The Week That Was #14: On to the postseason

There are few winners in the first round of sections. OK, let me rephrase that. There are teams that win and teams that lose but sometimes the margin between them is downright embarrassing. It's one of the flaws in Minnesota's postseason path to the state tournament that seems to rear its ugly head every year at this time. The Week That Was #14 marked the end of the regular season and the beginning of section play and you know what that means – first-round blowouts, and it ain't going to be pretty. That's what's on our mind as we recap the Week That Was #14 and look ahead to this week's section playoff games.   Perusing the post-season   To many, high school athletics are all about participation. That's a great sentiment, and for kids whose goal is simply to be part of a team or activity, that's wonderful. For those of us in the hyper-competitive world of elite girls basketball, varsity competition means a lot more. (Sometimes too much, but that's a discussion for another day.) In our world, we want the competition to be as fair and as fierce as possible. Letting everyone into post-season play just doesn't seem right, especially if you're going to schedule worst against first in the opening round.   Historically, that's what has happened in the majority of cases and the results are inevitable – blowouts by margins of 50 and 60 and 70 or more points. It's cringe-worthy. The onslaughts have already begun as a few class A and AA sections started post-season play last week. In Section 1A, for example, top-seeded Goodhue had to face the winner of the play-in game between #16 LeRoy-Ostrander and #17 Lyle-Pacelli. The contest happened on Thursday, and the result (given Goodhue's status as a serious state championship contender) was predictable: a 103-15 victory. To my point above, nobody wins in that scenario. The Goodhue coaches and players don't want to run up the score. A weak #17 seed isn't capable of keeping it close.   Elsewhere in Section 1A Hayfield knocked off Wabasha-Kellogg 85-38 and Rushford-Peterson buried Schaeffer Academy 62-19. In Section 1AA, #1 Winona Cotter defeated #16 St. Charles 75-25 while #3 Caledonia scored a 65-32 win over #14 LaCrescent-Hokkah.   Last year was pretty typical: Hopkins won by 89, Mountain Iron-Buhl by 80, Rosemount by 74, Ely and Visitation by 69, Hancock by 63, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's by 60, St. Michael-Albertville by 59, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart by 57… the list goes on. To me the obvious solution is to have a preliminary section tournament of sorts involving the bottom half of the section, a scenario where the have-nots would be more evenly matched and the top couple of teams would advance into the main draw. The kids would have more fun, the games would be more competitive and the spirit of high school competition would be intact.   Fortunately, more sections have been awarding first-round byes to top seeds, which is helpful to a degree. Section 4AA, for example, gave first-round byes to its top four seeds, including perennial powers Minnehaha Academy and St. Croix Lutheran. Ditto for 5AA with Providence Academy, Jordan, Watertown-Mayer and Holy Family. That should ease the pain a little. Among the big schools, first-round byes in Class AAAA were granted to Minnetonka, Rosemount, White Bear Lake, Maple Grove, Hopkins, Andover and St. Michael-Albertville. Only section 1AAAA is the standard #1 vs #8 format (Lakeville North vs Owatonna) because there are only eight teams in the section.   What to watch   Despite the mismatches, there are some good games to watch, particularly on Wednesday. If you aren't going to the Caitlin Clark extravaganza at the University of Minnesota, you might want to check out these games:   <ul> <li>1AAAA: New Prague at Rochester John Marshall</li>   <li>2AAAA: Chanhassen at Prior Lake</li>   <li>1AAA: Kasson-Mantorville at Austin</li>   <li>1AAA: Red Wing at Stewartville</li>   <li>2AAA: Mankato West at New Ulm</li>   <li>6AAA: Robbinsdale Cooper at Orono</li> </ul>   PLAYER OF THE WEEK   [player_tooltip player_id='252383' first='Lanelle' last='Wright'] – 2026 guard, Minnetonka   In an era loaded with superstars and chock-full of kids on the rise, it's nearly impossible to pick one standout player during any particular week. Watching Lanelle's heroics in the final 10 seconds of the epic Hopkins vs Minnetonka showdown on Friday night, however, it was pretty obvious that she deserves a special shout-out. The 2026 standout (pictured above) has grown her game a ton this year, making big plays week after week, using her elite distribution and scoring skills to help Minnetonka to a 24-2 record. The Skippers rematch with Hopkins was clearly the team's biggest game of the year.   The Skippers build a 35-27 lead at the half. As is their custom, however, the Royals amped up the defensive pressure in the second period. By the midway point the game was tied at 46-46 thanks to a steal-and-score by Florida commit [player_tooltip player_id='178269' first='Liv' last='McGill']. The contest see-sawed back and forth the rest of the way before McGill scored on a runner with 18 seconds remaining to give Hopkins a two-point lead. That could have been the kiss of death for Minnetonka, but Lanelle had other ideas. She went end-to-end to score at the rim with 10 seconds remaining, drew a foul in the process, and cashed in on the and-1 free throw for a 62-61 Minnetonka lead. Seconds later Wright executed a perfect steal, drew a foul, and finished the contest with two made free throws. Final score: 64-61. Big-time players make big-time plays.   Despite the epic victory by Minnetonka, it was Hopkins that captured the Lake Conference title with a record of 11-1. Given that they will compete in different sections in the post-season, the next meeting – if there is to be one – would take place at the State Tournament in Minneapolis. First, the Skippers need to get by the likes of Eden Prairie and Chaska in Section 3 while Hopkins has to take care of business against Wayzata and company in Section 6.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Natalie-Beaver-2000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-861540" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/nataliebeaver24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></figcaption></figure>   MILESTONES   It used to be pretty rare to write about 2,000-point scorers in these parts. Now it seems to be an every-week occurrence. With the talent pool having grown significantly, and more players getting varsity opportunities at a younger age, it is a trend that's only going to keep growing. This is particularly true for talented athletes who play for smaller Class A and AA schools where they have few peers who can keep pace with their level of play. This week there were three more who fit nicely in that box including senior [player_tooltip player_id='392476' first='Natalie' last='Beaver'] of Hayfield, pictured above. The Luther College commit, and Ms. Basketball nominee, scored 39 points Thursday in a section playoff win over Wabasha-Kellogg to top 2,000 for her career with the Vikings.   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='304921' first='Claire' last='McGregor'] of Maple River also reached 2,000 for her career. The dynamic point guard has committed to Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'] of Duluth Marshall also hit the 2,000 mark. She scored 21 in a win over Esko on Thursday to surpass the magic number. Regan is a top 20 prospect in Minnesota's Class of 2025   Here are a few more career milestones we learned of during Week #14.   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='177728' first='Olivia' last='Olson'] of Benilde-St. Margaret's has had the type of high school basketball career the vast majority of players can only dream of, representing her country internationally, being named McDonald's All American, winning a state championship, and rewriting the record books. This week Olivia checked another milestone off her list by recording the 1,000th rebound of her varsity career. The Michigan commit is the all-time leading scorer at BSM and should reach 2,500 points before the week is done. Don't be surprised if she is also named Ms. Basketball.   Another player nearing the end of an outstanding high school run is senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='178265' first='Kadence' last='Hesse'] of Sleepy Eye. Last week the Southwest Minnesota State commit added yet another milestone with the 1,000th rebound of her career and she did it with a school-record 21 boards in a single game.   Senior Sarah Visser of Ely set a single-season rebounding record for the Timberwolves when she recorded her 299th in a win over South Ridge. Even more impressive is the fact that Sarah is listed at just 5'5.   Top 100 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='675882' first='Marissa' last='Tusler'] of West Lutheran broke her school's single-season point scoring record of 502.   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='304920' first='Ava' last='Thompson'] of Rosemount established a new single-season record for most assists with 149. The Concordia-St. Paul commit bettered the standard set by Micaela Petrich that stood for 14 years.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Cady-Davis-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-861550" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/cadyfdavis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></figcaption></figure>   1,000 POINT SCORERS   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='520264' first='Cady' last='Davis'] of Minneapolis Roosevelt became the third Teddies senior to hit 1,000 career points this season, joining [player_tooltip player_id='339197' first='Olivia' last='Wren'] and [player_tooltip player_id='461348' first='Jaida' last='Walker']. The Macalester College commit hit her milestone with a 42-point game against Minneapolis Edison.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Anna-Greene-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-861561" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/Annalgreene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></figcaption></figure>   Junior [player_tooltip player_id='296747' first='Anna' last='Greene'] of Mahtomedi   Senior Rylie Sternquist of Big Lake (St. Mary's)   Junior [player_tooltip player_id='470055' first='Dakota' last='Soltis'] of Upsala   Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='502533' first='Jensyn' last='Storhoff'] of Lanesboro   Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='498662' first='Jadyn' last='Kor'] of Pipestone   Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='862788' first='Acelynn' last='Hacker'] of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Alivia-Bell-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-861552" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/JenniferSuber6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></figcaption></figure>   Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='659118' first='Alivia' last='Bell'] of Winona   Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='377583' first='Mya' last='Wilson'] of Hill-Murray.

There are few winners in the first round of sections. OK, let me rephrase that. There are teams that win and teams that lose but sometimes the margin between them is downright embarrassing. It's one of the flaws in Minnesota's postseason path to the state tournament that seems to rear its ugly head every year at this time. The Week That Was #14 marked the end of the regular season and the beginning of section play and you know what that means – first-round blowouts, and it ain't going to be pretty. That's what's on our mind as we recap the Week That Was #14 and look ahead to this week's section playoff games.