Prep athletes of the week: Davon Townley leads Minneapolis North to winning basketball form

North coach Larry McKenzie has never shied away from competition. Always seeking the best opponents, looking to prepare his team for the postseason, the Polars rarely go through a season without suffering a few bumps.

They're rounding into shape now at 11-5, having won four consecutive games. Townley, a skilled 6-7 junior power forward, is leading the way. He averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds as North defeated archrival Minneapolis Henry 68-56, crushed Minneapolis South 93-53 and cruised past Maranatha 62-50.

"With Quintrail Travis missing on an official visit to Iowa State, he led the Polars to a victory over Henry with 19 points and 18 rebounds and essentially put the Polars in position to clinch our seventh consecutive Minneapolis City Conference title," McKenzie said.

Townley, who also was a defensive end for North's Class 2A runner-up football team, added 20 points in the victory over South and had 16 to help it rally from a six-point halftime deficit against Maranatha.

"His dominance in the paint against Maranatha was the key to us getting a section win against a previously top-10 ranked [Class] AA team," McKenzie said.

The freshman goaltender posted back-to-back shutouts, defeating Centennial and Hutchinson both by 3-0 margins. She made 41 saves across the two games, giving her seven shutouts on the season, a .944 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average.

The senior point guard guided the Lions to three victories, including a 59-38 rout of Minnehaha Academy, extending their winning streak to seven games. In total, she scored 53 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and added 10 steals.

The Tigers handed Class 1A, Section 2 rival Mound Westonka a 7-1 defeat last Tuesday, with the sophomore forward playing a big role by scoring twice and adding three assists. On Friday he scored the game's first goal in a 3-1 victory over Hutchinson.

The two-time state champion and the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 120 pounds in Class 2A improved his record to 37-1 on the season by going 4-0 in the Orono Invitational. He won two matches by pin and two by technical fall.

The senior forward has been on a scoring spree over his past five games. He has recorded 11 goals and added three assists as the Raptors went 4-1, highlighted by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime Thursday in a 3-2 upset of Cretin-Derham Hall.

The senior forward paced the Eagles to two St. Paul Conference victories in a three-game stretch. He had 27 points in a 66-62 victory over Harding, 20 in an 88-76 loss to Johnson and 28 in a 90-82 victory over Humboldt.

Jim PauLSEN