Prep athletes of the week: Hopkins freshman Paige Bueckers picks up where she left off

The freshman guard opened the season by leading the Royals, ranked No. 1 in the Class 4A preseason poll, to victories over Osseo and Moorhead.

On Friday, she scored 28 points and had five steals and four assists in the Royals' season-opening 74-34 victory over Osseo. On Saturday, she had 27 points, six rebounds and six steals in a 75-52 victory over Moorhead.

In the two games, she shot 78 percent from the field — 21-of-27 – and she contributed 11 steals and 11 rebounds.

As an eighth-grader last season, Bueckers led the Royals in three-point shooting and was second in assists as a reserve. Bueckers was named to the Class 4A all-tournament team at the state tournament.

"Paige is the first player on the floor for practice. Last one to leave the floor," Royals coach Brian Cosgriff said. "She has a tremendous basketball IQ and receives coaching very well."

Bueckers already has scholarship offers from the Gophers, Iowa State and Illinois.

The junior forward helped the Fire, ranked No. 9 in the Class 2A preseason poll, to season-opening victories over Edina and Maple Grove. On Friday, he had a goal and assist in a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Edina. On Saturday he had a goal and assist in Holy Family's 5-1 victory over the Crimson.

The freshman guard, in her third season on the Redhawks' varsity, scored 41 points to lead the Redhawks to two victories in the Dover-Eyota Tournament. She scored 17 points in a 68-57 victory over Dover-Eyota and 24 — including 20 in the first half — in a 76-57 victory over Zumbrota-Mazeppa.

The sophomore forward had six points to lead the Bears, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, to two victories. She had three goals and an assist in a 7-1 victory over Wayzata and two goals and an assist in a 4-0 victory over Eastview.

The sophomore goaltender had back-to-back shutouts in the Bears' 4-0 victory over Grand Rapids/Greenway on Friday and 3-0 victory over Hibbing/Chisholm on Saturday in Grand Rapids. The sophomore, who has committed to MSU Mankato, has three shutouts this season.

The junior scored two touchdowns – a 15-yard run and a 56-yard fumble return – to spark the Polars to a 30-14 victory over Rushford-Peterson in the Class 1A title game. He also had three tackles and a pass breakup.

WILL WHITMORE

The senior quarterback helped the Red Knights overcome a first-quarter injury to key running back Ricky Floyd and earn a 31-28 victory over Winona in the Class 4A championship game. Whitmore passed for 153 yards and a touchdown and ran for 28 yards with no turnovers.

JOEL RIPPEL

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