The Week That Was #4, part 2: Milestones and more

What can I say, it was a busy week and our weekly recap was running long, longer, longest late Sunday night when we were pulling it all together. Rather than leave out a lot of notable achievements, (hopefully) interesting observations, and milestones of note from our Week That Was #4 wrap-up, we elected to deliver it in two parts. If you want to read about Roseville's remarkable 21 triples and the rest of part 1, you can <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2022/12/the-week-that-was-4-333333333333333333333/">read it here</a>. Meanwhile, on to the best of the rest from Dec. 12-18 in Minnesota girls high school basketball.   MORE GAMES WE WATCHED   In addition to the contests covered in part 1 – Rosemount vs Two Rivers, Roseville vs Woodbury and Tartan vs St. Paul Central – we saw all or part of another half dozen games last week.   Blaine at Totino Grace – On Tuesday we checked in to see the Bengals, who are off to a great start at 5-1. Not surprisingly, UW-Stout commit [player_tooltip player_id='220845' first='Molly' last='Garber'] is leading the charge but it is the improved play of Sadie Dominick and Mara Holle that appears to be making a real difference for Blaine. Dominick, a junior, is a crafty guard with nice handles and good court sense who is the team's second-leading scorer at 10 points per game. Her play appears to have improved substantially over the summer. Mara is a 6'0 forward who can play inside or out. The 2025 prospect, who we wrote about this summer, has guard skills to go with exceptional length. She's averaging just under 9 ppg.   Mankato West at Jordan – We tuned in to see two of the most promising 2026s in the state, [player_tooltip player_id='280354' first='Tucker' last='Downs'] of the Scarlets and [player_tooltip player_id='502602' first='Morgan' last='Staloch'] of the Jaguars. Tucker did score 16 for Mankato West, and Morgan did good work on both sides of the ball, but it was the play of point guard [player_tooltip player_id='330744' first='Savannah' last='Borowicz'] and forward [player_tooltip player_id='186134' first='Jenna' last='Kluxdal'] that powered Jordan to a 74-58 win. Kluxdal was a beast inside and finished with 26 points. Borowicz continued to demonstrate that she is a scholarship-level prospect who can handle, distribute and shoot it with the upper echelon of the 2025s. She had 18. Lafayette commit [player_tooltip player_id='108305' first='Teresa' last='Kiewiet'] topped Mankato scorers with 19.   New Ulm at Fairmont – The Cardinals, who feature Top 20 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='339179' first='Brylee' last='Miller'], got off to a terrific start in their 2022-23 home opener, building a lead that stretched to 13 at one point. As we have seen already this season, however, the Eagles have the personnel to get rolling and that is exactly what they did. New Ulm went on a 14-1 run in the second half to charge back into contention thanks in large part to the standout play of Miller's AAU teammate [player_tooltip player_id='339175' first='Brooklyn' last='Lewis']. The talented point guard scored 24 points and, along with junior [player_tooltip player_id='215987' first='Daviney' last='Dreckman'], made some key free throws in the waning moments to score a 64-60 victory.   Benilde-St. Margaret's vs Minnehaha Academy – One of the most intriguing games of the week was the contest between the Red Knights and the Redhawks which had been rescheduled from the Hamline Thanksgiving tournament. Minnehaha came to the battle somewhat shorthanded after [player_tooltip player_id='178266' first='Angel' last='Hill'] broke her hand at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic and [player_tooltip player_id='108319' first='Aniyah' last='Reuben'] rolled her ankle against Orono. That left approximately five regulars who gave a herculean effort. Sophomore standout [player_tooltip player_id='252379' first='Addison' last='Mack'] had 33 points to lead the Redhawks while 8th grader [player_tooltip player_id='377584' first='Ava' last='Cupito'] scored 19 and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='425385' first='Amina' last='Allen'] had 16. Most nights that and 77 points will get the job done but it wasn't enough against Benilde's high-powered machine. [player_tooltip player_id='177728' first='Olivia' last='Olson'] (27), [player_tooltip player_id='296523' first='Kendall' last='McGee'] (25) and [player_tooltip player_id='108327' first='Sierre' last='Lumpkin'] (17) led BSM to a 90-77 victory.   GRITTY PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK   [player_tooltip player_id='108334' first='Haley' last='Bryant'] – 2023 guard, Lakeville North   Our final game of the week proved to be the best game of the week, a Friday night encounter between Lakeville North and Prior Lake. The Lakers had a really good first half thanks to pressure defense, quality ball movement, a high compete level. The young squad is clearly getting its act together. The second half was a different story however, thanks in no small part to a gritty performance by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='108334' first='Haley' last='Bryant'] of North. The Wisconsin-Stout commit turned up the heat in the second half and at one point forced turnovers and steals leading to baskets on three consecutive possessions. That put the Panthers ahead by 8 going into the final three minutes. Bryant was amped up, her intensity rising to a level that earned her a technical foul in the closing minutes. It was just an exclamation point on a terrific comeback. North closed the sale at the free throw line for a 69-63 victory.   JV PLAYER TO WATCH   Josie Horner – 2025 guard Prior Lake   Both Prior Lake and Lakeville North have deep rosters featuring a lot of up-and-coming talent. That's why we arrived early Friday to catch most of the junior varsity contest. One player who stood out was Josie, a sophomore point guard we had watched this summer with Crossfire. On Friday she was very composed and patient with the basketball in a tightly contested battle. Down the stretch, with the game on the line, she made so many good decisions, showed an excellent sense of timing, and played solid, steady basketball. The result was a 39-38 victory for the Lakers. Josie has long arms, is reasonably athletic, and can get up and down the floor at pace. When she gets rolling Horner has been known to knock down a ton of shots with plenty of range. She rarely turns the ball over and is always a committed defender. It might take some time but we think Josie could turn out to be a standout in the 2025 class.   THIS WEEK'S MILESTONES   We've already had a lot of precocious youngsters reaching the 1,000 career points milestone through four weeks of the season. Last week, however, it was the steady, reliable, accomplished veterans who earned the accolades. That would include University of Minnesota commit [player_tooltip player_id='108306' first='Kennedy' last='Klick'] of Maple Grove, a versatile athlete of many talents. One of those would be scoring. On Thursday Klick (banner photo) reached double digits and propelled herself past the 1,000 mark in a 70-61 victory over Elk River. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='205298' first='Jordan' last='Ode'] had 28 points in the game and she'll be celebrating 1,000 before you know it.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/Clara-Glad-1000.jpg?w=750" alt="" class="wp-image-569133" width="375" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/_ClaraGlad</figcaption></figure>   One of Klick's AAU teammates with North Tartan also got the job done last week as [player_tooltip player_id='108300' first='Clara' last='Glad'] of Rogers reached 1,000 in a 53-52 victory against Centennial. The University of California-Davis commit had 15 points in the game and the Royals needed every one of them. Clara is ranked #10 in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/Svea-Snickers.jpg?w=998" alt="" class="wp-image-569139" width="499" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/2024PMNorth</figcaption></figure>   It was [player_tooltip player_id='461353' first='Svea' last='Snickers'] who got the 1,000 party rolling last week when the junior from South Ridge did it in a lopsided win over Greenway on Monday. Snickers is Top 160 in the Class of 2024. South Ridge, by the way, is located about 40 minutes northwest of Duluth in Culver.   One final milestone of note belongs to junior [player_tooltip player_id='215953' first='Marisa' last='Frost'] of Centennial. We missed it last week when the North Dakota State University commit broke a school record with a remarkable 12 steals in a game.

What can I say, it was a busy week and our weekly recap was running long, longer, longest late Sunday night when we were pulling it all together. Rather than leave out a lot of notable achievements, (hopefully) interesting observations, and milestones of note from our Week That Was #4 wrap-up, we elected to deliver it in two parts. If you want to read about Roseville's remarkable 21 triples and the rest of part 1, you can read it here. Meanwhile, on to the best of the rest from Dec. 12-18 in Minnesota girls high school basketball.