The Week That Was No. 11: A flair for the dramatic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It ain't over ‘til it's over. That may be one of the more shop-worn cliches out there – not to mention cringe-worthy for grammarians – but I can't think of a better way to describe what happened Saturday afternoon in St. Cloud. In an epic Class A matchup, the Breakdown Community Clash contest between Northome-Kelliher and MACCRAY had one of the most dramatic finishes we've ever seen. That seems like a great place to start our recap of the Week That Was #11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GAME OF THE WEEK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We figured the Northome-Kelliher Mustangs vs MACCRAY Wolverines would be good. Two teams with state-tournament potential (MACCRAY was last year's runner-up) and elite small-town talent like [player_tooltip player_id='782558' first='Kate' last='Thayer'] (pictured above) , [player_tooltip player_id='502577' first='Kylee' last='Binkley'] and MSU-Mankato commit [player_tooltip player_id='515673' first='Brielle' last='Janssen'], it had to be.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs got the early jump by employing aggressive perimeter defense to force steals and cash in with transition baskets. They were up 11-2 in a hurry and held a margin that stretched all the way to 20-8. Then Janssen went to work as MACCRAY settled in and slowly clawed their way back into the fight. At the half the score was tied at 31-31.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game was a slugfest full of controversial moments. Shot clock malfunctions. Disputed possession arrows. Contentious inbounds placements. And plenty of fouls committed – both called and uncalled. It was epic. In the second half it was MACCRAY that had the momentum as Janssen took over the proceedings and helped her team build a cushion that hovered around the 6-point range for most of the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Then it got crazy. After reviewing the final minutes of the game multiple times on video, this is what happened:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>With 38 seconds remaining, Janssen made a pair of free throws to give MACCRAY a 68-61 lead. At that point I got myself in position to take a post-game photo with the presumed MVP. Brielle had 34 points.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>My certainty in the outcome grew as Northome-Kelliher missed not one, not two but three shots before Thayer corralled a rebound, slipped by her defender on the baseline, and scored off the glass. That made it 68-63 with 16.5 seconds on the clock.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>When play resumed, Janssen was immediately fouled at the 14.4-second mark. She missed both free throws.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Then with 7.2 seconds remaining in the game, Thayer nailed a monster three from Caitlin Clark distance. We're talking waaaaaaay out there. That closed the gap to 68-66.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the ensuing possession the inbounds pass was a little off the mark and Janssen either dove for the ball or was pushed from behind. Even after numerous replays it wasn't clear exactly what happened, but the result was another turnover.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Northome-Kelliher's first inbound attempt was deflected out. At the 6.1-second mark they tried again. The ball landed in Thayer's hands and she made a desperate heave from the paint and was fouled. She made both free throws to tie it with 4.7 seconds remaining.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the inbounds attempt that followed, the Wolverines got the ball into play but the receiver's attempted lateral pass to a teammate was intercepted as [player_tooltip player_id='502577' first='Kylee' last='Binkley'] stole the ball and all in one motion went up to score the winning basket as time expired. Bedlam!</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Final score: Northome-Kelliher 70 MACCRAY 68. It was a 9-0 run in less than 20 seconds. You can't make this stuff up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MILESTONES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Has there ever been a year with so many players reaching 2,000 career points? There were three more during Week 11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='362575' first='Callie' last='Oakland'] <strong>– 2026 forward, St. Croix Lutheran (Northern Iowa)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6'1 post had a remarkable 32 points and 25 rebounds on Monday in a win over New Life Academy to reach 2,000 points and 1,500 rebounds for her career. Considering she averages 26.4 and 19.6, I suppose it wasn't unexpected. Despite her team's struggles, and the way opponents game plan to stop Oakland, she is having a remarkable year. Ranked #13 in the Class of 2026, Callie has committed to D1 Northern Iowa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='339179' first='Brylee' last='Miller'] <strong>– 2026 guard, Fairmont (MSU-Mankato)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The versatile small forward/big guard had the highest individual output of her career on Friday with a 40-point outburst in a win over a tough Pipestone squad. That pushed Miller over the 2,000-career points mark. It also earned the Cardinals their 10^th straight victory to extend their season mark to 18-1. We love Miller's game. Ranked #23 in the Class of 2026, she's a perfect fit for the high-octane system she'll play in this fall at MSU-Mankato.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='502533' first='Jensyn' last='Storhoff'] <strong>– 2026 guard, Lanesboro (Morningside)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The dynamic point guard has had an unbelievable career at Class A Lanesboro. In the second game of the 2025-26 high school season, Storhoff broke the boys school record of 1,599 points. In the fifth game of the year, she slipped past Jodi Haugen's 1998 high-water mark of 1,649 points to become the Burros' all-time scoring leader. Then last Friday Jensyn reached the rarified air of 2,000 career points. Ranked #54 among Minnesota seniors, she's heading to Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1,000-POINT CLUB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This has to be the most 1,000-point scorers we've had in any particular week this season, with eight seniors, four juniors and two sophomores. Who did we miss?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='721209' first='Ayla' last='Caskey'] – 2026 guard, New London-Spicer (Hamline)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Gracie Foster</strong> – 2026 guard, Grand Meadow</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='502588' first='Avery' last='Kingsley'] – 2026 guard, Houston</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1655259' first='Grace' last='Mostad'] – 2026 guard, Northfield</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='773410' first='Vanessa' last='Schmidt'] – 2026 guard, Norwood-Young America (Dakota Wesleyan)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1174708' first='Quinn' last='VanMaldeghem'] – 2026 guard, NRHEG</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='502568' first='Willa' last='Waytashek'] – 2026 guard, Princeton (Viterbo)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='502574' first='Haylie' last='Wolbeck'] – 2026 guard, Royalton</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='675971' first='Trinity' last='Baker'] – 2027 guard, Underwood</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='377584' first='Ava' last='Cupito'] – 2027 guard, Hopkins</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='659130' first='Jaliyah' last='Diggs'] – 2027 guard, Hopkins</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1216140' first='Olivia' last='Schieffert'] – 2028 forward, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Leah Sundby</strong> – 2027 guard, EGF Sacred Heart</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='918673' first='Veda' last='Makepeace'] – 2028 guard, West Lutheran</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fixating on point totals and over-emphasizing statistics has never been my jam, but we'd be remiss if we didn't keep track of what's happening with [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] and [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway']. The numbers are mind-boggling and both players are rewriting history in a way few thought possible. Here's the latest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last week Maddyn topped the 5,000-point mark when she buried a three-pointer in the first few minutes of Providence Academy's win over Blake – on an assist from her sister [player_tooltip player_id='872714' first='Beckett' last='Greenway'] appropriately enough. On Saturday, Greenway had a 40-point performance in a 97-90 win over Rosemount to eclipse the previous state record of 5,060 career points held by Rebekah Dahlman of Braham. Maddyn now sits at 5,070 and is averaging 33.3 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile Oehrlein isn't making it easy to close the gap. After breaking the record with a 57-point performance against Mille Lacs on Jan. 20, Tori's Crosby-Ironton squad played twice last week. She had 38 points in an 80-43 win at Pine City and followed that with a 54-point quadruple-double against Aitkin. She went 21-for-28 from the field for 54 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists and 13 steals! She's now at 5,177 points and is averaging 36.6 ppg. Crosby-Ironton has six regular season games left. Providence has eight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We also need to mention 2029 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1106575' first='Zadi' last='Farmer'] of Jackson County Central lest her individual accomplishment go unacknowledged. Farmer made a team-record 8 threes and scored a career-high 48 points in a win over Windom. She's a top-50 freshman in Minnesota.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile the Perham Yellowjackets continued their quest to become the most successful three-point shooting team in Minnesota history. Against Park Rapids on Thursday, Perham attempted 38 shots from beyond the arc and cashed in 19 times. In their last six games, Perham has gone 93-for-207, a remarkable 45% and an average of nearly 16 per game!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last week we told you about the resurgent Champlin Park program. In Week 11 they extended their winning streak to eight games in rather dramatic fashion. Down 16 with five minutes remaining against Elk River, the Rebels rallied for a 62-55 win in front of a raucous crowd that included a noisy pep band and a sizeable gathering of alumni. After starting the year 2-5, Champlin Park is now 12-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COMING UP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've had some terrific events this winter courtesy of Justin Hegna and his team at Breakdown Sports USA. Ally McGinnis and I have coverage in the works from just-completed Community Clash at St. Michael-Albertville, St. Cloud Cathedral and Becker. There are two more weekends of Breakdown basketball coming up. This Saturday, Feb. 7, Alexandria High School will be the site of the Winter Lakes Classic featuring three girls games: Sauk Centre vs New London-Spicer, Pelican Rapids vs Albany, and Benilde-St. Margaret's vs Alexandria. The following weekend the Red River Showcase will be at Moorhead High School featuring four cross-border girls matchups. It's starts Friday night with Wayzata vs West Fargo Horace. On Saturday it's Fargo South vs Moorhead, Fergus Falls vs Fargo Davies, and Benilde-St. Margaret's vs Bismarck Century.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->