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Minnesota's Fab Five

By Taylor Lunemann, Sport Ngin, 03/03/16, 1:30PM CST

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Browerville boasts five starters with 1,000 or more career points, a first in Minnesota high school basketball history.


The starting five from Browerville (from left), Kale Knutson, Paige Callahan, Crystal Pearson, Kendra Buchta and Quinn Kircher make up the state's first lineup of all 1,000-point scorers. Photo by Taylor Lunemann, Long Prairie Leader

Scoring 1,000 career points is one of the highest individual accomplishments in high school basketball, a rare feat that is met with fanfare from teams, fans and communities.

But in Browerville, a small central Minnesota community tucked between Sauk Centre and Wadena along Highway 71 and 130 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, celebrating the milestone has been a common occurrence over the past three years.

The Browerville girls’ basketball program has honored a player for achieving the mark at least once every season since 2013-14, but this season, the program set a new standard.

When Kale Knutson scored her 1,000th point on Feb. 4, she joined fellow seniors Crystal Pearson (2,036 points), Paige Callahan (1,510) Kendra Buchta (1,506) and junior Quinn Kircher (1,346) to become Minnesota's Fab Five - the state's first high school basketball team to boast a starting lineup of players who have reached the career plateau.

"That is unbelievable," said Kent Hamre, former president of the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association and current girls' basketball head coach at St. Michael-Albertville. He said his research confirms no girls' or boys' program has started five 1,000-point scorers. 

It hasn’t been easy earning a place in the record books for these girls, who began their varsity careers as middle-schoolers. But they developed over the years, and each has relied on her own set of skills to obtain the lofty record and bring the Tigers a higher level of success.



Browerville made history when senior guard Kale Knutson reached 1,000 career points on Feb. 4, making the Tigers the state's first team with five starters to reach that mark. Photo by Tigers assistant coach Jeni Burns

Pearson is the school’s all-time leading scorer (for boys and girls) and reached the 2,000-point milestone on Feb. 11. After beginning her career as a slasher, she has developed an outside shot that Browerville coach Matt Middendorf said made the guard a complete player. She scored her 1,000 point in 2014.

Buchta debuted on varsity in seventh grade after Middendorf saw she had “the prettiest outside shot” he had ever seen. Over the years, the forward has added an array of low post moves, giving her an effective high-low game that helped her hit the milestone in January 2015, along with Callahan.

While she is capable of stepping outside and knocking down a three-pointer, Callahan spends most of her time in the paint. Middendorf credits Callahan's footwork for her ability to get in great rebounding position and clean up shots on offensive rebounds.

Knutson is the team’s point guard, and while she has the ability to score, her primary responsibility is distributing the ball by finding the mismatch on defense. Middendorf said Knutson is like a coach on the floor because of her strong understanding of the game.

Kircher has a motor like no one Middendorf has seen in his career, which the shooting guard uses to wear down opponents over the course of the game and allows her to convert on fast-break opportunities. She entered the 1,000-career point club in December. 

"We have a very unique chemistry. I don't think anyone else in the state has it," Knutson said about how the five work together. "We've been playing together since eighth grade, not many teams can say that. It's nice to be able to know all of our strengths and weaknesses."

“We know what everyone can do and all of our abilities, and I think that makes us unique," Buchta added.

“We have a very unique chemistry. I don't think anyone else in the state has it. We've been playing together since eighth grade, not many teams can say that. It's nice to be able to know all of our strengths and weaknesses.”

--Senior point guard Kale Knutson

Taking their lumps

“We began in seventh and eighth grade, so we were getting killed,” Kircher said with a smile. “But the coaches kept saying, 'Keep working hard and you’ll get better.' ”

It was a philosophy the girls bought into.

“We took every game as a learning experience and lost a lot of games, but never looked at it as a loss,” Knutson said. “We always took something out of the game and learned from it.”



The girls made their big jump in the 2013-14 season, as the group earned a Class 1A state tournament bid, the program's first state appearance since 2006. Photo by Taylor Lunemann, Long Prairie Leader

Coming together

After winning just 19 total games in two rough seasons, the Tigers were ready to take the next step. 

The countless hours they spent together, both on and off the court, honing their games and strengthening their relationships helped the Tigers hit their stride during the 2013-14 season, as the team’s win total jumped to 23 and the year ended with a trip to the Class 1A state tournament.

The following season, the Tigers captured the Prairie Conference crown, won 28 games and earned their second trip to state.

The team's offense also improved, as the Tigers averaged 17.5 points per game more during their breakout season than they did in 2012-13.

Despite having so many capable individual scorers, Browerville remains committed to sharing the ball. Being close as teammates is the main reason the girls play unselfishly, and it's something Middendorf would like to see change.

“As far as communicating and having drama about not passing the ball, it has never been an issue,” Middendorf said. “Our issue has been not putting up enough shots, which is crazy to think with this group and how many points we’ve scored.”

“I think sometimes we have too much confidence in each other,” Kircher added. “We always want to score, but we’re also looking to kick the ball out or rely on someone else to shoot sometimes.”


“Our issue has been not putting up enough shots...which is crazy to think with this group and how many points we've scored.”

--Tigers head coach Matt Middendorf




Tigers head coach Matt Middendorf said this group of girls often work so well together that some games the coaching staff could probably just sit in the stands and enjoy the show. Photo by Taylor Lunemann, Long Prairie Leader

Developing a game plan

Once the Tigers began showing their talents, their coaches found creating a game plan was much easier.

“We call it our five-headed monster,” Middendorf said. “You have so many weapons, it’s just a matter of where the mismatch is on defense.”

Middendorf added the girls work so well together on the floor that some games he feels the coaching staff could just sit in the stands and have fun watching them play.

Finding a way to slow the Tigers, however, is not much fun for opposing coaches.

Pat Kalpin, coach of Browerville's Prairie Conference rival Osakis, said it’s not easy facing a team with such a wealth of scorers.

“They’re one of the toughest teams that I’ve ever had to prepare for because how do you prepare (to play) against five (girls) that can all score and do different things?” Kalpin said. “They can hit three-pointers, can take it inside, they’re not one dimensional.”

The Silverstreaks have split the season series with the Tigers the past two years, and three of the last four meetings were decided by single digits, including the most recent as Osakis beat Browerville 62-59 on Feb. 18.

It was the final time the Silverstreaks had to face this loaded Tigers team, and the moment wasn't lost on Kalpin.

“You don’t think about it until afterwards, but you sit back and realize it’s the last time our kids are going to see those girls,” Kalpin said. “When you reflect on it, you can really appreciate what those kids do and really respect who they are and what they have accomplished as a group.”


A memorable ending

While the girls said their favorite memories have been having all five players cross the 1,000-point threshold and reaching the Class 1A state tournament in 2014 and 2015 (several of the girls also went to state  as members of Tigers volleyball and softball teams in 2014), they want to make another and look to do so in their last year playing together.

They want to win a game at the state basketball tournament. 

“We want to win a game and play at the 'Barn,' ” Pearson said about reaching the semifinals held at the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena. “Winning that first game would be very big for us.”

In their first appearance two years ago, the Tigers lost to Minneota 77-50 in the quarterfinals. A year later, Browerville came close to getting a victory in the quarterfinals, but after the ball rattled off the rim at the buzzer, the Tigers were sent home following a 69-68 loss to Minneota.

Browerville opens the postseason hosting Upsala on March 3, but getting back to state seems to be a tough task as Section 5's South subsection boasts Kimball (21-5) and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (18-8), while Cromwell (23-3), ranked No. 9 in the Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News, lurks on the other side of the section. 

The Tigers coaching staff is confident success will follow if the girls put forward the same effort they have had in big games the past three seasons.

“We just talk about no regrets, and that starts with our effort,” Middendorf said. “We feel if we’re going 100 percent the full 36 minutes, we’ll give ourselves a chance. The girls know this is the last few weeks they will ever get to do this.”

While the girls' careers have been filled with ups and downs, they have gone through all together. Now the Tigers will put their individual accolades in the rearview mirror and focus on hopefully achieving an ending suitable for a record-setting bunch.

“It’s crazy that no one in the state has done what we’ve done,” Callahan said. “But now I’m ready to get to state again and make more memories with these girls.”


A look at the Tiger Five





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