Best of the Breakdown Shot Clock Classic in St. Paul

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They say the score doesn't matter in summer ball… until it does. For an up-and-coming Rochester Mayo squad, a lopsided win over Totino-Grace and a two-point triumph against Eden Prairie on Tuesday at the Breakdown Shot Clock Classic were plenty meaningful, even if there wasn't anything at stake. Mayo, it appears, is building towards a big season. The Spartans showed out at Concordia-St. Paul in a one-day event that also included the likes of Shakopee, Waconia, Woodbury and Visitation. Here are a few thoughts on what we watched on Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAM OF THE DAY – ROCHESTER MAYO</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ball movement matters. Whether there's a lot on the line or very little, teams that share the basketball and defend hard are teams that generally win. On Tuesday, the Spartans did both. Led by incoming freshmen [player_tooltip player_id='806429' first='Amelia' last='Mills'] at the point, Mayo played fast, worked the ball around for open looks, and were in attack mode against Totino from the opening tip. That approach paid off as Rochester scored early and often to build a healthy lead and cruise to victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing two complete regulation basketball games back to back – especially when the second leg of the daily double is against a strong team like Eden Prairie – figured to be difficult. The Eagles were 20-9 last winter, missing out on a trip to the State Tournament thanks to some ill-timed misfortune in one-point loss to Minnetonka. EP returns everyone in 2024-25, including South Dakota commit [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'] (18.2 points per game), D1-level senior [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] (14.4), Prep Girls Hoops Breakout Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='595568' first='Ella' last='Hardwick'] (11.6), and speedy guards [player_tooltip player_id='396426' first='Vanessa' last='Jordan'] (9.5) and [player_tooltip player_id='339147' first='Camryn' last='Dennin'] (6.3).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mayo certainly rose to the occasion as incoming freshman [player_tooltip player_id='908260' first='Maggie' last='Dyer'], post [player_tooltip player_id='550002' first='Carmen' last='Kadlec'], speedy senior [player_tooltip player_id='417303' first='Kaia' last='Kirkeby'] and gritty guard [player_tooltip player_id='502550' first='Mia' last='Banks'] – all ranked PGH prospects – continued to execute as they had done in the previous contest. When I took the post-game photo of Mayo's starting five, I should have included super sub [player_tooltip player_id='764213' first='Madalynn' last='McLaughlin'], as well. The incoming sophomore is very much in the picture this season and was excellent on Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game came down to the wire with Mayo prevailing 64-62. To be fair, Eden Prairie coach Ellen Wiese played her entire varsity and JV lineup, employing all 15 in rotation. When the game was on the line in the final seconds, EP didn't have their stars on the court. The Eagles' goal in this exhibition – preparing their youngsters for the future – was different than that of the Spartans, who are trying to build something with their top six. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the most athletic Mayo team in a long time, and coach Andy Bromeling has them playing with pace. That's a must as teams from the Big 9 have usually struggled in section play against metro powers due to the pace of play and physicality. Last year Mayo went 18-1 in conference but were 3-4 against Metro opponents. Their biggest win of the season was probably a 62-53 triumph at Stillwater in January. When the playoffs rolled around, however, the Spartans fell to Lakeville South by a single point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Big 9 has long played a double round-robin schedule – that's 22 games – which left little wiggle room to face more powerful squads. Now the league allows teams to drop the second meeting with another school if both parties agree. For Mayo, that has freed up four more slots for better competition. The next step in their evolution involves building more self-belief that they are good enough to win against the best. Mayo took a healthy step in that direction on Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='908260' first='Maggie' last='Dyer'] <strong>– 2028 guard, Rochester Mayo</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's difficult to overstate just how good Maggie has been this summer. After seemingly coming out of nowhere with [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota'] over the past couple of years, Dyer moved up to [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] 2028 Nike this season and has been stellar. On Tuesday she was dominant, scoring 16 in the first half against EP and finishing with 23 points. Maggie's game has expanded so much as she has been working with a trainer to add more variety to her offensive repertoire. With a ton of length, excellent athleticism, and superior body control, Dyer looks every bit the D1 prospect. The combination of Dyer and Mills is special, as is the potential of McLaughlin. The 2027 guard is uber-quick and very skilled, a combination that will no doubt see her rise into the rankings when we update the incoming sophomores next week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] <strong>– 2025 guard, Eden Prairie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 20 senior couldn't have been more efficient against Mayo. With EP utilizing a 15-player rotation, Rae's minutes were far fewer than the [program_tooltip program_id='712687' first='Minnesota' last='Fury'] standout is accustomed to. It didn't matter as she still put up 16 in the first half to match Dyer and finished with 24 in far fewer minutes. Ehrman is long and athletic, and has one of the biggest motors around. Ranked #18 in the PGH Minnesota Class of 2025, Ehrman is also an outstanding three-point shooter. College coaches who haven't watched Rae closely need to get a look sooner rather than later because someone is going to land a winner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":928076,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/Peyton-Lindahl_Shakopee-crop-3672x2411-1718814886.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-928076" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='927514' first='Peyton' last='Lindahl'] <strong>– 2027 guard, Shakopee</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sabers were buoyed by the return of stalwart [player_tooltip player_id='567377' first='Sadie' last='Hall'] on Tuesday. The top 30 junior-to-be has been absent from [program_tooltip program_id='714566' first='Minnesota' last='Stars'] 2026 3SSB Hill with injury, but she looked very much like a scholarship-level prospect on Tuesday. That's not to take away from another guard who is just working her way into the bigger picture in Shakopee. We've watched the 5'6 Lindahl with [program_tooltip program_id='714566' first='Minnesota' last='Stars'] all summer and have been impressed with her development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Peyton moves very well, has nice athleticism and a quality skill set. Perhaps Lindahl's two biggest assets are her basketball IQ and her ability to play with pace while executing from the point. Shakopee coach Juan Mitchell likes to play slow, unfortunately, but the head man wasn't there on Tuesday and Lindahl's pace was a difference-maker when we watched against Waconia. Lindahl appeared in 20 varsity games last winter, averaging just over 5 ppg. As her shooting improves, as well as her finishing around the basket, it won't be surprising to see Peyton's role grow in 2024-25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One other player we really liked for Shakopee was 2026 forward <strong>Izzy Runk</strong>, who played in 19 games last winter and averaged 6.8 ppg. At 5'11, she is long and lean and moves pretty well. We'll circle back to see Izzy again in the not-too-distant future. She plays AAU for Crossfire Babcock.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->