No. 1 Providence Academy gets past No. 2 Minnehaha Academy in girls basketball

Providence Academy doesn’t hold the No. 1 ranking in Class 2A girls basketball because of one player.

Even if that one player is sophomore Maddyn Greenway, one of the nation’s most highly regarded sophomores.

Greenway needed help Friday, and that help came from teammates Brooke Hohenecker and Ari Peterson.

Hohenecker made back-to-back three-point shots in the final eight minutes to give Providence Academy the lead for good in a 98-90 victory over Class 2A’s No. 2 team, host Minnehaha Academy. Peterson led Providence Academy with 26 points. Hope Counts and Emma Millerbernd had 15 each, and that depth helped the Lions overcome a double-digit deficit early in the second half.

Greenway, averaging 34.2 points per game, finished with 20.

“[When Maddyn isn’t scoring] I look for more options to drive or opportunities off passes or screens,” Peterson said. “When she is off shooting, she can pass and hopefully get a bucket off of that.”

Hohenecker made a corner three-pointer off a pass from Greenway with 7:23 left in the game to give the Lions a 76-75 lead. She made a shot from the opposite side on the next possession. The Lions (14-2) built the lead to as much as 11 with just over two minutes left.

The challenge didn’t surprise Providence Academy coach Conner Goetz.

“Brooke has always been able to bury from deep,” he said. “Last year we were here, she made eight threes, seven of them in the first half. She usually shoots really well in this gym. It was just a matter of time. Can you find her? Can you find her? We knew they were sagging off. Maddyn found her a couple different times in transition and in the drive. [Hohenecker] buried big ones to change the momentum.”

Minnehaha Academy (16-3) counters with its own superstar, Addi Mack, averaging 30.8 points a game. She scored a game-high 33 and took over the game with 13 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. The Lions held her to eight points the rest of the game. Sinae Hill scored 23 points for the Redhawks.

“It’s really hard to stop a kid like Addi. It’s almost impossible,” Goetz said. “Millerbernd played a really good game defensively. We tried to help her as much as we could. Their other kids really stepped up. [Today] showed the depth of both teams. Where it’s not just Maddyn and Addi. It’s five-on-five. It’s a full team-vs.-team atmosphere.”

Even with No. 1 playing No. 2, the crowd’s focus was challenged. The game was a prelude to a ceremony honoring Chet Holmgren, former Minnehaha Academy star now in the NBA and in town for his Oklahoma City Thunder’s game Saturday against the Timberwolves. The Thunder contingent arrived during the girls game and crossed the court near one basket, causing heads to turn away from the court as the game went on. After the game, Holmgren’s No. 34 was retired, and he spoke to the crowd.

“This is my chance to say thank you to everybody who helped give me the opportunity to become who I am and make this possible for me,” he said. “My jersey will be on the wall as an example of the standard that should be kept for everybody who walks through the door of this school, and if you uphold that standard it might not help you get your jersey retired but it will help you do great things in life.”