The Week That Was #6: Hooping for the holidays

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is a rare milestone, and certainly worthy of celebration, but in the heat of battle on Friday afternoon at the Granite City Classic another notable achievement by [player_tooltip player_id='178277' first='Jordan' last='Zubich'] almost got lost in the shuffle. The Mountain Iron-Buhl junior, whose star-studded high school career has been marked by numerous milestone achievements, reached one more in the game against Crosby-Ironton when she scored her 2,000th career point. After a brief stoppage in play, and a quick sprint into the stands to hug her family members, Zubich returned to battle in a contest that was surely the highlight of The Week That Was #6: Hooping for the Holidays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Zubich's milestone moment was memorable, it came in the middle of an epic struggle with Crosby-Ironton freshman [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'], who has also been rewriting the record books in her short but sweet career to date. The turning point came with under two seconds remaining in the first half when Zubich was whistled for a debatable foul, her 4th in the contest. When play resumed, Oehrlein promptly nailed a buzzer-beating three from beyond half court to give the C-I Rangers a 34-32 lead over the MIB Rangers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second half, with Zubich trying desperately to avoid fouling out, Tori ran amok and scored bucket after bucket after bucket to stake her team to a 14-point lead. Then came Jordan's 2,000th with 6 minutes remaining and an MIB spurt that closed the gap to four in the final three minutes. Crosby-Ironton managed to close the deal for a 76-69 win. When the tallying was complete, Oehrlein had compiled 35 points while Zubich scored 33. It was a battle for the ages between two transformational players with a milestone added in for good measure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THIS WEEK'S OTHER MILESTONES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zubich wasn't the only one leaving her mark on the record books last week. Here are a few more milestones of note:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='108299' first='Tessa' last='Johnson'] of St. Michael-Albertville became the Knights' all-time leading scorer, bypassing the previous record of 1,749 points early in STMA's contest with O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls. She finished the game with 31 points. The South Carolina commit, who is the #1-ranked prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023, has averaged north of 25 points per game so far this season while leading STMA to a record of 9-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Several players reached the 1,000 career points mark:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576791,"width":419,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/01/Nunu.jpg?w=837" alt="" class="wp-image-576791" width="419" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of Crissha Walton</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Stanford commit [player_tooltip player_id='108348' first='Nunu' last='Agara'] of Hopkins</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Junior [player_tooltip player_id='392476' first='Natalie' last='Beaver'] of Hayfield</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='339225' first='Taylor' last='Sodeman'] of St. James (Briar Cliff)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='108325' first='Sydnee' last='Nelson'] of Park Cottage Grove (Upper Iowa)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Junior <strong>Grace Latourell</strong> of Ely did against Deer River, a game in which she made four triples in a 27-point, 9-rebound performance.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576875,"width":491,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/01/Sanders-assists-coaches.jpg?w=981" alt="" class="wp-image-576875" width="491" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter.com/HawksGirlsBball</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two more milestones of note occurred during the holidays as Colorado commit [player_tooltip player_id='108301' first='Kennedy' last='Sanders'] became Chaska's all-time assist leader on Thursday in a win over Eden Prairie and senior [player_tooltip player_id='478913' first='Anna' last='Stromberg'] of Legacy Christian recorded her 500th career rebound.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576925,"width":450,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/01/Kaylee-Buerman.jpg?w=899" alt="" class="wp-image-576925" width="450" height="512" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CAUTION: UNDER CONSTRUCTION</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not easy rebuilding a program from the ashes, regardless of what level of basketball we're talking about. Veteran coach Chris Buerman knew that when he took over a Coon Rapids team that had won just six games total in its previous three seasons. Last week the Cardinals took a big step forward by winning for the first time in 677 days. That broke a 34-game drought dating all the way back to Feb. 21, 2021, their final regular season game of yet another dismal campaign.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After going 0-26 last year, this season didn't start out much better as the Cardinals dropped their first seven contests by an average margin of 34 points. Led by Chris' daughter [player_tooltip player_id='461384' first='Kaylee' last='Buerman'] (photo above) with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 7 steals, Coon Rapids knocked off Minneapolis Washburn last week. [player_tooltip player_id='302308' first='Casey' last='Beck'], the #64 prospect in the Class of 2024, had a double-double with 14 and 11 and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='772238' first='Kaylin' last='Green'] </strong>recorded 10 points and 5 steals. If you think the win wasn't special, check out the team's celebration on their Twitter page at <a href="https://x.com/CRGirlsBBall">@CRGirlsBBall</a>. The Cardinals will try for victory #2 on Friday at Champlin Park.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576876,"width":382,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/01/Pilarski-records.jpg?w=764" alt="" class="wp-image-576876" width="382" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/addy_pilarski</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've already covered some outstanding individual performances in our articles yesterday from holiday hoops action. We've got additional highlights coming over the next couple of days, as well. Here are a few more from the week that was:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id='396438' first='Addison' last='Pilarski'] of Holdingford scored a school-record 39 points to go along with 11 rebounds at the Granite City Classic Thursday as the Huskers stunned Duluth Marshall by a score of 77-40. She followed that up with 21 and 4 on Friday against Big Lake, earning Breakdown Player of the Game honors for the second day in a row. Addy has already set numerous records at Holdingford, including most rebounds in a single game (25) and most rebounds in a season (302) which she did as a 9th grader.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='339179' first='Brylee' last='Miller'] of Fairmont also set a single-game scoring record for her team, putting up 36 points last week at the Windom tournament against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunberg. The athletic guard/small forward is a Top 20 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2026 and plays for the Minnesota Rise.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>The evolution of East Ridge junior [player_tooltip player_id='304906' first='Isabella' last='Sanneh'] continues. She has added a lot to her arsenal this year, including a ton of shooting range and a couple more inside finishes. The results speak for themselves. Sanneh had a career high 32 points along with 10 rebounds last week against a stingy Rosemount defense. The Top 50 prospect continues to raise her stock.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Grand Rapids senior [player_tooltip player_id='108316' first='Taryn' last='Hamling'] put up a season-high 36 points last week In a 68-48 win over Rocori at the Monticello holiday tournament. Hamling, a 5'9 guard ranked #13 in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023, has committed to North Dakota State.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Lewiston-Altura senior <strong>Kylie Verthein</strong> sparked her team to its first victory of the season, a 55-53 triumph over Onalaska Luther on the big court at Winona State University where her mom played college basketball. The 5'11 guard scored 29 points in the win. Verthein missed her entire sophomore season with a torn ACL but has made an impressive comeback.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>The hot streak continues for senior [player_tooltip player_id='339135' first='Elizabeth' last='Wagner'] of Luverne. Picking right up where she left off last week, the Southwest Minnesota State commit lit it up at Jackson County Central with 27 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sartell-St. Stephen ran its record to 9-2 with wins over Bloomington Jefferson and Proctor on its home court as part of the Breakdown Granite City Classic. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='352781' first='Chloe' last='Turner'] scored 27 points in the win over the Jaguars. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='220843' first='Avery' last='Templin'] had 23 points, including a school-record 17 made free throws.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->