Best of the Kasson-Mantorville Showcase

Postponements. Cancellations. Make-up games. These are the realities of any high school basketball season in Minnesota. We made it through seven weeks of play without much impact from the weather, but we all knew the luck wouldn't last forever. Mother Nature returned with a bang last week bringing decent quantities of snow and fierce winds to Southern Minnesota. That led to some cancellations and postponements on Thursday and Friday so it was not surprising to learn en route to Saturday's showcase in Kasson-Mantorville that things weren't going to go quite according to plan. First Marshall declined to make the 175-mile journey from west to east in blustery conditions on Highway 14. Then Albert Lea bailed, as well. That left us with three varsity games to watch and two of the JV variety. Here are a few highlights from Saturday's play.   STANDOUT PROSPECT   [player_tooltip player_id='778750' first='Clarissa' last='Sauer'] – 2025 guard/forward, Winona Cotter   One of the main reasons I opted for the Kasson-Mantorville event was to see Sauer play live for the first time. We have been reading what others have had to say. We have been watching the box scores. Sauer even made it into the last Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2025 rankings update at #103 based on the reports of knowledgeable people who had watched her play and what we had seen on video. Until we see it with our own eyes, however, it's hard to know if a player can or cannot live up to the advance hype. Since Winona Cotter rarely ventures far from home to compete, it takes a special effort to see the Ramblers play live. Saturday's K-M event was our best opportunity.   After scrutinizing Sauer on Saturday we are pleased to report that she is the real deal. Just how real remains to be seen. One thing is for certain: the moment Sauer walks on the court she grabs your attention. She just looks like a high-end basketball prospect, appearing taller and bigger than the 5'9 we've seen her listed at. With broad shoulders and a strong lower body, Sauer has ‘athlete' written all over her.   When play began in Cotter's Saturday morning encounter with Hayfield, it quickly became obvious that Sauer has the makings of a scholarship-level game. Her greatest asset is her ability to get up and down the floor at pace and power to the rim from either side of the court where she finishes well. At over 24 points per game this winter that's clear. What isn't so obvious yet is how much and how well she can shoot the basketball against Division 1 and 2 level opponents. We only saw a small sample size in Kasson. She did make a couple of threes, shot a few jumpers, but mostly scored at the rim. Of course in Class A that is the percentage play, isn't it? Why take a shot you might make a 35-50% of the time when you can finish at the rim at a much higher rate? In high-level AAU basketball, of course – and obviously at the collegiate level – the odds change significantly. Although we didn't see much of it ourselves, the stats would indicate that Sauer can take and make shots from distance in Class A.   That equation reminded me of Mallory Heyer, the former Chaska standout now making waves at the University of Minnesota. When she was younger, Heyer had a similar build to Sauer with the kind of strength and athleticism to get to the basket and score at will. It wasn't until Mallory went to Team USA tryouts in Colorado Springs that it became evident she needed to shoot the basketball far more often. Now Heyer is an elite shooter from distance as anyone who was at the Gophers' win over Nebraska on Sunday saw for themselves.   There's no doubt Sauer is crafty. She can slip through defenders, power past defenders, run over defenders. She has a variety of moves down low and a good feel for when to use them. Her IQ looks good, too. She is also a quality rebounder who gets position on her opponent and has a good sense of timing of when to go up and when to move out. Sauer is currently averaging about 8 rebounds per game along with 3.6 assists and 4.4 steals. She finished Saturday's win over Hayfield with 22 points, one fewer than her teammate Abby Williams and one more than Luther College commit [player_tooltip player_id='392476' first='Natalie' last='Beaver'], who was in Clarissa's kitchen all game long.   In summary, we really liked what we saw. We'll learn a whole lot more this spring when Sauer ventures into AAU for the first time. She's joining a strong Minnesota Rise 2025 squad that last year included the likes of St. Peter's [player_tooltip player_id='208187' first='Annika' last='Southworth'], high-scoring [player_tooltip player_id='550001' first='Rylie' last='Cother'] of Jackson County Central and big post [player_tooltip player_id='396427' first='Madelyn' last='Malmgren'] of St. James. If she can perform against AAU competition as well as we saw her against a good Class A opponent, Sauer is going to be a scholarship-level player. Given that she attended a D1 college elite camp last summer and received an offer on the spot, chances are good that we're going to like what we see. As for the prospect rankings, the 2025s will be updated in February and Sauer will most definitely be climbing fast.   STOCK RISER OF THE DAY   [player_tooltip player_id='339126' first='Maddie' last='Backer'] – 2025 guard, New Ulm   New Ulm was without starting point guard [player_tooltip player_id='339175' first='Brooklyn' last='Lewis'], a top 15 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2026 who is currently sidelined with a wrist injury. That's a huge loss for the Eagles. It's also an opportunity for Backer who clearly made the most of it on Saturday against a very good Byron squad. Maddie ran the New Ulm offense with a high degree of effectiveness. She played with pace, made smart choices, distributed the basketball at a high level and scored herself. Backer finished with 18 points. New Ulm came up short in a three-point loss to the Bears but Maddie did her part to keep it close. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='654990' first='Kayla' last='Stork'] (15 points) had an outstanding game for the Bears as did [player_tooltip player_id='252380' first='Kendra' last='Harvey'] (22) and [player_tooltip player_id='498663' first='Madison' last='Ohm'] (12), the big three we profiled last week in our coverage of the Southern Minnesota Hoops Fest.   FRESH FACES TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='662406' first='Jenna' last='Christopherson'] – 2027 guard, Hayfield   Last spring Jenna was thrust into the spotlight at the high school state tournament when foul trouble for her teammates led to opportunity for her. She did very well. Saturday's half of JV we watched wasn't Christopherson's best work, but it's obvious that Jenna has the potential to be really, really good. She plays with pace and athleticism, has fairly light feet and quality movement, and her skills are quite advanced. There's an air of confidence when the ball is in Jenna's hands, and she has the mechanics to be a great shooter. We also liked what we saw from her teammate Maggie Hanson, a skilled guard from Southern [program_tooltip program_id='712687' first='Minnesota' last='Fury'] who put up 20 points in the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='866655' first='Maggie' last='Joyce'] & McKenna Hulke – 2028 guards, New Ulm   We had occasion to watch Maggie and McKenna a few times last fall and we were intrigued to say the least. On Saturday we saw them playing at the JV level and it is obvious that the two gifted athletes have tons of upside. It certainly helps that they have older sisters who have experienced success in high school and AAU. Maggie has really sprouted up and is probably at the 6-foot mark now. She's long and lean and bouncy.  Joyce pulled off an elite spin move in the lane at full tilt, elevating over her defender to score. Most kids won't even attempt a move like that never mind execute it correctly.   Hulke is just so athletic, with light feet, an ease of movement, and a motor that looks to run at high RPM on a regular basis. She is a strong, physical defender, but it is her elite offensive skills that cause you to sit up and take notice immediately. She's smart and quick and crafty. Their teammate Leah Brustad also showed flashes of excellence. She is an already-lengthy 2029 who grabbed our attention right away. We'll be watching the 7th grader in the spring for sure.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/01/Olivia-Olson_Zahara-Bishop.jpg?w=245" alt="" class="wp-image-839659" /></figure>   THE MAIN EVENT   There were some good matchups on the docket at Kasson-Mantorville, including the one that was supposed to pit Marshall against Austin. From the time the schedule was released, however, it was obvious that the rematch of last year's Class 3A state championship game between Stewartville and Benilde-St. Margaret's was the one everyone had come to see. Truth be told, it was a bust.   The tone was set early, not by the Tigers in maroon and gold, not by the Red Knights in white and red, but by the three-person team in grey. I hate ragging on officials. I really do. It's a tough job and there aren't enough people willing to do it. I'm certainly not brave enough to take it on. But sometimes the quiet part just needs to be said out loud.   The ticky tacky fouls started early with Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='177728' first='Olivia' last='Olson'] sidelined by three dubious calls before anyone had broken a sweat. The whistles just kept on coming, one after the other after the other. It wasn't long before the flow was gone, players on both sides were expressing frustration, the two coaches were perplexed and fans on both sides were more vocal than ususal. It was one of those games where you just wanted to go back to the opening tip and start over.   Olson sat much of the first half and the score was 30-35 in favor of Benilde at the break. In the second period Olivia did what Olivia does and the Red Knights ran away with it for a final score of 74-48. She went 7-for-9 from the free throw line and finished with 24 points. Top 20 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='208184' first='Zahara' last='Bishop'] had 14 for BSM while freshman [player_tooltip player_id='498661' first='Pressley' last='Watkins'] scored 10. Top 10 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='458305' first='Audrey' last='Shindelar'] led Stewartville with 19 points while Hamline commit [player_tooltip player_id='304914' first='Taylor' last='Klement'] scored 14. Perhaps we'll see the two teams again at Williams Arena in March.

Postponements. Cancellations. Make-up games. These are the realities of any high school basketball season in Minnesota. We made it through seven weeks of play without much impact from the weather, but we all knew the luck wouldn't last forever. Mother Nature returned with a bang last week bringing decent quantities of snow and fierce winds to Southern Minnesota. That led to some cancellations and postponements on Thursday and Friday so it was not surprising to learn en route to Saturday's showcase in Kasson-Mantorville that things weren't going to go quite according to plan. First Marshall declined to make the 175-mile journey from west to east in blustery conditions on Highway 14. Then Albert Lea bailed, as well. That left us with three varsity games to watch and two of the JV variety. Here are a few highlights from Saturday's play.