Simple math: 63+62 = a game for the ages in Week #12

When we first launched our Week That Was feature a few years ago the idea was simple: Recap some things we'd seen throughout the week that didn't make it into other stories and take note of strong individual performances and career milestones. What it has become this winter – thanks to a new generation of elite Minnesota talent – is a never-ending stream of historical achievements courtesy of players like [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'], [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] and [player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack']. On Friday night it happened again during the Week That Was #12 with a couple of names that may not be quite as familiar to those who aren't hardcore followers of the girls game.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Karly-Grace-together.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853569" /></figure>   We had just finished watching an outstanding contest between Wayzata and Eden Prairie and were packing the suitcases in preparation for a 5 a.m. flight to Los Angeles on Saturday morning when I received a text from assistant coach Jeff Lahti at Pine City. “Karly with 63 and Grace with 62 tonight… we lost by 8 to Ogilvie 89-82”   Wait. What? That's right, [player_tooltip player_id='302309' first='Karly' last='Jusczak'] of Pine City had put up 63 points in the same game that Grace Heims of Ogilvie scored 62, two of the best individual performances in the history of Minnesota girls basketball. After posting a quick tweet on the milestone event, we immediately reached out to the state's guru of girls basketball records Matt Pederson. “That is incredible!” came his reply. Indeed.   Jusczak finished the game with 7 triples, 16 two-point field goals and was 10-for-14 at the free throw line. Grace buried 9 threes, made a dozen twos and went 11-of-14 at the line. For the record, Karly is a 6'1 double-double machine, a no-nonsense power forward who played the EYBL circuit last summer for [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] and is headed for a Division 1 college career at the University of Idaho. In three games last week she averaged 39 points and 16 rebounds per game.   Grace is a versatile 5'5 guard who, despite having had an ACL injury, is the all-time leading scorer for the Lions. Heims is a bit of a throwback. In addition to basketball, she played volleyball and softball, is President of National Honor Society and secretary of student council, she works on the yearbook and appeared in the school musical. Yep, an old-fashioned small-town star who just etched her place into the history books.   So how does the Jusczak-Heims achievement compare to similar milestones in the past?   Matt Pederson cited two relatively recent contests that appear to have set the standard for most combined points by two players in a single game. In March of 2021 at the state tournament, Gianna Kneepkens of Duluth Marshall (now a standout at the University of Utah) set the individual record for points in a single game by scoring 67 in a 94-91 win over Providence Academy. Greenway had 32 in the game for a combined total of 97 points.   Last year on Feb. 17, Greenway scored 60 points to spark PA to a 126-94 win over Minnehaha Academy, a game in which Mack had 45 points for a total of 105. What makes the Jusczak-Heims number so remarkable is the percentage of total game points scored by just two players: 73.1% for Karly and Grace, 52.4% for Kneepkens and Greenway, and 47.7% for Mack and Greenway.   Thank you to Jeff Lahti for the heads up and to Pine City head coach Padrick Judd for quickly sending us a terrific photo of the two protagonists taken after the game, as well as images of the scorebook. “I do not know if you will ever see a game like that in our lifetime again,” he wrote. “Truly one for the ages.”   WHAT WE WATCHED   Our viewing began on Monday with a sweet performance by junior [player_tooltip player_id='252380' first='Kendra' last='Harvey'] of Byron in a win over Stewartville. On Tuesday we saw Minnehaha take down Caledonia on a road trip to Southeastern Minnesota, followed by an overtime thriller that saw Hopkins defeat Eden Prairie. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='396426' first='Vanessa' last='Jordan'] of EP went 3-for-3 at the free throw line with a half-second remaining in regulation play to force the extra period. In OT it was [player_tooltip player_id='215457' first='London' last='Harris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='178269' first='Liv' last='McGill'] who stole the show with four minutes of outstanding two-way basketball for an 83-79 victory.   On Wednesday we watched Maple Grove execute a 2nd-half onslaught and cruise to a win over a ranked Andover squad. On Thursday, we did a college double header with St. Thomas falling at Oral Roberts and Minnesota doing the same against top 5-rated Ohio State. Then came Friday night's encounter between Eden Prairie and Wayzata that turned out to be another barn burner. That's not at all unusual for the mighty Lake Conference, which serves as a de facto state championship of sorts.   While there are other teams that do have to be considered contenders to win next month's actual Class 4A state title – we're looking at you Maple Grove and Lakeville North – the champion is likely to come from the Lake Conference where Hopkins is the #1-ranked team in the state and Minnetonka is #2. Defending champs St. Michael-Albertville are also strong candidates as is Wayzata. The one team that was definitely underestimated entering the campaign is EP.   Eden Prairie is exceeding expectations   The issue up for discussion was size, or lack thereof. Could the Eagles, the line of questioning went, make up for its lack of size with exceptional speed, skill and tenacity? Now, heading into the home stretch of the regular season, the answer is an emphatic, ‘Yes!' How are Coach Ellen Wiese's girls doing it? One rapid-fire possession at a time.   We saw it again on Friday night in the Eagles' 56-53 win over the Trojans. It took about 5 minutes of play in the first half before Wayzata managed to score on an [player_tooltip player_id='453749' first='Allison' last='Berns'] bucket. Then the Trojans went on a bit of a run sparked by a trio of triples courtesy of senior [player_tooltip player_id='563249' first='Samantha' last='Johnson'] followed by a [player_tooltip player_id='212489' first='Sophie' last='Hawkinson'] three that gave the Trojans a brief lead. EP was up 26-25 at the break.   It was back and forth throughout the second half before Eden Prairie took the lead for good with just under 40 seconds remaining. That's when Jordan's steal-and-score in transition put the Eagles up by a point. Johnson had a chance to put Wayzata ahead when she split a pair of defenders in the lane and drove to the basket, but somehow the ball did not make it into the cylinder. Then the Trojans fouled [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'] who buried a pair of free throws at the 20-second mark to make it 56-53. Hawkinson's last-ditch bomb came up short, bouncing off the front rim and securing the win for EP.   The squad's undisputed leader is guard Schlagel, the do-it-all top 10 junior who has committed to the University of South Dakota. Her primary partner in crime is junior [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'], a top 20 prospect with D1 pedigree who plays so hard at both ends of the floor night in and night out. It is the play of the other three starters that is truly notable: Jordan, [player_tooltip player_id='595568' first='Ella' last='Hardwick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='339147' first='Camryn' last='Dennin'] have been nothing short of outstanding. Hardwick, in particular, has made giant steps in her game.   Those five can definitely play fast. They move the ball very well, manage to take and make a ton of three-point shots, and get to the rim with a high degree of success. When the chips are down against elite opponents like Hopkins and Minnetonka, the Eagles never ever give up. Their fight and tenacity is truly admirable, as is their self-belief. Before it's all said and done in the Lake Conference and beyond, do not be surprised if Eden Prairie has a major say in how things ultimately turn out.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Williow-Thiel-2000-team-pic.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853582" /></figure>   MILESTONES   University of Minnesota-Crookston commit [player_tooltip player_id='178271' first='Willow' last='Thiel'] continues to assault the record books at Perham. After reaching 1,000 career rebounds earlier in the season, the senior scored her 2,000th career point on Tuesday against Breckenridge. Needing 33 points to reach the milestone, Thiel put up 34 and 15 rebounds in a 69-52 victory. According to Matt Pederson, Willow is the 80th player in Minnesota history to achieve the 2,000/1,000 double.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Fineday-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853584" /></figure>   Willow wasn't the only player to hit the magic 2,000 mark last week as junior [player_tooltip player_id='396431' first='Gabrielle' last='Fineday'] of Cass Lake-Bena also topped that career milestone. She scored 40 points on Thursday against Pine River-Backus to finish the game with 2,001. Fineday, whose career high in a single game is 58, has a chance to catch CLB's all-time leading scorer Taryn Frazer (a 2022 graduate now at UM-Crookston), who had 2,592.   Other records of note during week 12 were set by [player_tooltip player_id='478913' first='Anna' last='Stromberg'] of Legacy Christian and [player_tooltip player_id='350109' first='Bria' last='Stenstrom'] of Mounds View. Stromberg, a 6'3 post committed to D1 Radford University in Virginia, set a school record for career rebounds with 1,258. Bria, a senior guard signed with Winona State, established a new single game scoring record for the Mustangs with 44.   Here are the players we're aware of who hit 1,000 career points over the past seven days:   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Helen-Ben-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853585" /></figure>   Maryville University commit [player_tooltip player_id='302295' first='Helen' last='Ben'] of Coon Rapids   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Mackenzi-Simmons-1000-team-pic.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853590" /></figure>   Dakota State commit [player_tooltip player_id='302304' first='Mackenzi' last='Simmons'] of Winona   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Drew-Buslee-team-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853592" /></figure>   University of Sioux Falls commit [player_tooltip player_id='215983' first='Drew' last='Buslee'] of Eagan   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Lyndsey-Penegor-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-853593" /></figure>   Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='850570' first='Lindsey' last='Penegor'] of Watertown-Mayer   <figure class="wp-block-image size-thumbnail"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Hanson-Faith-1000-duo.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-853595" /></figure>   Chloe Hansen of Greenway and Faith Zgangar of Cherry reached 1,000 in the same game.

When we first launched our Week That Was feature a few years ago the idea was simple: Recap some things we'd seen throughout the week that didn't make it into other stories and take note of strong individual performances and career milestones. What it has become this winter – thanks to a new generation of elite Minnesota talent – is a never-ending stream of historical achievements courtesy of players like Maddyn Greenway Maddyn Greenway 5'8" | PG Providence Academy | 2026 State MN , Tori Oehrlein Tori Oehrlein 5'11" | CG Crosby-Ironton | 2026 State MN and Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN . On Friday night it happened again during the Week That Was #12 with a couple of names that may not be quite as familiar to those who aren't hardcore followers of the girls game.