Newcomers making their mark at the midway point

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It might be hard to believe but the Minnesota girls high school basketball season is already half over. With week #9 nearly done, there has been plenty of time for newcomers to make their mark through a dozen or more regular season games. Last week we offered evaluations of <strong>Kaylee Narveson</strong>, <strong>Keigan Cummings</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='459646' first='Makenzie' last='Carrier'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854902' first='Ella' last='Stoskopf'] </strong>of Kasson-Mantorville along with <strong>Jillian Sajdak</strong> of Cherry and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589276' first='Taleigha' last='Bigler']</strong> of Marshall. Today we bring you a half dozen more newcomers who are making their mark at the midway point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589274' first='Parker' last='Yaggie'] – 2026 guard, Breckenridge</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When folks watched Monty Gordon's 2026 Inspired Athletics squad out of Fargo last summer, most of the eyeballs were directed at [player_tooltip player_id='478362' first='Morgan' last='Korf']. That's not surprising given that the guard from Pelican Rapids is a Top 20 freshman. Meanwhile, toiling in the trenches, Parker was quietly going about her business doing the things that win basketball games. The 5'7 guard is having an outstanding 9th grade season. Gordon says Yaggie is the toughest player he has ever coached, a bulldog with a motor and the work ethic to match. She's strong and athletic, with a bigger frame, a solid build and the type of speed and acceleration that's difficult to contend with. Parker has great intangibles, too. She's a vocal leader who sets the tone, outworks everyone in the gym and always motivates her teammates in a positive way. This winter Yaggie is averaging nearly 17 points and 9 rebounds per game, shooting 41% from three and 96% at the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589279' first='Ava' last='Wallaker'] – 2026 guard, Goodhue</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We gave Ava a little shout-out on Monday in our recap of last week's action, but she deserves a whole lot more recognition than that. We've watched Goodhue the past two Saturdays. There's no need to tell you how impressive the Wildcats have been over the years, nor their pedigree as a championship-level program. Once again they are one of the best teams in Class 2A. Every year coach Josh Wieme manages to work some talented youngsters into his lineup and Ava is the latest in a long line of gifted guards. She's highly versatile, super aggressive at both ends of the floor, and she has just enough size and strength to go to war against opponents of varying descriptions. On the roster Wallaker is listed as a guard. In reality, however, she does a little bit of everything on the floor, from handling the ball under pressure to posting up inside to guarding whoever needs to be guarded regardless of dimensions or experience level. This year Ava has found consistency from beyond the arc and her three-point shooting has been key for Goodhue. Just a 9th garder, Wallaker is already thriving in the 6th man role and is only going to get better from here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alyssa Prophet – 2025 guard, Mesabi East</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've seen some great guards emerge from the shadows of Giants Ridge in recent years, from the record-busting 2020 graduate <strong>Ava Hill</strong>, a 2,000-point scorer who went on to run track at the University of Minnesota, to the always-crafty 2021 graduate <strong>Hannah Hannuksela</strong>. Now there's a fresh face in the Mesabi East lineup showing signs that she, too, may turn out to be special. Alyssa is currently doing it all for the Giants. She's scoring about 17 points per game on 46% shooting, cashing in on her exceptional court vision to distribute the ball with great effectiveness, and she's shooting lights out. Prophet handles the ball well, finishes consistently in a variety of ways, and has the ability to execute under pressure with a calmness you simply can't teach. Defensively Prophet uses her quick feet, fast hands and sense of anticipation to force turnovers, commit steals and block shots on a regular basis. It appears Alyssa has more steals highlighted on her Hudl video than anyone we've seen in recent times. Mesabi East is not a team that's easy to follow so AAU will be crucial if Alyssa is to capitalize on what is clearly a great deal of promise.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kenzie Kiminski – 2026 guard, Floodwood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Mesabi East is difficult to watch, it's darn near impossible to find out much about Floodwood. We can tell you it is a town of fewer than 600 people located roughly midway between Duluth and Grand Rapids on U.S. Highway 2. According to the Minnesota State High School League's count, the school's enrollment is 56. One of those 56 might just be a baller. We were tipped off to Kenzie by one of our veteran observers up on the Iron Range whose judgement over the years of what it takes to play college basketball has been excellent. Through the wonders of the Interwebs, we have managed to watch some video of Kiminski and her Polar Bears teammates. It's a very small sample size to be sure but let's just say the early indicators look good. The first thing you notice is the length. Kenzie also shows a ton of explosiveness, and a nice change of speed, with the ability to blow by defenders at the Class A level, elevate to the rim and finish. She has great shooting form, as well, and makes a lot of threes.&nbsp; Kenzie is also a quality rebounder. As we said, it's a small sample size and we haven't seen Kiminski live, but it's definitely on our to-do list now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Katherine Boulanger – 2025 forward, New Prague</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Prague has been doing good work this season which is quite the turnaround for a once-mighty program south of the Twin Cities that has really struggled in recent years. One of the primary reasons the Trojans are having more success, according to coach Jeremy Biermaier, is the play of Boulanger, a 5'11 forward who has been off the radar until now. That's because she plays softball in the summer and didn't play varsity basketball until this season. After performing well on JV, and dominating in practice, Biermeier decided the lengthy sophomore deserved a shot. Boulanger's play has been a revelation and she leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game. New Prague mostly plays 5 out motion which suits her well. She often has to guard bigger posts, which she does well even though that's not really her forte. Likely a 3 at the next level, Katherine is an excellent shooter who can knock them down from distance or get to the rim with an athletic move or two. Once there, she is a consistent finisher. At this point the best word we can attach to Boulanger's evaluation is ‘potential.' Who knows what she'll accomplish if basketball becomes the main priority.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ONE MORE FRESH FACE OF NOTE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='595199' first='Maya' last='Kilian'] – 2027 guard, New Prague</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lot can happen in nine months for a middle-schooler. That's how long it's been since we first profiled Maya way back at the beginning of the 2022 AAU season. Today she finds herself in the starting varsity lineup for New Prague. Much like Katherine, Maya is making an impact for the resurgent program. At 5'11 in stocking feet, her length is impressive already. So, too, is Kilian's athleticism, ball-handling ability and quickness, all of which make her a strong next-level candidate from the get-go. She's just so elusive. And crafty. And instinctual. But she's also young, has a long ways to go in the physical maturity department and has barely dipped a toe into the varsity water. She's already on the floor nearly 20 minutes a game, though, so it won't be long before Killian is making more headlines.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->