Saturday is the main course, of course, and so it was Appetizer Friday at Minnesota’s premiere day of girls basketball, the Breakdown Tip-Off at Hopkins High School. There were 6 games on Friday night, December 1; there are 15 more on Saturday. But, for now, who were the top performers on Friday night? For the record, the 6 games were:
• Maple Grove 55 Eastview 50. The Crimson led by as many as 15 at 51-36 at the 5 minute mark, but Eastview made it a one-possession game at 51-48 with one minute to play. Jordan Ode scored on a dribble drive at 0:32 and Kate Holmquist hit a pair of FT at 0:12, rendering a Savannah Gardner bucket for Eastview at the final buzzer as too little, too late.
• Spring Lake Park 71 Edina 61. Once again, Spring Lake Park took an early lead and extended it to 38-22 at the half. Edina pecked away throughout the 2nd half and got within 9 at 64-55 at 2:35. 6-0 sophomore Brooke Goerish, who finished with 8 points, scored 6 of them in the last 2:30 to save the day, or night.
• Champlin Park 66 Rochester Century 58. Champlin took an 8-point lead into halftime, 36-28, and made it stand up in the 2nd half.
• Wayzata 90 Lakeville South 70. Wayzata had not one but 2 12-0 runs in the 1st half to lead 47-35 at the half. Lakeville South stayed within 10-12 points most of the way before falling back by 20 at the final buzzer. South’s box score is not published yet at this point, but Finley Ohnstad scored a reported 45 points.
• Mahtomedi 57 St. Croix Lutheran 37. The Zephyrs won the battle of the underachievers, two ranked teams that came into the game at a combined 1-4.
• Hopkins 49 Lakeville North 48. Hopkins threatened to blow North away early, taking 9-0 and 15-2 leads. North, with the return of coach Andy Berkvam, showed a lot of backbone in making a game of it. Unfortunately, the box score is not published yet. Despite the close call, Hopkins is still #1AAAA in my book until a Minnesota beats them, if they can. Obviously, Wayzata is going to get 3 cracks at ’em.
Top Performers
Center–Bella Sutch, Spring Lake Park, 6-0, senior, 20 pts. Sutch was the best pure post for the day, scoring on 6 FG and 8 FT.
Power Forward–Katie Kelzenburg, Wayzata, 6-2, junior, 7 pts. Kelzenburg is tough as nails. She’s totally unafraid to mix it up in the paint, whether it’s on the dribble drive or on the offensive or defensive glass. According to the Hub, she is 3-of-9 FT so far this year, including 3-for-6 last night, so there’s some room for improvement because she can and does get to the FT line.
Small Forward–Amanda Kieser, Wayzata, 5-8, freshman, 19 pts. Did I mention that Wayzata starts 2 juniors, a sophomore and a freshman? Kieser is the freshman and she scored 19 pts on 2 2s, 4 3-pointers and 3 FT. (And, then, Wayzata’s 2nd 5 consists of 3 juniors and 2 more freshman. Pencil in Wayzata at #1 for next year.)
Point Guard–Liv McGill, Hopkins, 5-7, senior. Florida-bound and a solid candidate for Ms. Basketball, especially with the news that Benilde’s Olivia Olson will be out for a month with a broken hand. She brings sure hands on the basketball, an explosive dribble drive, and great ball defense.
Shooting Guard–Jordan Ode, Maple Grove, 5-11, junior, 30 pts. Michigan State-bound, Ode does a little bit of everything except, well, a lot of scoring, everywhere from the 3 to the dribble drive.
6th Player–Finley Ohnstad, Lakeville South, 6-1, senior, 45 points. Obviously you’ve got to have a place on your all-star team for Ohnstad, who totally lit it up. Over the 2nd 9 minutes of the 1st half, she scored 19 pts, all but 2 of South’s total, including 5 3s–one from the left wing, the next from the right wing, then from the top of the key, and then from the top of the key after taking down a defensive rebound, a 2 on a pretty feed from Audrey Schmidtke after an offensive board, and finally a dribble drive. Ohnstad is headed to Kansas State.
2nd Five
Power Forward–Callie Oakland, St. Croix Lutheran, 6-1, sophomore, 14 pts. Her team is struggling right now but Oakland is a rock inside for the Crusaders.
Small Forward–London Harris, Hopkins, 5-9, junior. Harris is listed at 5-9 but plays bigger by virtue of her agility and quickness and just staying active. She is a terror on the defensive end and in Hopkins’ 3/4-court defense that gave Lakeville North absolute fits in the 1st half.
Point Guard–Sophie Hawkinson, Wayzata, 5-6, junior, 15 pts. Hawkinson handles the ball as much as anybody in Wayzata’s multi-pronged offense. She’s an excellent ball-handler and passer and, oh, yes, she scored 15 pts last night on 2 2s, 3 3s and a pair of 1s.
Shooting Guard–Abby Richter, Edina, 5-11, senior, 29 pts. Well, the box score says 29 pts on 12 2s and 3 3s, or is it 9 2s and 3 3s? Either way, it doesn’t quite add up. But while Edina is frightfully young and is struggling right now, Richter is their rock, a strong, aggressive and highly skilled scorer. Prep Hoops has her rated at #59. Too low. I’d say top 25, anyway.
Shooting Guard–Kate Amelotte, Wayzata, 5-11, sophomore, 18 pts. Part of Wayzata’s scary good, scary young movement and the highest rated of the lot at #4 in her class. A great ball-handler, her long-term future may be at the 1.
6th Player–Maya Maull, Eastview, 5-11, junior, shooting guard, 18 pts. Quick, active, strong enough to get to the rim.
Diaper Dandies
You may have gathered that one theme for Appetizer Friday is youth, youth, youth. We’ve already met underclassmen Amanda Kieser, Callie Oakland and Kate Amelotte, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some more Diaper Dandies.
Power Forward–Lexie Mathews, Eastview, 5-11, sophomore, 10 pts. OK, she’s a bit slender to be called a power forward but the Lightning have just one player who’s any bigger. As it is, she was big enough with 10 pts, including 4 pts, 2 offensive boards and a big assist as Eastview rallied down the final 5 minutes of the game.
Small Forward–Brooke Goerish, Spring Lake Park, 6-0, sophomore, 8 pts. Goerish was smooth as silk but hadn’t really done much until the final 2:30 as she scored 6 of her team’s last 8 points on a 1, a 2 and a 3. Smooth as silk, highly skilled, not particularly aggressive yet, but with a lot of upside. Coach Randy Eatherton said that the D1 inquiries are starting to come in.
Small Forward–Maren Day, Wayzata, 5-10, sophomore, 11 pts. Another impressive cog in the Wayzata machine that is being assembled by coach Stewart.
Point Guard–Quinn Kemper, Edina, 5-7, 8th grade, 10 pts. Edina, as we said, is struggling, but the future looks bright. Kemper is small and gets pushed around, but she keeps bouncing back with a nice shooting stroke and some nice floor leadership and passing, especially for one sooooo young.
Shooting Guard–Kate Holmquist, Maple Grove, 5-7, sophomore, 4 pts.
Honorable Mention
They also excelled: Torey Clarey, Rochester Century; Laura Hauge, St. Croix Lutheran; Bri Nusbaum, Spring Lake Park; Mariah Pates, Champlin Park; Grace Winge, Lakeville North