With the season kicking into full swing this week, there are plenty of significant nonconference matchups on the slate. Several feature ranked teams looking for an early season test to see how they stack up against foes in anticipation for what’s to come in the regular season and beyond.
Our Top Game of the Week falls into that category.
Holy Angels, ranked No. 2 in the Class 3A Minnesota Basketball News poll, hosts No. 2-2A Minnehaha Academy on Thursday in a battle between two of the state's Goliaths hoping to get another shot at a state title.
Despite the high rankings, Holy Angels and Minnehaha Academy began their seasons with losses. The Stars opened with a 62-41 defeat in the Thanksgiving Tip-Off Tournament at the University of St. Thomas to a West Des Moines Dowling Catholic (Iowa) team boasting one of the nation's top recruits in sophomore Caitlin Clark (she had 25 points to lead the Maroons on Friday). Losses against out-of-state opponents rarely hurt a team’s ranking, but it’s surely not the way the Stars (1-1) wanted to start. They bounced back on Saturday with a dominant 72-37 win over No. 3-2A Rochester Lourdes.
Holy Angels returns junior Destinee Oberg, who was named to the Class 3A all-tournament team last year as the Stars finished third at state -- a year after winning the championship. She led the team in scoring last season with 17.1 points per game, and she’s averaged 18 points in two games this season, including 19 in the win over Rochester Lourdes.
The Redhawks lost their opening game in a much closer affair -- a 69-67 decision to Zumbrota-Mazeppa in the Dover-Eyota Tournament. The defeat comes as a bit of a surprise since the Cougars finished fifth in the Hiawatha Valley Conference last year, however, Minnehaha Academy (1-1) rebounded with a 83-65 win over Dover-Eyota on Saturday.
The Redhawks return four players who averaged more than 10 points per game last season, including freshman Mia Curtis (16.9 ppg).
Curtis leads a young group of talent players looking to advance Minnehaha Academy past the state tournament's first round, where it was knocked out by Sauk Centre 74-65 last year. The Redhawks have been regulars at state since 2008, missing the tournament only in 2013. They won a title in 2010 and took second a year later.