The Week That Was #5: The gifted keep on giving

There are so many gifted girls competing in Minnesota basketball. Over the past few days, the aforementioned athletes were the gift that kept on giving as we watched the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'], [player_tooltip player_id='302297' first='Alyssa' last='Sand'], [player_tooltip player_id='302300' first='Kylan' last='Gerads'], [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] and [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] deliver virtuoso performances just in time for the holiday season. Their play in a pair of outstanding Class 2A showdowns – Providence Academy at Albany on Tuesday and Crosby-Ironton at Duluth Marshall on Thursday – were most definitely the highlights of our Week That Was #5.   ALBANY 72 PROVIDENCE ACADEMY 70   I was 375 miles north of Albany on Tuesday celebrating an early Christmas with family in Canada and couldn't make it to the epic showdown. I may not have been able to score a seat anyway. Even watching by iPhone in a darkened restaurant it was obvious that the gym was packed to overflowing and the atmosphere was electric. It's one thing to put a couple thousand people in an arena with 12,000 additional empty seats at the State Tournament and quite another to jam them into a high school gym with the fire marshall turning a blind eye. The Husky faithful were rewarded with a nail-biter that eventually favored the home side thanks to a pair of [player_tooltip player_id='461382' first='Savanna' last='Pelzer'] free throws with just two ticks of the clock remaining.   Albany managed to contain the #1-rated sophomore in the state to 19 points, just the second time this season that Greenway has been held under 30. Husky standouts Sand and Gerads combined for 48 points in the win, a victory that halted the Lions' 37-game winning streak. It also served to at least partially avenge a couple of difficult losses at the State Tournament. After beating PA to capture the tile in 2021, Albany was eliminated by the Lions in the 2022 semifinals and the 2023 championship game.   We'll see who has the last laugh when the title is actually on the line in March. If I were a betting man – which I am most definitely not! – I'd have no idea which side to wager on. As evidenced this week, the battle for 2A supremacy is clearly up for grabs.   CROSBY-IRONTON 84 DULUTH MARSHALL 75   After a sprint back to the Twin Cities on Wednesday, we made the trek north to Duluth on Thursday for another Class 2A battle that featured a couple of Minnesota's best prospects. In addition to top 15 junior [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'], the Duluth Marshall lineup includes [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'], the premier talent in the Class of 2028. On the other side of the floor was one of Johnson's best friends, 2026 #2 [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] of Crosby-Ironton. With stars like that on display, this was a second can't-miss encounter in just 48 hours. It did not disappoint.   The Hilltoppers jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead before Johnson and Oehrlein traded buckets throughout the first half. In addition to demonstrating their ample offensive abilities, Chloe and Tori took turns making excellent defensive plays to stymie the other. As the two teams battled, it was the Johnson-Oehrlein slugfest that took center stage. Crosby-Ironton grabbed the lead for the first time on a drive by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='826639' first='Sammie' last='Hachey'] at the 7-minute mark and would never trail again.   Oehrlein, who is averaging nearly 35 ppg, opened the second period with a triple just 15 seconds in. Johnson (29.6 ppg) countered less than 30 seconds later before Tori nailed another 3 to stretch the Ranger lead to 8 points. Then it was senior [player_tooltip player_id='826643' first='Margaret' last='Silgen'] who took a turn in the spotlight, courtesy of some great passes by Oehrlein and a few bombs to cash in. Silgen scored a bucket at the 16:22 mark and followed that 20 seconds later with a 2+1. At 14:50 she scored again before nailing another three-pointer at 12:15. By the time Silgen buried yet another trey at the 10:17 mark the lead was 17 and the Rangers were driving the bus. The momentum changed at the 6-minute mark as Oehrlein picked up her 4th foul with C-I ahead by 18. That's when Johnson took over.   The uber-gifted 8th grader went on a rampage down the stretch as she willed her Hilltoppers back into the contest. Chloe made the free throws on Tori's foul and scored on a baseline three mere seconds later. The momentum continued with Juenemann's three at the 5-minute mark before Johnson scored on a baseline drive, a steal and transition bucket, and a pull-up three from NBA range that cut the lead to single digits. In the end, despite Johnson's dozen down the stretch, it wasn't enough and Crosby-Ironton departed with the W, their 8th of the year against zero defeats.   Johnson finished the contest with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists and Juenemann put up 20 points. Oehrlein, Silgen and Hachey all had double-doubles – 31 & 15 for Tori, 24 & 12 for Margaret and 15 & 18 by Sammie. While Albany and Providence Academy have to be the favorites for another Class 2A crown at this point, it's clear that Crosby-Ironton and Duluth Marshall will have something to say about that before it's all over.     <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/Crosby-Ironton-trio-crop-2009x1319-1703360908.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-826633" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Left to right: Hachey, Oehrlein & Silgen</figcaption></figure>   PLAYER ON THE RISE   [player_tooltip player_id='826639' first='Sammie' last='Hachey'] – 2026 guard, Crosby-Ironton   The key players in both big games this week are among the state's most well-known and highly respected competitors. The one relative newcomer who earned a spot on our radar was Hachey, a lengthy sophomore whose game is improving rapidly. We have been following Sammie's exploits from a distance, but Thursday was the first time we've watched her intently in person for an entire game. Let's just say we were impressed. Hachey has length and skill. Her first step is surprisingly quick. She battled exceptionally hard against the HIlltoppers, and those 18 boards speak volumes, don't they? Sammie has never played AAU basketball before but we're pretty confident that she will play at the next level. The potential is certainly there.   STANDOUT PERFORMERS   [player_tooltip player_id='178277' first='Jordan' last='Zubich'] – The week started off with a bang courtesy of the North Carolina commit who put up a whopping 46 points in Mountain Iron-Buhl's win on Monday over Esko. Jordan was 8-for-13 from 3-point range and recorded 7 rebounds and 6 assists. MIB (10-1) has won 9 games in a row.   [player_tooltip player_id='344357' first='Evie' last='Schmitz'] – Perhaps inspired by a match-up with her longtime AAU coach Dre Jefferson of Edina, Evie went off for St. Louis Park on Thursday in an 81-71 win over the Hornets. Schmitz, who is known as an excellent distributor, scored 45 points in the win. She's averaging 23 ppg, 33 over the past three games.   [player_tooltip player_id='550001' first='Rylie' last='Cother'] – The top 50 junior from Jackson County Central has been lighting it up all season. She scored 44 points on Thursday against Worthington and is now averaging 32 ppg on the year. That's 10 more per game than last year, a season in which she had a 53-point outing at St. James in February.   [player_tooltip player_id='595556' first='Katherine' last='Boulanger'] – Last week we proclaimed that the top 75 junior was a candidate for Breakout Player of the Year. This week Katie backed it up with a career-high 37 points on Thursday as the 7-1 Trojans handed St. Peter their first loss. Boulanger is averaging nearly 32 ppg over her last four games.   [player_tooltip player_id='481473' first='Breanna' last='Knight'] – Speaking of breakout performances, how about Bre's game on Thursday against Chisago Lakes. The junior from Cambridge-Isanti, a Class 4A program north of the Twin Cities, posted a career-high 37 points. Last year Knight averaged 7.8 points per game. This year she's doubled that to 15.8.   [player_tooltip player_id='322999' first='Jocelyn' last='Land'] – The Butler University commit has been dominant this season any time the opponent lacks the size and strength to match up with Land inside. That's pretty much every game! Land had 36 points and 13 rebounds against Blake on Tuesday. The top 15 prospect is averaging nearly 32 and 11.   [player_tooltip player_id='396444' first='Morgan' last='Hulke'] – In addition to St. Peter's little stumble, this week we saw Jordan lose a game for the first time this season. The winner was New Ulm, which rode Hulke's back to the win. The top 100 junior had 35 points (30 in the first half) and made 8 three-pointers (7 before halftime) in the 83-79 upset.   [player_tooltip player_id='567375' first='Maddy' last='Freking'] – The big power forward from Anoka burst out of the gate this season with a couple of strong performances over Thanksgiving. This week she filled up the basket with a season-high 33 points against Minnehaha Academy, more than double her average. If basketball was her focus, Freking would be a top 50 prospect in the class of 2025.   Catherine Walker – The 5'7 junior from Breck has quietly been the backbone of the Mustangs, a team that doesn't get a whole lot of notice on a regular basis. Walker is averaging over 22 points per game. This week, the product of the Minneapolis Lakers youth program put up 32 points against Apple Valley.   [player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack'] – Once again this week the top 5 junior from Minnehaha Academy topped the 30-point mark in a game with 32 against Anoka, something she's done six times this season. Addi leads the state in scoring with 310 points in 10 games. She's also averaging 4.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 5.7 steals.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/Kristen-Watson-2000.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-826628" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/LadyVikes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></figcaption></figure>   MILESTONES   [player_tooltip player_id='392470' first='Kristen' last='Watson'] – The senior guard from Hayfield has been on the big stage at the Class A state tournament in recent years, but otherwise toils in relative obscurity in Southern Minnesota. The diminutive point guard definitely earned some recognition on Friday night when she downed 6 triples in a win over Kenyon-Wanamingo. That put Watson over 2,000 points for her career with the Vikings.   [player_tooltip player_id='215943' first='Somah' last='Kamara'] – The Top 50 senior from Robinsdale Cooper reached 1,000 career points this week. Kamara, an athletic guard with a quality skillset, is one of the best remaining unsigned prospects in Minnesota's senior class.   [player_tooltip player_id='478913' first='Anna' last='Stromberg'] – The 6'3 forward from Legacy Christian Academy passed the 1,000-career points mark on Tuesday. Stromberg, whose journey to improvement has been impressive to say the least, committed to Division 1 Radford University in Virginia.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/Emily-Anderson-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-826627" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/MNRiseGirls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='453733' first='Emily' last='Anderson'] – The lanky forward from Martin County West in Southwest Minnesota also reached 1,000 this week. She is a top 100 prospect who plays AAU for the Minnesota Rise.   [player_tooltip player_id='339128' first='Steph' last='Cink'] – Another Southern Minnesota standout bettered the 1,000-point plateau this week, as well. Cink is a seasoned guard from St. Clair who did it just a week after teammate [player_tooltip player_id='502551' first='Brooklin' last='Hinze'].   There were two more milestones we learned of this week:   [player_tooltip player_id='178265' first='Kadence' last='Hesse'] – The senior guard continues to assault the record books at Sleepy Eye. With 13 helpers on Thursday against Nicollet, the Southwest Minnesota State commit became the Indians' all-time assist leader. Now at 408 and counting, Hesse has led Sleepy Eye to a 9-0 start to the season.   [player_tooltip player_id='215953' first='Marisa' last='Frost'] – The North Dakota State commit from Centennial had a 31-point performance on Thursday against Forest Lake, but it was her remarkable 9 steals that earned Frost a career milestone of note. The top 10 senior became the Cougars' all-time career leader in grand theft.   COMING UP   We made the long trek to Canada for a family gathering during week #5. Now we're in Sioux Falls for a few days of celebration with the in laws. Girls basketball in Minnesota resumes the day after Christmas with the Esko holiday tournament. We'll be back at it 24 hours later with a schedule that looks like this:   <ul> <li>Wednesday, Dec. 27 – We'll be stopping by the holiday tournaments at both Park Center and St. Michael-Albertville. The contest between Chanhassen and STMA should be fun.</li>   <li>Thursday, Dec. 28 – We haven't quite nailed the day down yet but it will likely include some combination of games at Hill-Murray, Cretin-Derham Hall and/or Rosemount.</li>   <li>Friday, Dec. 29 – We're at the Granite City Classic at the College of St. Benedict for seven games. The 7:30 p.m. Hopkins vs Providence Academy contest promises to be the highlight of the day.</li>   <li>Saturday, Dec. 30 – We'll be back at St. Ben's for a slate of seven more games that includes Providence Academy vs Duluth Marshall and Lakeville North against Wayzata.</li> </ul>

There are so many gifted girls competing in Minnesota basketball. Over the past few days, the aforementioned athletes were the gift that kept on giving as we watched the likes of Maddyn Greenway Maddyn Greenway 5'8" | PG Providence Academy | 2026 State MN , Alyssa Sand Alyssa Sand 6'2" | PF Albany | 2024 State MN , Kylan Gerads Kylan Gerads 5'11" | SF Albany | 2024 State MN , Tori Oehrlein Tori Oehrlein 5'11" | CG Crosby-Ironton | 2026 State MN and Chloe Johnson Chloe Johnson 6'0" | PG Duluth Marshall | 2028 State MN deliver virtuoso performances just in time for the holiday season. Their play in a pair of outstanding Class 2A showdowns – Providence Academy at Albany on Tuesday and Crosby-Ironton at Duluth Marshall on Thursday – were most definitely the highlights of our Week That Was #5.