The Week That Was #13: What a time to be watching!

Recency bias is a thing. That's our human predisposition to give more weight to recent events over historic ones, to think that something happening right now is bigger or better or more important than something that occurred in the distant past. We see this regularly, for example, in the never-ending social media debate about who is the NBA's greatest player of all time. People will inanely argue LeBron vs Kobe until they are ready to throw down in the parking lot.   Did these so-called fans not see peak Jordan or Bird? Have they not watched video of Dr. J or marvelled at a Chocolate Thunder dunk? Do they even know about Pistol Pete, who might hold every scoring record in the book had he played in the era of the three-point line? I'm old enough to remember all of that – even had a life-sized Pete Maravich poster on my bedroom wall. I bring this up because the first thought that came into my head on Sunday morning was this: Are we watching the greatest girl's basketball in Minnesota history? Or is this just recency bias? That's the question of the day as we look back at the Week That Was #13: What a time to be watching!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/02/Pacific-coast.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1192685" /></figure>   NEWS TRAVELS FAST   I'm traveling on the Central Coast of California right now, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles in the rolling hills and spectacular vistas of wine country. There are boutique wineries and distilleries and Arabian horse farms and endless views that stretch out to the Pacific Ocean. It's an amazing place and about as far away from Minnesota girl's basketball as you can get. But I can never get very far from the game. It's just too compelling right now.   As I was out sightseeing on Saturday afternoon my phone wouldn't stop beeping. There was a string of social media alerts and texts and DMs from friends and colleagues who were watching the epic battle between Minnetonka and West Fargo Horace at the Breakdown Red River Showcase in Moorhead. Freshman point guard Lakyn Donnelly of the Hawks was in a heated duel with Minnetonka junior [player_tooltip player_id='252383' first='Lanelle' last='Wright']. They all said it was epic. As soon as I got back to the house, I pulled up NSPN on my computer and watched the game from start to finish. It was remarkable even though I already knew the outcome.   I always chuckle when observers, particularly those who are new to the girl's game in Minnesota, gush over their “discovery” of a future star like Lakyn, as they watch her greatness unfold for the first time and gush over her abilities. Can you blame them? The kid is special, an uber-gifted little floor general with as good a feel for the game was anyone we've seen. What she did on Saturday is what we've been watching (and writing about) for more than three years now.   On Saturday she faced Wright, another super-talented PG we first watched at a Suns workout when she was still in elementary school. Lanelle's game has evolved as anticipated in the years since then as she has become one of Minnesota's best. Their head-to-head tussle was the highlight among the multiple North Dakota vs Minnesota matchups Saturday in Moorhead.   It came down to the final seconds as Donnelly capped her excellent outing with a three-point bomb from six feet beyond the arc to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, Lakyn did it again, slipping through traffic to drain a sweet floater as time expired to give Horace an 82-81 win. Some people are calling it one of the best high school games they've seen. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it was epic.   Donnelly finished the contest with 30 points while Lanelle had 29. Lakyn's winning bucket capped off a week of excellence that saw a flurry of records fall and milestones reached. There were 3,000-point scorers and 2,000-point scorers and all-time leading scorers. There were rebounding records and… you get the picture. We've seen a lot of amazing stuff in the decade I've been paying close attention to the girl's game. I mean, does it get any better than the incomparable Paige Bueckers? But this year, in particular, has been one for the ages.   Every week, it seems, we've seen a new standard set by juniors [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] and [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'] along with senior [player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack']. We've seen freshman [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] do things that leave us slack-jawed. We've watched 8th graders breaking three-point shooting records and 7th graders putting up unbelievable numbers. It never ends.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/02/Chloe-2000.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1192680" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/ChloeJohnsonMN" target="_blank">X.com</a></figcaption></figure>   Here are some highlights from Week #13:   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>MSU-Mankato commit [player_tooltip player_id='396435' first='Addison' last='Hoof'] made the most of Senior Night at Lester Prairie when she scored her 3,000th career point. I remember watching Addi as a tiny 7th grader with unbelievable speed and athleticism. It was obvious then that she had the potential to be great and that's exactly how it has turned out.</li>   <li>Harvard signee [player_tooltip player_id='296528' first='Sam' last='Wills'] of Visitation scored 17 points on Tuesday versus Robbinsdale Cooper to pass the 2,000-career points mark for the Blazers. The top-5 senior has also grabbed 1,000 rebounds in her illustrious career.</li>   <li>South Dakota State signee [player_tooltip player_id='346165' first='Hadley' last='Thul'] of Alexandria also reached 2,000 during the week. The top 10 senior did it on Saturday in the Cardinals 77-61 home-floor win over Delano at Breakdown's Winter Lakes Classic.</li>   <li>The third 2,000-point scorer in recent days was [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson'] of Duluth Marshall, who did it as a 9th grader. That's incredible. She scored 44 points in a win over Mesabi East on Thursday, three shy of her season-best, to reach 2,000. Chloe is setting a torrid pace at 30 points per game.</li>   <li>On Friday Lanesboro junior [player_tooltip player_id='502533' first='Jensyn' last='Storhoff'], a name that's familiar to anyone who has watched the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit the past couple of summers, reached 1,500 career points for the Burros at Grand Meadow.</li>   <li>Not to be outdone, New Prague senior [player_tooltip player_id='595556' first='Katherine' last='Boulanger'] became the Trojans all-time scoring leader on Saturday in a 61-54 win at Owatonna. The Wartburg commit passed 1,794 points in a program that has produced a ton of quality players over the years</li> </ul>   “BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!”   On Thursday against Nova, [player_tooltip player_id='362575' first='Callie' last='Oakland'] of St. Croix Lutheran set a school record for most rebounds in a single game with 28, a mark that had stood for 28 years. It was set by Carla Steber, who had 25 boards in a game way back in 1997. Oakland is averaging a remarkable 17 rebounds per game.   Speaking of rebounds, [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] of Crosby-Ironton had 18 of them in a 76-58 win over Fergus Falls on Saturday, a game in which she also had 38 points. In doing so, Oehrlein became the all-time rebounding leader in Minnesota history. That's a story in itself. By the time she heads to the University of Minnesota in 2026, Tori will have set a standard that could stand for a generation or two.   As they say on those late-night informercials… “But wait, there's more!”   On Monday 9th grader [player_tooltip player_id='897052' first='Tatum' last='Morrison'] of Deer River set a school single-game scoring record with 50 points against Blackduck. The 5'8 point guard is a top 30 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2028.   Meanwhile, 2029 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1106575' first='Zadi' last='Farmer'] continues to make headlines out of Jackson County Central. The 8th grader buried 6 three-point baskets to break the school record for triples in a season with 67. Like most JCC records, it had been held by the great Alaina Wolff. On Friday the Huskies won their 16th game in a row.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/02/Hillcrest-1000s-crop-1140x749-1739720219.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1192682" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://x.com/Erka2tkff" target="_blank">X.com</a></figcaption></figure>   That brings us to this week's 1,000-point scorers which, despite the crazy numbers above, is still a milestone worth celebrating. On Thursday against Underwood, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy senior Ruby Peterson scored her 1,000th point, the third player on the team to get to 1,000 this season and the 4th on this year's roster. Pictured above (left to right) are Peterson, [player_tooltip player_id='565313' first='Elsa' last='Retzlaff'], Kate Olstad and [player_tooltip player_id='653851' first='Ella' last='Knutson'].   In that same game, Elsa made 8 three-pointers to set a new single-game standard for the program. Her 7th grade sister [player_tooltip player_id='1110548' first='Elin' last='Retzlaff'] had her second consecutive double-double. Earlier in the week against Rothsay, Elin had 25 points, 15 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists. The win over Underwood gave Hillcrest its first conference championship since 1985.   Other 1,000-point scorers during Week #13 include [player_tooltip player_id='502604' first='Kaia' last='Anderson'] of Perham, a top 40 junior who is committed to Southwest Minnesota State. She did it in a win over Staples-Motley on Tuesday. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='593516' first='Kenna' last='Henning'] of Heritage Christian also reached 1,000 this week for the Eagles.   Then there is [player_tooltip player_id='478362' first='Morgan' last='Korf'], an elite point guard who plays for her dad/coach Brian Korf at Pelican Rapids. The top 20 junior became the Vikings all-time scoring leader with a 35-point double-double in a win over Park Rapids, topping the previous record of 2,112. That was set by her sister Mackenzie Korf back in 2016. Unfortunately, Mackenzie tore her ACL as a sophomore, and then again during her senior year, which brings us all the way back to where we started by talking about recency bias. The 2024-25 season has been incredible, and Morgan's accomplishments have been a big part of that, but her sister's achievements nearly a decade ago might have been better had she stayed healthy. Do you suppose they debate this at Thanksgiving dinner in the Korf household?   WAYZATA vs HOPKINS   Even with so much great stuff happening this week we can't forget something else significant that took place on Thursday. That would be Wayzata's 76-70 win over Hopkins to complete the regular season sweep of the Royals. Has that happened before? The Skippers turned in a solid all-around performance as they eked out their 9th win in a row led by [player_tooltip player_id='644100' first='Annika' last='Kieser'] with 18 points, [player_tooltip player_id='296517' first='Katie' last='Kelzenberg'] with 17 and [player_tooltip player_id='453749' first='Allison' last='Berns'] with 15. The win that really matters, however, will mostly likely take place on Thursday, March 6. That would be the Section 6AAAA championship game when Wayzata will likely get another shot at a trip to the state tournament, an honor that has belonged to Hopkins seemingly forever.

Recency bias is a thing. That's our human predisposition to give more weight to recent events over historic ones, to think that something happening right now is bigger or better or more important than something that occurred in the distant past. We see this regularly, for example, in the never-ending social media debate about who is the NBA's greatest player of all time. People will inanely argue LeBron vs Kobe until they are ready to throw down in the parking lot.