Crosby-Ironton’s Tori Oehrlein and Providence Academy’s Maddyn Greenway are the top two scorers in the state.
Providence Academy’s Maddyn Greenway and Crosby-Ironton’s Tori Oehrlein bear down on 3,000 points together
They will become the first sophomore girls basketball players to reach that mark, and they might hit it in the same game.
By Ron Haggstrom and
Joel Rippel
January 25, 2024 at 2:16PM
In the next week, they will become the first sophomores in state girls basketball history to reach 3,000 points in a career. They each could reach the milestone when Providence Academy, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, plays host to Crosby-Ironton, ranked No. 7, on Tuesday.
Oehrlein scored 29 in the Rangers’ 63-51 victory over No. 8 Pequot Lakes on Tuesday to increase her career total to 2,958 points. The Rangers play at Staples-Motley on Friday before they travel to Providence Academy.
Greenway scored 34 in the Lions’ 94-49 victory over Buffalo on Tuesday. That gave her 2,875 career points. Providence has two more games — Thursday against Minneapolis Roosevelt and Saturday against Minnetonka — before next week’s showdown.
Before this season, the youngest players in state history to reach 3,000 points were juniors Rebekeh Dahlman of Braham in 2011 and Addison Mack of Minnehaha Academy. Mack reached the milestone on Dec. 29, when she scored 31 points in the Redhawks’ 70-46 victory over Hill-Murray. Dahlman, who graduated in 2013, is the leading scorer in state history with 5,060 points.
Greenway and Oehrlein staged a similar race to 2,000 points last season. Greenway got there first, on Feb. 18, by scoring 60 points against Minnehaha Academy. Oehrlein arrived two days later.
Milestones
- Duluth Marshall eighth-grader Chloe Johnson scored 45 points in the Hilltoppers’ 87-69 loss to Minnehaha Academy on Saturday to surpass 1,000 points for her career. She became the third player in state history to reach the milestone in 45 or fewer games. Oehrelin (40) and Climax/Fisher’s Peyton Hoffman (42) are the others. Hoffman, a 6-foot eighth-grader, scored her 1,000th point during a 33-point, 21-rebound game in a 75-53 victory over Bagley.
- Duluth Marshall junior Brooks Johnson, Chloe’s brother, is 23 points shy of 2,000 career points after scoring 34 in a 79-67 victory over Pine City on Tuesday. Duluth Marshall plays at Hermantown on Thursday and hosts Cloquet on Friday.
- Perham 6-0 senior forward Willow Thiel got her 1,000th rebound in a 67-59 triumph over Holdingford. The school’s all-time leading scorer, she is closing in on 2,000 career points.
- Breck guard Daniel Freitag surpassed 2,000 points in his career during Tuesday’s 93-38 victory over Providence Academy. Freitag has signed to play for Wisconsin.
- During the boys game between Minneapolis Edison and St. Paul Academy on Saturday, each team’s starting point scored his 1,000th point. Edison’s Deidrick Taylor finished with 18 points, and SPA’s Ethan Carter had 21 points in St. Paul Academy’s 88-60 victory over the visiting Tommies.
- Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s freshman Morgan Mathiowetz scored 23 points in the Knights’ 75-50 victory over New Ulm Cathedral on Thursday in New Ulm to surpass 1,000 points for her career. Mathiowetz, who is averaging 28 points per game this season, joins her father, uncle, two aunts and sister Madison in the 1,000-point club. Madison Mathiowetz, who now plays for South Dakota State, also surpassed 1,000 points during her freshman season. Madison Mathiowetz is the leading scorer in school history with 3,762 points. Morgan is Minnesota’s first player in the Class of 2027 with 1,000 points.
- Crosby-Ironton boys coach Dave Galovich became the fourth boys basketball coach in Minnesota history to reach 800 victories when his team defeated Pillager 82-69 in early January. The others are Bob McDonald of Chisholm, who holds the state record with 1,012 wins, Ken Novak of Hopkins and Bob Brink of Rocori.
Numbers
12 School record steals for Ely senior Sarah Visser in a 61-24 girls victory over Bigfork.
55 Points scored by Hermantown’s Abraham Soumis in an 88-81 boys triumph over Bemidji.
690 Alexandria girls coach Wendy Kohler moved into third place on the career victories list with her 690th victory Saturday. Kohler, in her 40th season, was tied with former Norwood Young America coach Gary Lembcke, who retired after last season with 689 victories. Kohler has a career record of 690-311.
3,043 Senior guard Jordan Zubich’s career points, becoming Mountain Iron-Buhl’s all-time girls basketball leading scorer. The North Carolina commit broke Chelsea Mason’s school record of 3,035.
Projected Gophers starting center Frank Mitchell will miss Wednesday’s opener against Oral Roberts with a shoulder injury and will be revaluated next week.
