65% of Chanhassen's offensive production to date. On Wednesday they were once again at the eye of the Storm.   PINE CITY WINS THE BATTLE OF THE BIGS   We weren't in Perham on Wednesday for Holiday Hoops at the Hive – is there a better tournament name than that? – but eyewitness accounts and game highlights made it obvious that Pine City's 62-51 win over Sauk Centre was no fluke. In what was billed as a battle of the bigs, it was 6'1 senior [player_tooltip player_id='302309' first='Karly' last='Jusczak'] of the Dragons who won the day by getting the better of 6'3 [player_tooltip player_id='396422' first='Tory' last='Jennissen'] of the Mainstreeters. Not only did Karly win the war down low but she also stepped outside and buried three-pointers – 8 of them! Karly had 27 points at the half. By the end of the day's activity, Jusczak was up to a school-record 40. The Dragons contained not only Jennissen (a top 20 prospect in the Class of 2025) but also the Mainstreeters' cadre of great guards thanks largely to the work of Summer Thieman and Vivian Lahti. There are plenty of reasons Karly is ranked #32 in the Class of 2024 and the University of Idaho commit made that obvious on Wednesday.   UNSIGNED SENIOR TO SEE   [player_tooltip player_id='304922' first='Ava' last='Haus'] – 2024 guard, St. Michael-Albertville   There has been plenty of star power at STMA over the past few years, from 2023 Ms. Basketball Tessa Johnson (now at South Carolina) to present stars like [player_tooltip player_id='339129' first='Ja'Kahla' last='Craft'] (Seton Hall commit) to 2025 #8 [player_tooltip player_id='330743' first='Abby' last='Hoselton'] and 2026 #5 [player_tooltip player_id='344333' first='Cail' last='Jahnke']. They have grabbed most of the accolades, and rightly so. Meanwhile, toiling away in the trenches is the senior Haus, who just might deserve a scholarship opportunity at the next level, too. The 5'9 guard, ranked #82 among senior prospects, is a do-it-all competitor whose contributions don't always show up in the statistics but normally have a significant impact on the outcome for the defending Class 4A state champions.   Haus opened the scoring for the Knights in their win over Burnsville on Wednesday as STMA streaked out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back. While Craft, Hoselton and Jahnke combined for 46 points playing about half their standard allotment of minutes, Ava finished with a modest 8 points. Through 10 games, Haus is averaging 9.2 points per game along with 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.9 assists for the undefeated Knights. Her shooting numbers are really impressive: 58% from the field, 45% from 3-point range and 89% from the free throw line.   Ava is the classic glue player, a fierce competitor who has earned her way into a starting position with great defense, consistent hustle, and the shear will to get to the basket through traffic. She can also make shots from long distance with impressive regularity. NAIA coaches need to get Ava on the phone for a conversation sooner rather than later because she is going to be a winner at the next level.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/Caelyn-Foster-crop-1770x1162-1703798368.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-828892" /></figure>   FRESH FACE OF THE DAY   [player_tooltip player_id='630242' first='Caelyn' last='Foster'] – 2028 guard, St. Michael-Albertville   By the time the 8th grader made her way to the court for the first time midway through the second half on Wednesday, the Knights were up by 40 and well on their way to an 81-36 win. Caelyn immediately got poked in the eye, losing a contact lens in the process, but shook off the painful disruption to make it obvious why STMA coach Kent Hamre recently promoted her to the Knights' varsity. When we first saw Foster back in the early summer, we wrote a single sentence about the lengthy guard and said we'd circle back for another look. What we saw on Wednesday was a reminder of why she caught our attention in the first place.   It didn't take long before Foster burned her defender going left, utilizing a quick first step and long strides to blow by the Blaze player and attack the basket with her left hand. Caelyn absorbed a hard foul, promptly buried both free throws for her first varsity points, and quickly settled in. Later she pulled off a nice steal and then dropped a perfect dime for a streaking teammate. After six minutes of action, Foster departed the floor to a rousing ovation from the STMA faithful. Clearly they know what is to come for the 8th grader and so do we. The latest in a long line of talented Knights is off and running.   Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id='763004' first='Lyla' last='Hentges'] and [player_tooltip player_id='215990' first='Lauren' last='Arnold'] pose after Chanhassen's win on Wednesday.

With the leftovers digested – and way too many sweets to count – it was back to work on Wednesday as the Minnesota girls high school basketball season resumed. Actually, the annual holiday tournaments began 24 hours earlier up in Esko but the action got serious with more than 50 games played across the state on Dec. 27. We were at St. Michael-Albertville for a pair of contests that kicked off four days and 20 games of viewing between Christmas and New Year's Day. Here's the best of what we saw on day 1.