Topflight basketball was on display the opening weekend with the Breakdown Tip Off Classic showcasing nine of the top ten AAAA teams and four of the AAA teams on the feature court. Considering not all these teams will show up at the Minnesota State tournament in March, this is in many cases the best days of basketball.
Eight teams crossed over to the century mark. Two of those lost. Perhaps the best overall contest was the Eden Prairie v Maple Grove contest on Saturday where the Eagles rallied from a 17 point deficit (48-31) to spoil the Crimson opener. EP got right back in the contest with seven straight scoring possessions (16-2 run over the course of three minutes). MG checked in with a very healthy 108 pp100 in the loss. Two teams relied on the 3; one as part of their bread and butter, one out of necessity because trouble negotiating the forest. You may think it was the luck of the Irish, but Rosemount was sizzling from 3s with a 48.5 mark. Larisa O’Neil connected on nine alone. Eastview was forced to dial long distance due to the length of Wayzata. The Trojans and Pirates both capitalized on two wins with Wayzata getting over 100 pp100 both days. It was not as kind for St. Michael-Albertville and St. Louis Park who left Hopkins 0-2. STMA, a new addition to the Lake Conference, was able to get to the century mark in their loss to Farmington. The Tigers were eight shy of the century mark on the pure scoreboard. They also were the only team with three members in the 31 Club (Mogensen, Hart, Kindseth). The 31 Club had a healthy dose of additions in this power packed event with Adalia McKenzie of PC and Mara Braun of Wayzata making the list twice. One player topped all with a membership in the 51 Club. Paige Meyer of Albany just missed a coveted spot in the 61 Club by one. The Albany win over Stewartville was the most dramatic on Saturday with the Huskies rallying from a four point deficit with 1:15 left. The most dramatic finish belonged to PC over STMA on Friday night with T’Naye Griffin getting mobbed by a ship load of Pirates after her deep 3 as time expired. Four of the eleven games were decided by one possession. The very first game of the event went to an extra session with the Pioneers outlasting the Orioles of St. Louis Park. There were some massacres. They involved some cross class clashes. When AAA teams faced AAAA teams they were 1-3 (-21.5) with HM the only winner. Taking HM out of the equation the spreads were even more severe (-29.33). AA was 0-1 (-39).
The upcoming weeks will have plenty to live up to after this opening week. Buckle up.
3 FRIDAY GAMES
HILL-MURRAY | ST. LOUIS PARK | |
POINTS | 67 | 64 |
REBOUNDS | 42 | 48 |
TURNOVERS | 15 | 15 |
2FGA/% | 34/41.2 | 45/33.3 |
3FGA/% | 21/33.3 | 23.26.1 |
FTA/% | 31/58.1 | 22/72.7 |
PP100 | 95.3 | 83.1 |
TOP SCORER | Ella Runyon 26 | Raegan Alexander 17 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Ella Runyon (2022) 26 points, 118.2 pp100, 39 score in the 31 Club
WAYZATA | FERGUS FALLS | |
POINTS | 87 | 48 |
REBOUNDS | 27 | 23 |
TURNOVERS | 12 | 30 |
2FGA/% | 42/69.0 | 23/47.8 |
3FGA/% | 22/40.9 | 12/33.3 |
FTA/% | 7/28.6 | 20/70.0 |
PP100 | 129.9 | 70.6 |
TOP SCORER | Jenna Johnson 32 | Ellie Colbeck 20 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Jenna Johnson (2021) 32 points, 152.4 pp100, 45 score in the 31 Club
PARK CENTER | ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE | |
POINTS | 72 | 69 |
REBOUNDS | 35 | 31 |
TURNOVERS | 24 | 20 |
2FGA/% | 36/69.4 | 41/29.3 |
3FGA/% | 24/20.8 | 12/66.7 |
FTA/% | 12/58.3 | 25/84.0 |
PP100 | 91.1 | 88.5 |
TOP SCORER | Adalia McKenzie 26 | Mackenzie Kramer 23 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Adalia McKenzie (2021) 26 points, 96.3 pp100, 38 score in the 31 Club
8 SATURDAY GAMES
ROSEMOUNT | WACONIA | |
POINTS | 83 | 57 |
REBOUNDS | 33 | 40 |
TURNOVERS | 15 | 22 |
2FGA/% | 27/48.1 | 33/36.4 |
3FGA/% | 33/48.5 | 25/32.0 |
FTA/% | 12/75.0 | 14/64.3 |
PP100 | 109.2 | 76.0 |
TOP SCORER | Larisa O’Neil 27 | Sydni Olson 15 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Larisa O’Neil (2020) 27 points, 192.9 pp100, 34 score in the 31 Club
ALBANY | STEWARTVILLE | |
POINTS | 68 | 67 |
REBOUNDS | 36 | 37 |
TURNOVERS | 32 | 20 |
2FGA/% | 31/51.6 | 58/46.6 |
3FGA/% | 12/50.0 | 19/10.5 |
FTA/% | 22/81.8 | 11/63.6 |
PP100 | 82.9 | 80.7 |
TOP SCORER | Paige Meyer 31 | Lily Welch 28 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Paige Meyer (2021) 31 points, 129.2 pp100, 60 in the 31 Club
CHASKA | SIMLEY | |
POINTS | 53 | 39 |
REBOUNDS | 33 | 43 |
TURNOVERS | 11 | 22 |
2FGA/% | 33/42.4 | 43/27.9 |
3FGA/% | 21/33.3 | 13/23.1 |
FTA/% | 9/44.4 | 6/100.0 |
PP100 | 85.5 | 62.9 |
TOP SCORER | Kennedy Sanders 17 | Sydney Stensgard 13 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Kennedy Sanders (2023) 17 points, 113.3 pp100, 36 in the 31 Club
EDEN PRAIRIE | MAPLE GROVE | |
POINTS | 68 | 65 |
REBOUNDS | 35 | 34 |
TURNOVERS | 14 | 8 |
2FGA/% | 41/58.5 | 40/40.0 |
3FGA/% | 9/33.3 | 16/37.5 |
FTA/% | 19/57.9 | 26/57.7 |
PP100 | 117.2 | 108.3 |
TOP SCORER | Natalie Mazurek 20 | Abby Schulte 21 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Natalie Mazurek (2020) 20 points, 153.8 pp100, 32 score in the 31 Club
FARMINGTON | ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE | |
POINTS | 92 | 79 |
REBOUNDS | 52 | 28 |
TURNOVERS | 19 | 7 |
2FGA/% | 48/52.1 | 42/38.1 |
3FGA/% | 15/46.7 | 30/36.7 |
FTA/% | 30/70.0 | 17/82.4 |
PP100 | 117.9 | 100.0 |
TOP SCORER | Molly Mogensen 25 | Tessa Johnson 30 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Molly Mogensen (2020) 25 points, 138.9 pp100, 47 score in the 31 Club
PARK CENTER | STILLWATER | |
POINTS | 75 | 69 |
REBOUNDS | 33 | 46 |
TURNOVERS | 21 | 29 |
2FGA/% | 32/46.9 | 38/55.3 |
3FGA/% | 29/31.0 | 22/18.2 |
FTA/% | 23/78.3 | 23/65.2 |
PP100 | 92.6 | 85.2 |
TOP SCORER | Adalia McKenzie 29 | Alexis Pratt 25 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Adalia McKenzie (2021) 29 points, 120.8 pp100, 46 score in the 31 Club
WAYZATA | EASTVIEW | |
POINTS | 80 | 48 |
REBOUNDS | 55 | 31 |
TURNOVERS | 19 | 26 |
2FGA/% | 48/56.3 | 20/25.0 |
3FGA/% | 28/17.9 | 27/29.6 |
FTA/% | 20/55.0 | 21/66.7 |
PP100 | 101.3 | 62.3 |
TOP SCORER | Annika Stewart 20 | Cassidy Carson 19 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Annika Stewart (2020) 20 points, 133.3 pp100, 30 score in the 31 Club
HOPKINS | BECKER | |
POINTS | 77 | 39 |
REBOUNDS | 41 | 27 |
TURNOVERS | 22 | 33 |
2FGA/% | 48/60.4 | 34/29.4 |
3FGA/% | 13/7.7 | 6/33.3 |
FTA/% | 26/61.5 | 20/65.0 |
PP100 | 106.9 | 54.9 |
TOP SCORER | Maya Nnaji 19 | Morgan Gamble 8 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Maya Nnaji (2022) 19 points, 105.6 pp100, 30 score in the 31 Club