Which teams are off to a sizzling start in December?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're only into the fourth week of the Minnesota girls high school basketball season, but some noteworthy trends and teams are starting to emerge. Which programs are off to a hot start to the 2023-24 campaign? We're going to tell you! By our count there are 34 squads that remain undefeated with at least four wins – 5 in Class 4A, 7 each in Class 3A and 2A, and 15 in Class A. Here's a rundown on some of the teams that are off to a sizzling start in December.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Delano Tigers (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Delano Tigers have exceeded many observers' expectations with their 5-0 start. Watching the Tigers take down the other Tigers from Stewartville last weekend at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic was an eye opener in a convincing 72-50 win. Currently, the Tigers are led by senior post [player_tooltip player_id='178273' first='Taylor' last='Tool'] and sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='458302' first='Abbie' last='Pietila'], averaging 19.4 and 14.2 points per game respectively. Tool, who will play college basketball at Division 2 Northern State, reached 1,000 career points on Friday night in the 61-47 win over Orono. Delano has a strong veteran core group that also includes top 30 senior and Wayne State commit [player_tooltip player_id='215972' first='Norah' last='Danielson'], and sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='927238' first='Lexi' last='Champeau']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='589282' first='Cassie' last='Wegman']. Wegman is a rising prospect in the 2026 class, currently ranked at #66.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eden Prairie Eagles (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another team that has turned a few heads in the early going is Eden Prairie, of the loaded Lake Conference. Despite their lack of size, the Eagles have come out strong, racking up wins over Rosemount, White Bear Lake, Andover, and Prior Lake. Their most recent win came on Friday night against reigning AAA state champs Benilde-St. Margaret's. It was a close one, with Eden Prairie snagging a 6-point win in a foul-filled struggle. South Dakota commit [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'] led with 36 points, going 15-for-23 from the field. [player_tooltip player_id='595568' first='Ella' last='Hardwick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] are contributing double figures on a nightly basis, as well. The Eagles will face some big tests this week, with match-ups against Maple Grove on Tuesday and Lakeville South on Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan Jaguars (6-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've been watching the Jaguars quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, seeing them at the Twin Cities Thanksgiving Tip Off at St. Thomas Academy, where they secured wins over Aquinas of La Crosse (Wisconsin) and Mahtomedi, and at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic at Hopkins. Currently Jordan is being led in scoring by top 40 prospect in the 2025 class, [player_tooltip player_id='330744' first='Savannah' last='Borowicz'], #8-ranked sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='502602' first='Morgan' last='Staloch'], and newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='815110' first='Olivia' last='Fynboh']. Staloch and Borowicz are averaging 19+ points apiece, and Fynboh is averaging 11.3 per game. Staloch earned herself a player of the game award at the Tip Off Classic after a 28-point performance against Visitation. The Jaguars will play Watertown-Mayer on Thursday, and will have some tough games against Benilde-St. Margaret's, Holy Family, and St. Peter in the coming weeks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rochester John Marshall Rockets (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockets of Rochester John Marshall have blasted off to a 4-0 start to the season. That's a huge turnaround from recent campaigns. Last year the Rockets didn't record their fourth win of the year until Feb. 7 in their 20th game! The Rockets are being led in scoring by 6'1 freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='630244' first='Jazmin' last='Daing'] (pictured above). Jazmin has had an incredibly hot start to the season, averaging 22.5 points per game. The top 10 prospect in the 2027 class was lighting it up on Friday night in the match-up against Austin, draining a whopping 8 shots from beyond the arc. She finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals in the 72-62 win over the Packers. Daing is already fielding multiple Division 1 offers, including one from Nebraska of the Big 10. JM will face Rochester Century, Mankato East, and Hastings this week.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Peter Saints (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Saints are off the stellar start this season, with wins over Mankato East, Becker, St. James, and a couple others. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that they are holding opponents to just 34.8 points per game, and winning contests by an average margin of 25. That's what you call a sizzling start! Leading the charge this year for St. Peter is senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'], who averaged 24 points and 7 rebounds per game last year. Holmgren is a top 20 prospect in the 2024 class and is committed to play at MSU-Mankato. She is joined by senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='304899' first='Abby' last='Maloney'], junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='208187' first='Annika' last='Southworth'] and her younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='764209' first='Kylie' last='Southworth'] along with veteran guard [player_tooltip player_id='339119' first='Maddie' last='Kamm']. The Saints will meet the Panthers of Glencoe-Silver Lake and the Worthington Trojans this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WHO ELSE IS ON A ROLL?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Crosby-Ironton Rangers (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rangers are off to a blazing start with wins over Proctor, Sauk Centre, Esko, and Edina. 2026 phenom [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] is leading the way, averaging a remarkable 36.2 points, 11 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 6.5 steals, and 4 blocks per game. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='826639' first='Sammie' last='Hachey']</strong> is contributing an average of 14 points, and 6.8 boards per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Ridge Wolverines (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rock Ridge Wolverines are only in their second year of existence as the high schools from Virginia and Eveleth have merged into a state-of-the-art school. The Class 3A program is steered by long-time Mountain Iron-Buhl assistant Byron Negen. They're led by junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='918767' first='Anna' last='Westby']</strong> and sisters <strong>Emma Lamppa</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='927235' first='Lexi' last='Lamppa']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='927231' first='Maija' last='Lamppa']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleepy Eye Indians (7-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Indians of Sleepy Eye are piloted once again this season by Southwest Minnesota State commit [player_tooltip player_id='178265' first='Kadence' last='Hesse'], a Top 25 senior, and NAIA Briar Cliff commit [player_tooltip player_id='304937' first='Brea' last='Mertz']. The duo averaged a combined 42 points per game last season. On Monday night, the Indians took down their crosstown rivals from Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 73-52 in the annual civil war.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two Rivers Warriors (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two Rivers is led by first-year coach Nia Hollie, the 2016 Minnesota Ms. Basketball from Hopkins who went on to play at Michigan State. Coach Hollie has the Warriors at 5-0. Two Rivers (formerly known as Henry Sibley) are led by sophomore forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='829629' first='Sophia' last='Amundson']</strong> and sisters [player_tooltip player_id='350102' first='Gabi' last='Kirchner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='471192' first='Isabelle' last='Kirchner']. They'll play Mound Westonka and Minneapolis Southwest this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Watertown-Mayer Royals (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top 50 senior and MSU-Mankato commit [player_tooltip player_id='461358' first='Mallory' last='Czinano'] has had a breakout year in 2023 and she's leading the Royals at 17.8 points per game. Also off to a great start is senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='820807' first='Lyndsey' last='Penegor'], who appears to have raised her game this year and is averaging 15.4 ppg while posting really impressive shooting percentages. W-M plays Minneapolis North and Jordan this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WHO ELSE IS OFF TO A GREAT START?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are all of the undefeated teams with at least four wins as of Dec. 11:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 4A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Michael-Albertville, 6-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Eden Prairie, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Maple Grove, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Minnetonka, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rochester John Marshall, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 3A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Delano, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Peter, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Totino-Grace, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Two Rivers, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cloquet, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Richfield, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rock Ridge, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 2A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Dover-Eyota, 7-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Minnehaha Academy, 7-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Jordan, 6-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Providence Academy, 6-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Albany, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Crosby-Ironton, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Agnes, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sleepy Eye, 7-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Martin County West, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Watertown-Mayer, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Winona Cotter, 5-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hancock, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hayfield, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Braham, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Breckenridge, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Fosston, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Lakeview, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Northome/Kelliher, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Park Christian, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rothsay, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Southwest Minnesota Christian, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, 4-0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PGH scout Ally McGinnis contributed to this article.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->