The Week That Was #2: The Breakdown and beyond

We saw some great basketball this week, beginning with [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"]’s 37-point performance on Tuesday for Wayzata, followed by Alyssa Ustby’s return to Minnesota with the North Carolina Tar Heels, and then the 22-game extravaganza known as the Breakdown Girls Tip Off Classic. We also witnessed a renaissance of sorts, the revival of a once-promising basketball career that is flourishing again at a very high level. In this, our recap of Week #2 of the Minnesota girls high school basketball season, we saw a lot of great stuff but none more heartwarming than the return to prominence of a senior guard from St. Louis Park. PLAYER OF THE WEEK [player_tooltip player_id="109130" first="Selam" last="Maher"]’s high school basketball career started off with a bang. As a precocious middle schooler at Richfield, the athletic guard with superior handles and a terrific stroke from long distance lit it up for the Spartans. She averaged 18 points per game as an 8th grader and scored more than 90 three-pointers. Like so many promising young players, she took her game to Hopkins for high school in search of a ticket to big-time college basketball. Let’s just say things didn’t quite turn out as she had hoped. Plagued by injuries, Maher’s career kind of stalled as she attempted to stay healthy and work her way into the very deep Royals rotation. Selam appeared in just 24 games over a three-year period and we often wondered if she would ever return to her earlier form. This summer she moved to the Minnesota Suns and it was the first time in ages that Selam started to look like her old self again. Now, after transferring to St. Louis Park for her senior season, Maher’s play through the first three games of the year has been nothing short of eye-popping. Honestly we had forgotten how much energy Selam can bring to the table. She has been everywhere at once, flying around the court and competing at a high level from start to finish. Her play has raised the energy level of the entire Orioles roster and it has been fun to watch. On Saturday at the Tip Off, Maher made 9 threes and scored 35 points to lead St. Louis Park to an impressive 86-61 win over Mankato East. The 50th ranked senior in Minnesota is now averaging 29 points per game. Next fall Maher will take her game to Smith College on the East Coast, one of the country’s most prestigious academic institutions. I always tell kids that the most important attribute a player can have – really, any person in any walk of life can have – is resilience, the ability to bounce back from adversity. Clearly Selam has that in spades. She’s also got game. NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK Grace Weber, junior guard, Wayzata – If there is a deeper program in the state than Wayzata we haven’t seen it. There is so much talent in the district, from the D1 commits on the varsity roster down through JV, 9th grade and deep into youth basketball. With all of that competition, what are the odds that a 5’5 junior whose first priority isn’t basketball will emerge as a key contributor on the one of the top teams in the state. We aren’t saying Weber is going to challenge for a spot in the starting lineup, or even make much of a dent on the score sheet, but the energy she brings to the court is outstanding. When she came in off the bench Tuesday against Maple Grove I was blown away by Grace’s speed, quickness and athleticism. She has some of the lightest feet we’ve seen. And her vertical leaping ability is nutty. That combination makes her an energy-boosting difference maker. New Wayzata coach Julie Stewart had told us throughout the fall season that the track champion who would be joining the team in time for the regular season was going to be a factor. Indeed. DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK [player_tooltip player_id="109134" first="Charita" last="Lewis"] of Minnehaha Academy missed all last season following surgery for a torn ACL. We are pleased to report that the Top 50 senior is back. Her speed, quickness and intensity on both sides of the ball is impressive, but where she really makes her mark is on-ball defense. She had nine steals against Albany on Saturday. The girl they call ‘Tiny’ has played a key role in Minnehaha’s 4-0 start to the season and the unsigned senior is going to be a nice get for somebody at the collegiate level. [player_tooltip player_id="215958" first="Tori" last="McKinney"] of Minnetonka does so many things well, which is why she is a Top 5 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2024. What she does best, however, is employ her exceptional length, speed, quickness and athleticism to defend as well as any sophomore in the state. Watching ‘Tonka on Saturday at the Breakdown, I mentioned to my friend Chuck Thompson of Five State Hoops that Tori was one of the few players who didn’t have to score to be the best player on the floor. “Well,” Chuck said, “the girl she’s guarding isn’t going to score either.” Well said Chuck! <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-344352" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/Regan-Juenemann.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> STANDOUT PERFORMANCES Over the next few days we’ll have plenty of coverage and analysis out of the Breakdown Tip Off. With 22 games there’s a lot to say. For now here are a few performances of note from there and elsewhere across the state of Minnesota. <ul> <li>After reaching the 1,000 career points mark on opening night, Minnehaha Academy freshman [player_tooltip player_id="252379" first="Addison" last="Mack"] scored 40 in a win over Minneapolis North on Tuesday. She was 8-for-12 from three-point range and had 5 steals. At the Breakdown she scored 28 in a convincing win over the defending Class 2A state champs from Albany. With Addi averaging 30 points per game, the Redhawks are a perfect 4-0.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="302255" first="Maci" last="Farmer"] of Jackson County Central put up 40 points on Saturday at the Big South Showcase in New Ulm. Major point production is nothing new to the Top 60 junior.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109145" first="Hannah" last="Herzig"] continued her torrid pace for Totino-Grace as the unsigned senior is off to the fastest start of her career. Herzig scored 32 points in a big win for the Eagles against [player_tooltip player_id="177728" first="Olivia" last="Olson"] and Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Through four games, T-G is undefeated and Hannah is averaging 28 ppg.</li> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id="30162" first="Mikayla" last="Aumer"] of Cambridge-Isanti is just as hot as Herzig in the opening games of her senior year. After putting up 35 on opening night, the North Dakota commit scored 33 this week in a win over Coon Rapids. Through four games Aumer is now averaging 28.5 ppg, a 25% increase from last season.</li> <li>When we ranked the Class of 2025 for the first time this fall, [player_tooltip player_id="296528" first="Sam" last="Wills"] of Visitation earned the #7 rating due to her size, skill and on-court intelligence. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Sam has the makings of a high-level college basketball player. Wills is off to a torrid start this season and the Blazers are 4-0. She scored 31 points this week in a win over Southwest Christian and is now averaging 21.8 per game, more than double her output of last winter.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="296516" first="Regan" last="Juenemann"] (photo above) didn’t take long to make an impact at Duluth Marshall. The 14th-ranked freshman, who hails from Two Harbors, began her high school career at Duluth East before moving to Marshall this fall. In her first game as a Hilltopper, Regan went 12-for-22 from the field including 8-of-11 from three-point range to score 34 points. She also had 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Meanwhile her 8th grade teammate Ava Meirotto turned in a standout performance, as well, with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.</li> <li>One player we’ll be researching more in the near future is freshman Aubrey Morrison of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, who we admittedly know little about. What we do know is on opening night she had 36 points in a win over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and was an impressive 14-for-18 at the free throw line. Can anyone provide directions to Walker?</li> </ul> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/Taylor-Woodson-crop-1494x981-1638737534.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-360739" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/Taylor-Woodson-crop-1494x981-1638737534-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> THIS WEEK’S MILESTONES [player_tooltip player_id="223913" first="Taryn" last="Frazer"] never met a shot she didn’t like. The crafty little point guard from Cass Lake-Bena and the Minnesota Stars can fire it from the outside and get to the rim, as well. She has done both of those things more than the vast majority of players in the state. This week she became the second player in school history to reach 2,000 career points. Frazer, led the Panthers to the Section 8A title last season . Although there may be more, we’re aware of six players who reached 1,000 career points this week: <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109180" first="Bobbie" last="Bruns"] returned from a months-long injury rehabilitation to score her 1,000th career point for Blooming Prairie.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109141" first="Kassie" last="Caron"] of Holy Angels became the 14th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. The Missouri Western commit scored 28 in a win over Burnsville to surpass the magic number. She’s averaging 25 ppg.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="148323" first="Sydney" last="Schultz"] of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva passed the 1,000 mark Friday against United South Central.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] (photo above) of Hopkins celebrated her 1,000th career point on Friday night at the Breakdown Tip Off in a convincing victory over Appleton East of Wisconsin</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12736" first="Sydney" last="Runsewe"] of DeLaSalle (Quincy) has been bombing threes at the varsity level for a long time. All those buckets have added up to 1,000 career points, a milestone Runsewe reached against St. Paul Como Park.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57928" first="Amber" last="Scalia"] of Stillwater (photo below) also reached 1,000. The University of St. Thomas commit did so at the Tip Off in a win over St. Michael-Albertville.</li> </ul> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/Amber-Scalia-crop-1922x1262-1638738917.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-360749" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/Amber-Scalia-crop-1922x1262-1638738917-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id="109130" first="Selam" last="Maher"] of St. Louis Park.