The Week That Was #1: From 0 to 100 in an instant

A new season, a fast start and return of our most-read feature on Prep Girls Hoops: The Week That Was. Yep, our weekly recap returns once again for the high school season. If you've been with us for awhile you know that every Monday during the winter we look back at some highlights from the previous week. If you're new here, make sure to start your week with a look-see. The Week That Was is a catch-all of news and notes, including top performers, milestones achieved, players to watch and whatever else seems interesting.   For years we used to go to a game in person pretty much every night of the season and multiple games on Saturdays. Since 2020, with the proliferation of online streaming, our viewing has become much more efficient. Most weeks we watch a dozen or so games online and limit live viewing to one or two nights and all day Saturday. This approach has been great for scouting more far-flung programs and staying on top of what the power programs are doing on a weekly basis. But we can't watch it all. That's where you come in. Please send us information you think others might be interested in – Records broken, milestones reached, top performances, the quirky and unusual. You can email me (gmachoops@gmail.com) or send a message via X/Twitter (@gmachoops) and we'll do our best to follow up.   Coaches, we implore you to post your stats after every game to <a href="https://www.mngirlsbasketballhub.com/">mngirlsbasketballhub.com</a>. Yes, it takes a little time but it makes such a difference for the coverage your players receive and the interest in your program. Send us other information on your players, too. Trust me, it's valuable and chances are we'll use it. Thank you in advance.   With the biggest event of the season taking place on opening weekend this year, we went from 0 to 100 in a hurry and by Saturday night I was already exhausted. The season officially opened on Thursday and by Saturday we were neck-deep in a 14-hour marathon of 16 games at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic. Most of our Tip Off coverage will be in separate stories over the next couple of days, but we do have a few items below. Let's get to it, shall we?   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/Chloe-Johnson_Cairin-Berger.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1072959" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Johnson and Berger</figcaption></figure>   TEAM TO WATCH   With the departure of [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'] to Crosby-Ironton and [player_tooltip player_id='764223' first='Paige' last='Norman'] to Mountain Iron-Buhl earlier this year, it wasn't clear for a few weeks who the Hilltoppers would have on their roster to complement [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'], the top prospect in Minnesota's Class of 2028 and one of the premier freshmen in the country. Then came some significant transfers: 2026 Top 75 [player_tooltip player_id='927227' first='Cairin' last='Berger'] from Esko; 2027 top 30 [player_tooltip player_id='764185' first='Candice' last='Ndomb'] from Duluth East and 2029 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1071025' first='Gabby' last='Krasauskaite'] from Lithuania, who just happens to be 6-foot-7.   Watching them on Saturday against a rebuilding Albany squad, it was clear immediately that the Hilltoppers should be a factor in Class 2A. We're going to reserve judgement on Gabby K until we have a bigger sample size (pardon the pun), but at 6'7 with decent mobility and pretty good hands, she has a chance to be a big-time contributor at the next level. She blocked 8 shots in the game to go along with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. With an elite performer like Johnson to show her the ropes, we would expect rapid improvement from the Lithuanian if she's willing to work.   NAME TO KNOW   [player_tooltip player_id='867616' first='Nora' last='Wake'] is a 5'11 guard from Hill-City-Northland, a pair of map dots south of Grand Rapids that are barely a blip on the girls basketball radar. The section 7A squad rarely travels beyond the Northern Lakes Conference and hasn't made a habit of publishing player stats or information. Thank goodness for AAU. We saw Wake this summer with [program_tooltip program_id='713214' first='Minnesota' last='Starks']. She has tons of length, sees the floor well and has good touch around the rim. The lanky 9th grader can definitely fire the three-ball with a nice motion and quick release. That was obvious in the Storm's first two games of the 2024-25 campaign. Wake went 4-of-7 from three for 22 points against South Ridge on Thursday and followed that up with an 8-for-14 performance from three and 25 points against Nevis.   WHAT WE WATCHED   Our viewing began on Wednesday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis where the University of Minnesota beat Eastern Illinois. That game marked the return of Marqus McGlothan, the former [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] and DTA Academy AAU coach and trainer who is in his first year as the head coach of the Panthers. Also returning were his assistants Betsy McDonald and Caitlin Peterson, who played at St. Cloud State where Marqus also coached. Two Minnesotans played in the game – 2022 graduate Tiny Lewis of Minnehaha Academy played 30 minutes and scored a dozen points; 2020 graduate Jayda Johnston of Roseville had 19 minutes, 6 points, and 3 rebounds.   Thursday marked the beginning of the high school season. After watching St. Thomas defeat Oakland University in Detroit online, we took in as much as we could of opening night. We saw Maple Grove's thrilling 77-73 win over Eden Prairie in its entirety plus Wayzata at New Ulm. On Friday, we took in Alexandria at Marshall. Saturday was a the Tip Off where we shuttled back and forth between the two courts to the tune of 7,000 steps per my iPhone. We'll have separate coverage of that extravaganza. We finished the week back at Williams Arena for the Gophers' impressive win over the University of Montana on Sunday.   THE GRAND OPENING   There were over 40 games played on opening night, but I can't imagine there was one more entertaining than Maple Grove's dramatic 77-73 victory at Eden Prairie. The game featured some of Minnesota's biggest stars, including Division 1 commits [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'] (South Dakota) and [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] (Montana) of EP and [player_tooltip player_id='205298' first='Jordan' last='Ode'] (Michigan State) and [player_tooltip player_id='344332' first='Kate' last='Holmquist'] (Montana) of MG. High-level talent usually means high-level competition, and that's exactly what we witnessed.   Maple Grove jumped out to an impressive start as Ode scored just 15 seconds into the game to spark the Crimson to a 15-2 lead. Then it was EP's turn as Schlagel broke the long Eagles drought. By the time Ehrman scored on a mid-range jump shot at the midway point, EP was within two. At halftime, the Crimson held a 4-point lead and Ode and Schlagel had already combined for 35 points.   After the break Maple Grove went on another tear to stretch the lead all the way to 13 before Eden Prairie powered back to within two in the final minute. An intercepted inbounds pass enabled Holmquist to score in transition and close the deal. Ode finished with 27 points, Holmquist had 12 and the Hanna triplets – Lexi, Bella and Addie – combined for 36. Schlagel scored 28 for the Eagles while Ehrman had 20. We think there's not a lot of separation among the top teams in Class 4A and this game was definitely indicative of that.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/Ella-Mullenbach-1000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1072566" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/ARomo_Smith" target="_blank">X.com</a></figcaption></figure>   1,000-POINT SCORERS   We learned of five players who reached the 1,000-career points milestone during week #1. If you are aware of others please let us know and we'll add them to the list.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='422673' first='Ella' last='Mullenbach'] of Mankato West topped 1,000 for her career on Saturday at Rochester John Marshall. She is committed to North Iowa Area Community College.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='339121' first='Josie' last='Foster'] of Caledonia (banner photo) reached 1,000 career points in a 67-48 win over Rochester Lourdes. The Upper Iowa commit scored 30 in the game.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='212489' first='Sophie' last='Hawkinson'] of Wayzata (North Dakota State) reached 1,000 points on Saturday at the Breakdown Tip Off with an 18-point performance in the Trojans' win over Eastview</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Senior Nevaeh Wacholz of Albert Lea hit the 1,000 milestone in a loss to Dover-Eyota at the Eagles' early Thanksgiving tournament.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Junior [player_tooltip player_id='458305' first='Audrey' last='Shindelar'] of Stewartville (South Dakota State) also topped 1,000 on opening night in a win over Mankato East.</li> </ul>   NOTABLE PERFORMANCES   [player_tooltip player_id='498658' first='Morgan' last='Mathiowetz'] of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's continues to impress. The 11th-ranked sophomore scored 46 points in an 85-55 win over BOLD on Saturday, going 19-of-26 from the field and 5-for-5 at the free throw line. She also recorded 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. She had 27 on opening night versus Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.   [player_tooltip player_id='764182' first='Ava' last='Litecky'] of Totino-Grace is a player on the rise. The 6-foot guard/wing, who has soared into the top 40 among Minnesota sophomores this year, had a big opening night for the Eagles. She put up 32 points in a win over St. Croix Lutheran. That included 20 points in the first half on 4-for-4 shooting from three-point range.   Ciara Seifert of Rochester John Marshall scored 33 points in a win over Mankato West. One of the best rebounders in the state, Ciara also pulled down 17 boards. During the week she committed to play at North Iowa Area Community College next year.   Several players put up big numbers at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic including [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'] of Providence Academy (39), [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] of Eden Prairie (38), [player_tooltip player_id='1071908' first='Aubrey' last='Cochran-Starr'] of Fridley (37), [player_tooltip player_id='589280' first='Lyric' last='Singleton'] of Park Center (34) and [player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack'] of Minnehaha Academy (32). In their usual well-rounded performances, [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] of Crosby-Ironton had 22 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists and [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] of Duluth Marshall went 9-for-18 from the field for 23 points with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.   THE WEEK AHEAD   This might be a short work week for regular folks with the annual Thanksgiving holiday, but not for hoop heads. We'll probably take the day off for turkey on Thursday but it's game-on Friday and Saturday with two big tournaments in the Twin Cities and many more smaller gatherings around the state. The annual Pat Patterson Invitational at Hamline University in St. Paul headlines the proceedings along with the Twin Cities Thanksgiving Tipoff which will now be played at the new White Bear Lake facilities. We plan to preview those events later in the week.

A new season, a fast start and return of our most-read feature on Prep Girls Hoops: The Week That Was. Yep, our weekly recap returns once again for the high school season. If you've been with us for awhile you know that every Monday during the winter we look back at some highlights from the previous week. If you're new here, make sure to start your week with a look-see. The Week That Was is a catch-all of news and notes, including top performers, milestones achieved, players to watch and whatever else seems interesting.