The Week That Was #4: Stoppers in the spotlight

It's not often that an opponent drops 40 points and the defenders still get the accolades, but that's exactly what happened Saturday at Benilde-St. Margaret's as 2028 #1 [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] filled up the basket on behalf of Duluth Marshall. It was the Red Knights who earned a comfortable 88-72 victory, however, thanks largely to a pair of defenders who carried out their duties as assigned. Given that scorers usually get the lion's share of the attention in the game of basketball, we think it's time to put the stoppers in the spotlight to kick off The Week that Was #4.   DEFENDERS OF THE WEEK   Even though Benilde started their season off with three straight losses, the folks at Minnesota Basketball News were astute enough to keep the Red Knights atop the Class 3A team rankings anyway. Given that those losses came at the hands of power programs Minnetonka, Dowling Catholic of Iowa, and Hopkins, that made sense. Now, after rolling off wins over Byron, Hill-Murray and Duluth Marshall, BSM looks every bit like the multi-time defending state champions that they are. Although the Red Knights' offense is nothing to sneeze at, BSM has been winning with defense.   That was certainly obvious on Saturday in front of a full house in their St. Louis Park gym, a crowd that had gathered in no small part because it was an opportunity to see Johnson do her thing in person. Chloe is arguably the best freshman in America, and the buzz gets louder everywhere she goes. As Baylor head coach Nicki Collen and Kansas assistant Patrick Schrater looked on from the front row, what they witnessed was a Benilde game plan that curtailed Johnson's offensive effectiveness significantly.   Just as they had done earlier in the week against Hill-Murray, it was sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='567389' first='Sydney' last='Friedly'] and [player_tooltip player_id='498661' first='Pressley' last='Watkins'] (pictured above) who were tasked largely with containing the rather substantial threat Johnson presents. Their length, athleticism, critical focus and understanding of the task at hand made it impossible for Chloe to operate in the manner we are accustomed to seeing.   After Hilltoppers guard [player_tooltip player_id='478376' first='Anna' last='Saari'] dropped a smooth triple from the corner to open the scoring, BSM tallied the next 11 points. Before long it was 18-6 and the home team was firmly in control. Every time Johnson touched the ball, Watkins and Friedly were in her kitchen with a wagon full of fire extinguishers. This shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has watched coach Tim Ellefsen's championship group over the past couple of seasons. Friedly has built her brand based on defensive excellence. Now we're frequently seeing more of what she can do offensively. As for Watkins? Well she's a top 2 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2027 who is equally special at either end of the court.   Even without top-20 prospect and Seton Hall commit [player_tooltip player_id='208184' first='Zahara' last='Bishop'], who was unavailable to suit up on Saturday, Benilde was dominant. By the time Friedly launched a smooth-as-you'd-like-it bomb from the corner, the home side was up 21-8 less than 6 minutes into the contest. By halftime, the lead had stretched to 45-30 and Johnson had been limited to 12 points. In the second half, Ellefsen pretty much called off the dogs and went deeper in his bench in relatively short order. Although Johnson demonstrated remarkable resilience and effort, and eventually reached the 40-point mark, BSM went home with a stress-free victory.   The Red Knights simply have too much depth for Marshall with seven top-50 prospects on the BSM roster. They include 2025s [player_tooltip player_id='296523' first='Kendall' last='McGee'] (#3, Creighton), [player_tooltip player_id='208184' first='Zahara' last='Bishop'] (#16, Seton Hall) and [player_tooltip player_id='339131' first='Kate' last='Kapsner'] (#30); 2026 #32 [player_tooltip player_id='567387' first='Mirabel' last='Wismer']; 2027s Watkins (#2) and Friedly (#23), and 2028 #45 [player_tooltip player_id='786398' first='Zaida' last='Jenkins']. McGee, Friedly and Watkins had 16 points apiece in the win.   What's even more impressive about the play of Friedly and Watkins is the fact that it was the second game in a row that the pair had put on the same sort of defensive exhibition. On Wednesday at Hill-Murray, they helped contain much-heralded 2027 #1 [player_tooltip player_id='377583' first='Mya' last='Wilson'] and her sister [player_tooltip player_id='923286' first='Ashlee' last='Wilson'], who has a chance to be rated #1 in the Class of 2030. St. Cloud State commit [player_tooltip player_id='396436' first='Elise' last='Groppoli'] seemed to be smothered in the back court every time she tried to bring the ball up the floor in the second half, enabling BSM to pull away for a 77-66 decision.   NOTABLE PERFORMANCES   [player_tooltip player_id='498657' first='Aubrey' last='Steffl'] of Cedar Mountain recorded back-to-back triple-doubles. The crafty guard, who is ranked #52 in the Class of 2027, scored 34 points and had 10 rebounds, 10 steals and 8 assists in a win over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop. She followed that up with 39 points, 15 rebounds and 10 steals against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. Last year Steffl averaged nearly 19 & 8 and scored her 1,000th point as a freshman.   [player_tooltip player_id='502574' first='Haylie' last='Wolbeck'] of Royalton had a triple-double of her own in Week #4. The top 100 junior was just two assists shy of a quadruple-double against Eden Valley-Watkins with 14 points, 13 rebounds, 13 steals and 8 assists. Those 13 steals broke her own record for the most theft in a single game and added to her record-setting career total of 263 and counting. It was a good week for the 5-0 Royals who beat Holdingford on Friday. That snapped the Huskers' 36-game conference winning streak that dated back to January of 2022.   Paige Haala of Sleepy Eye continues to lead the Indians' rebuild following the graduation of long-time standouts Kadence Hesse (Southwest Minnesota State) and Brea Mertz (Bethany Lutheran). Haala put up 32 points in an 86-76 win over Lester Prairie last week. The energetic senior guard followed that up with a 24-point performance against St. James. After a win over Wabasso on Friday, coach Grant Romberg's squad is 3-5.   [player_tooltip player_id='396435' first='Addison' last='Hoof'] of Lester Prairie lit it up last week with a 49-point performance as the MSU-Mankato commit, ranked #44 in the Class of 2025, continues to have an outstanding senior season. Among the other big-time individual performers were [player_tooltip player_id='307818' first='Mylea' last='Monahan'] of Glencoe-Silver Lake, who had a 46-point game against St. Peter and topped the 30-point mark three times. On Friday, DeLaSalle senior [player_tooltip player_id='296527' first='Aneisha' last='Scott'] scored a career high 38 in a win over St. Anthony Village. On Tuesday, junior [player_tooltip player_id='515674' first='Aubree' last='Hultman'] of Forest Lake had a double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds along with 7 assists. She also went 9-for-10 at the free throw line. Hultman is a Top 50 prospect in the Class of 2026.   [player_tooltip player_id='897052' first='Tatum' last='Morrison'] of Deer River set a school record with 10 three-point baskets made in a single game. The Top 50 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2028 finished with 39 points. The big guard is averaging 24.3 along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game.   PLAYER TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='764207' first='Kinnley' last='Colligan'] of Rogers is starting to come into her own. The sophomore guard has taken a big jump from her 6 points per game output as a freshman. She's averaging over 19 ppg – more than double anyone else on the Royals roster – including a 23-point performance against Class 4A power St. Michael-Albertville and a 30-point outing against Buffalo. Rogers won just 5 games last year. They are currently 2-4 and came within 10 of STMA and Anoka.   MILESTONES   [player_tooltip player_id='362575' first='Callie' last='Oakland'] of St. Croix Lutheran hauled in 15 rebounds on Tuesday to break the school's career rebounding record of 851. She also had a 20 & 20 double-double last week and appears to be thriving under new coach Danica Cambrice, who was an SCL standout herself. Oakland is a 6'1 post ranked #13 in the Class of 2026. She can beat you with her back to the basket or step outside and make shots. She is the highest-rated unsigned post in Minnesota's junior class.   [player_tooltip player_id='502605' first='Lilly' last='Tidrick'] of Princeton reached the 1,000-career points mark against Totino-Grace on Tuesday. Ranked #67 among the 2026s, the big guard is averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game for the Tigers. She is a versatile competitor who can score on all three levels and distributes well. She is also a solid rebounder and defender.   [player_tooltip player_id='502541' first='Journey' last='Swanson'] of St. James also scored her 1,000th point last week. The Top 75 junior is having an outstanding season, leading the team in scoring (17.3 ppg), field goal percentage (43.2%), steals (3.0) and minutes played (29 per game). Her sister [player_tooltip player_id='502540' first='Jacey' last='Swanson'] leads the team in assists at 4.2 per game with an assists-to-turnover ratio of 2.5-to-1. Another sister duo is crucial for the Saints, too, as Jamestown commit [player_tooltip player_id='396427' first='Madelyn' last='Malmgren'] (12.8 & 10.3) and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1110732' first='Reese' last='Malmgren'] (13.8 & 4.7) have been excellent.   Kendall Huhnerkoch of Redwood Valley is our final 1,000-point notable of the week. The 5'11 senior forward had a 20-point performance in a win over Litchfield to reach 1,000 for her career. She is committed to play volleyball at St. Cloud State.

It's not often that an opponent drops 40 points and the defenders still get the accolades, but that's exactly what happened Saturday at Benilde-St. Margaret's as 2028 #1 Chloe Johnson Chloe Johnson 6'0" | PG Duluth Marshall | 2028 State MN filled up the basket on behalf of Duluth Marshall. It was the Red Knights who earned a comfortable 88-72 victory, however, thanks largely to a pair of defenders who carried out their duties as assigned. Given that scorers usually get the lion's share of the attention in the game of basketball, we think it's time to put the stoppers in the spotlight to kick off The Week that Was #4.