The Week That Was #14: To the post-season we go

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I will not write about first-round blowouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I will not write about first-round blowouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I will not write about first-round blowouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not New Year's Day, and I'm not in the habit of making resolutions in February. But it's always the same when the regular season comes to a close and the first round or two of sections produces one humiliating defeat after another. This year we're going to let it go and instead celebrate the achievements of the regular season while looking ahead to the playoffs. The post-season is already underway as we take a quick glace back at the Week That Was #14 and preview what's to come in the next few days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TOP SECTION CONTESTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yes, there plenty of lopsided match-ups in the opening rounds, yet not every game in week one of sections is a blowout. We've found a handful of 7 p.m. contests on Wednesday that are worth paying attention to. By Saturday it's going to be even better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Section 1AAAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#6 Owatonna (21-5) at #3 Lakeville South (13-13)</strong> – Sections go about the business of seeding the post-season in a variety of ways. In this case, we're told it was up to the coaches who decided that 13-13 Lakeville South with a QRF of 26 deserved the #3 seed ahead of #6 Owatonna with a record of 21-5 and a QRF of 19. It's an intriguing match-up featuring Owatonna's uber-tall lineup against the speed, skill and tenacity of the Cougars. This is their first meeting of the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't sleep on the Rochester rivalry game between <strong>7^th-seeded John Marshall (13-12) and #2 seed Rochester Mayo (21-5)</strong>. Yes, the Spartans are heavy favorites with a pair of wins over the Rockets on their resume. Mayo has won 16 of its last 17 games, including its past 10 in a row. Still, it's a rivalry game and stranger things have happened. My money's still on Mayo.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Section 2AAAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Chanhassen (17-9) at #4 Chaska (15-11)</strong> – Speaking of rivalries, there's seldom a dull moment when these two neighboring schools meet up in any activity. Chaska has a veteran squad led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id='346160' first='Ella' last='Keenan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='550015' first='Alexis' last='Schaefer'] along with junior [player_tooltip player_id='515651' first='Addi' last='Schneider']. It has been a breakout season for Chanhassen's trio of standout sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='630241' first='Kate' last='Arnold'], [player_tooltip player_id='763004' first='Lyla' last='Hentges'] and [player_tooltip player_id='766676' first='Skyler' last='Mancini'], along with freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='918649' first='Reese' last='Keating'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Section 1AAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Northfield (16-10) at #4 Austin (20-6)</strong> – The Packers are led by senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='453728' first='Ajiem' last='Agwa'], who last week became the program's all-time leading scorer, along with senior [player_tooltip player_id='595577' first='Marissa' last='Shute'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='947972' first='Quinn' last='Osgood']. Northfield is led by juniors [player_tooltip player_id='502559' first='Amber' last='Mahal'], <strong>Kate Sand </strong>and <strong>Grace Molstad</strong>. Freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='991212' first='Callie' last='Lynch'] is a rising star in the class of 2028. The two teams split their season series with Austin winning 63-61 just last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Section 2AAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Mankato East (3-22) at #4 Mankato West (10-16) </strong>– On paper this one might look like a yawner, or perhaps you think the old scout has finally lost his marbles. At 3-22, the East Cougars should not be much of a threat. However, we're talking about the age-old battle for Mankato which is always intriguing. On Jan. 10, West pulled out a 67-58 win. Less than two weeks ago the teams faced off again on the big college court at MSU-Mankato and the Cougars pulled off a 70-67 win. Can they do it again?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Section 6AAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Holy Angels (19-7) at #4 Richfield (18-8</strong>) – In another intriguing cross-town rivalry, rising Richfield will attempt to eliminate their long-time foes from Holy Angels. The two schools are mere blocks apart. Coach Dez Walker has turned the Spartans program around led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id='520266' first='Desirai' last='Chappell'], [player_tooltip player_id='891452' first='Aniiya' last='Johnson'] and <strong>Zarihana Rennie</strong>. Holy Angels is led by senior [player_tooltip player_id='453768' first='Celia' last='Lind'], junior [player_tooltip player_id='455051' first='Vivian' last='Carter'] and a balanced cast of contributors. Look out for freshman [player_tooltip player_id='992383' first='Allie' last='Lima'], who is a player on the move. The two teams split their season series with AHA winning the last meeting on Feb. 19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1203687,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/02/Mya-moore-record-photo-crop-1426x936-1740424944.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1203687" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/MyaMoore2026" target="_blank">X.com</a></figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALL-TIME SCORERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have three players who became their school's all-time scoring leaders during Week #14:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='471360' first='Mya' last='Moore'] – The 2026 guard from Orono (pictured above), surpassed the school record of 1,814. Mya is ranked #4 among Minnesota juniors.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='453728' first='Ajiem' last='Agwa'] – The 2025 guard from Austin became the Packers' all-time scoring leader on Tuesday with 1,658 career points.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='675882' first='Marissa' last='Tusler'] – The dynamic 2026 guard from West Lutheran broke her school record on Tuesday with 1,403 career points.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:image {"id":415269,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/Kendall-McGee-scaled.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-415269" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2,000-POINT MILESTONES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three more standouts topped the 2,000-career points mark:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='296523' first='Kendall' last='McGee'] – Pictured above, the 2025 guard from Benilde-St. Margaret's reached 2,000 despite missing a full season with a torn ACL. The Creighton University commit is rated #3 among Minnesota seniors.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='396423' first='Cierra' last='Kortan'] – The 2025 point guard from Sauk Centre also reached 2,000 last week. A top 50 prospect, Kortan has signed with D2 Concordia-St. Paul.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='515673' first='Brielle' last='Janssen'] – The 2026 forward from MACCRAY topped the 2,000-points mark as a junior after reaching 1,000 career rebounds last week. The top 15 prospect has verballed to MSU-Mankato.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:image {"id":991072,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/09/Tatum-Morrison-crop-4809x3158-1725896047.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-991072" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1,000-POINT SCORERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week [player_tooltip player_id='897052' first='Tatum' last='Morrison'] of Deer River (pictured above) reached 1,000 career points as a 9^th grader surpassing the magic number in just her 49^th varsity game. Here are a few more who hit 1,000:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] – 2025 guard. Eden Prairie (Montana)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='296515' first='Hope' last='Counts'] – 2025 forward, Providence Academy (Lipscomb)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='396422' first='Tory' last='Jennissen'] – 2025 forward, Sauk Centre (Mary)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='396433' first='Annika' last='Peper'] – 2025 guard, Stillwater</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='676692' first='Allie' last='Zittel'] – 2025 guard, Luther (NIACC)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Paige Haala</strong> – 2025 guard, Sleepy Eye</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1194474' first='Reese' last='Drake'] – 2026 guard, Marshall</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Breeley Galle</strong> – 2026 guard, Southland</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>INDIVIDUALS ACHIEVEMENTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We won't be ranking the Class of 2029 until the fall but we're already aware of some outstanding 8^th graders who will garner plenty of attention in the months ahead. Count [player_tooltip player_id='884449' first='Andie' last='Changamire'] of Becker in that group. Andie made that clear once again last week when she broke Becker's single-game scoring record with 43 points in a win over Big Lake. It was Andie's third time this season over the 30-point plateau, a campaign in which she's averaging nearly 19 points and 6 rebounds per game. When you consider all of the D1 and D2 talent to roll through the Bulldogs roster over the past few years, it's a remarkable feat for an 8^th grader.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile, veteran performer [player_tooltip player_id='205298' first='Jordan' last='Ode'] of Maple Grove, the top-rated senior in the state, set a single-game record for most points by a Crimson with a 41-point performance against Robbinsdale Armstrong. The Michigan State commit went 8-for-12 from three-point range and 15-for-22 overall. The previous record of 40 was held by <strong>Abby Schulte</strong> from the class of 2020, who is in the home stretch of a decorated career at North Dakota State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->