The Week That Was #6: Ending the year with a bang

What a week! After putting on nearly 2,000 miles running around to family Christmas gatherings with a basketball side trip to Duluth, the most recent seven days have been a whirlwind. I had the best of intentions to spend a good chunk of Sunday writing but, to be honest, I was flat out exhausted. The only real tasks successfully accomplished were a long walk in the crisp winter air and a leisurely brunch at the Rand Tower Hotel (highly recommend!) where Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Fleck just happened to be seated at the next table. Fortunately, there were no 'Row the Boat!' speeches or bowl game chatter involved, just mimosas.

So here we are, on the first day of the new year, recapping the last week of the old year – the Week That Was #6 of the Minnesota girls basketball season.

MILESTONES

Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN posts her 3,000th career point

I remember very well the first time I saw Addi play in a high school game in 2019. Actually it was a pair of back-to-back fall league contests in which the then-7th grader nailed 15 three-pointers for the Blake School and made it obvious she was going to be special. Fast forward to this past Saturday when the Minnehaha Academy junior passed the 3,000 career points mark. Addi became the 5th fastest player to reach 3,000 by doing it in just 124 varsity games.

Ranked as the #4 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2025, Mack started the season with 2,634 points. With 398 more already counted in the 2023-24 season, she's now at 3,032. That is the highest among active Minnesota players with North Carolina commit Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN of Mountain Iron-Buhl sitting at 2,934. The last players to hit 3,000 were Madison Mathiowetz of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's (now South Dakota State) in 2022 and Gianna Kneepkens of Duluth Marshall (currently at Utah) in 2021.

With a year and a half remaining in her illustrious high school career, Addi is on pace to surpass the great Carlie Wagner of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, the University of Minnesota standout and Minnesota Lynx draft pick who is 2nd among all-time leading scorers with 3,982 career points. It's unlikely anyone will ever top Rebekah Dallman of Braham, who holds the record at 5,060 set in 2013.

There were two 1,000-point scorers this week who both reached the career milestone in the same game at the Granite City Classic.

Misti Zempel Misti Zempel 5'10" | PF Hancock | 2024 State MN is a stock rising senior from Hancock and committed to Mayville State.

Maddy Mitchell Maddy Mitchell 5'6" | SG Holdingford | 2024 State MN is a Prep Girls Hoops Top 200 senior from Holdingford.

STOCK RISER OF THE WEEK

Danielle Coleman Danielle Coleman 6'1" | SG Lakeville South | 2025 State MN – 2025 wing, Lakeville South

Minnehaha Academy is one of the toughest outs in Minnesota, an elite team with top-shelf talent that has produced a dozen victories this season. That didn't stop Dani from delivering what just might be the best performance of her high school career on behalf of Lakeville South, a 28-point gem that enabled the Cougars to hand the Redhawks their first loss. Coleman played with a ton of confidence on offense and was a force on the glass in the 64-56 win. Dani has always had a ton of potential, and her game has improved every year. At 6'1, the Division 1 prospect has length, pace and touch, and she can shoot the basketball at a high level. When Coleman brings an attacker's mentality to the floor, she is very, very difficult to contain. Dani is currently ranked #22 in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2025. She'll play this spring for the Minnesota Suns .

TEAMS TRENDING UP

Lakeville South Cougars

After bursting out of the gates with a run of success one year ago, Lakeville South (7-5) got off to a slow start this season as the Cougars lost five of their first six games against some of Minnesota's top programs. But South's win over Minnehaha on Saturday was no fluke. In fact, coach Angie Onstad's team has now won its last six games in a row. The Cougars have been doing it with defense and are rebounding with more oomph, according to the coach.

One player who is contributing a whole lot more is gritty guard Audrey Schmidtke Audrey Schmidtke 5'11" | CG Lakeville South | 2026 State MN , a top 25 prospect in the Class of 2026 and one of the most athletic players around. She has been running the floor well of late, scoring in transition and making three-pointers with regularity. Audrey's confidence appears to have grown and she is playing aggressive, energetic defense. Kansas State commit Finley Ohnstad Finley Ohnstad 6'1" | SF Lakeville South | 2024 State MN , a top 10 prospect in the Class of 2024, has blossomed at both ends of the floor since her 45-point outburst at the Breakdown Tip Off. Gustavus commit Anna Goodman Anna Goodman 5'5" | PG Lakeville South | 2024 State MN is facilitating at a high level, senior guard Briana Martin Briana Martin 5'5" | CG Lakeville South | 2024 State MN is bringing energy off the bench, and 6-foot junior Caitlin Beauchamp Caitlin Beauchamp 5'11" | SF Lakeville South | 2025 State MN is making an impact defensively and on the glass.

South hosts Rochester Century this week before taking a deep dive into South Suburban Conference play next week. The first of two rivalry games with their neighbors from Lakeville North takes place next Friday, Jan. 12.

Coon Rapids Cardinals

Coach Chris Buerman is in the process of rebuilding the program at Coon Rapids and their collective efforts are starting to pay off. During week #6, Coon Rapids recorded back-to-back victories at the Duluth East holiday tournament, the first time in six years that the Cardinals have won two in a row. That raised the team's season record to a modest 4-4, but that represents major progress for CR. Seniors Casey Beck Casey Beck 5'11" | SF Coon Rapids | 2024 State MN and Helen Ben Helen Ben 5'9" | SG Coon Rapids | 2024 State MN combined for 52 points in the win over Duluth East.

COMING UP

We'll be cranking out stories this week from the Granite City Classic. Our first article – High-major players who delivered at Granite City – was posted Monday morning. We'll have a half-dozen more over the next few days looking at prime-time point guards, standout forwards, versatile competitors, stock risers, fresh faces and more. Check out our coverage of other holiday hoops events from day 1 and day 2 at the post-Christmas tournaments.

GAMES TO WATCH

The folks from Breakdown USA just keep on delivering great events with two more coming up on Saturday: the Lake Superior Classic in Duluth and the Southern Minnesota Hoopsfest at Kasson-Mantorville, Byron, Hayfield and Rochester Century. Ally McGinnis and I will be heading south with our exact schedule yet to be determined. Other games you may want to watch this week include:

Tuesday – We'll be at Providence Academy for their showdown with Minnehaha Academy. In Southeastern Minnesota there's Hayfield at Grand Meadow. In the Southwest check out Hancock at Minneota.

Wednesday – We'll be at Williams Arena to watch the Gophers against Maryland. There are just 13 games on the high school schedule, including Eden Prairie at Chanhassen, Stillwater at Farmington and Robbinsdale Cooper at Fridley.

Thursday – Probably the best outstate contest is Breckenridge at Perham where The Hive is sure to be buzzing. We'll either be at Benilde-St. Margaret's for their game with Jordan or in Prior Lake where the Lakers host Rosemount.

Friday – Hill-Murray versus Mahtomedi is always a great rivalry game, even more so this year as 2027 #1 Mya Wilson Mya Wilson 6'1" | CG Hill-Murray | 2027 State MN of the Pioneers faces her former team for the first time. We may check that out, but there are two great match-ups in Minneapolis, too. Holy Angels visits DeLaSalle in the latest edition of an always-interesting battle of parochial programs. That's tempting given that DLS is a 10-minute walk from my place. In a contest between the two best teams in Minneapolis, Southwest visits Roosevelt in what should be a good one.