Twin Ports Power 5: 'Topper girls move into top spot

DULUTH — Ninth-ranked Duluth Marshall had a busy week battling its way to multiple statement wins, beginning with an impressive showing Monday, Jan. 20, at the MLK Classic at St. Catherine’s University in St. Paul.

Coach C.J. Osuchukwu's Hilltoppers took down an ascending Rochester Lourdes team, which entered the contest with wins in eight of their last nine games, before edging out the once-beaten Proctor Rails on Wednesday in a battle between Section 7AA contenders.

Marshall put an exclamation point on the impressive week with a home win over a strong Northome/Kelliher team on Saturday.

The boys’ list remains largely unchanged with the top dogs Cherry, Esko and Denfeld all standing pat in the top three.

Cherry remains an elite ball-moving juggernaut after collecting one of its biggest wins of the season on Saturday down in the Twin Cities. The Tigers blew out a tough Minneapolis North squad by 19 points to improve to 19-0.

Esko has bounced back well since taking its fourth loss of the season against St. Paul Johnson, picking up three straight victories over Superior (74-72), Two Harbors (84-53), and Maple River (69-61) this week.

Denfeld has been up and down at times this season, but remains dangerous with its height down low possessed by 6-foot-6 Antonio Brown and 6-foot-3 Berkley Messel, along with speed to burn at the guard position with Marnaries Ferguson and Lee Brooks.

The Hunters topped Superior on the road in a down-to-the-wire Lake Superior Conference tilt and followed it up with a convincing win over Hermantown this week.

— Jake Pryztarski

• This list and its comments are based on games sports reporters Jamey Malcomb, Reagan Hoverman and Jake Pryztarski have watched and/or stats that have been submitted to the Duluth News Tribune.
• This is a ranking of the top five basketball teams — boys and girls — in the Northland, regardless of class size.
• We are allowed to be prisoners of the moment. If a struggling team gets a fun win, they might pop up on the Five and disappear the next week.
• To keep things a little varied, we’re going to choose three teams from the two rankings to write a little about each week.

If the Hilltoppers can shoot it like they did early last week against Proctor, they can play with any team in the state.

They came out on fire and built a 20-point lead, but instead of a knockout punch, Marshall had to gut out a 69-65 win. The Hilltoppers didn’t collapse, but I think they also learned this Proctor team is as good as advertised.

One other thing about these teams. I won’t use the cliche that these girls “don’t like each other very much.” It has such a negative connotation to it, but they are genuinely competitive with each other and they want to win. That, friends, is a rivalry and we need a few more of them.

— Jamey Malcomb

These Rangers look very, very different from the last several years.

Instead of Jordan Zubich and Hali Savela raining 3-pointers on everyone in the state, it’s a host of players getting it done for coach Jeff Buffetta.

Fourth-ranked MIB's top four players — Anna Neyens, Aniyah Thomas, Izzy Wiita and Sami Warwas — are all averaging at least 10 points per game. What’s more, all four average at least three assists per game as well.

That’s the sort of balance that makes the Rangers almost as dangerous as when Zubich was launching 3-pointers from the moon.

— JDM

Northwestern has been a pleasant surprise this season. I knew the Tigers would be formidable, but an 11-4 start to the year, including a 10-0 record in Heart O’North Conference play, has been impressive.

The Tigers have won six-straight games dating back nearly a month and the steady play of Abby Johnson, alongside Jillian Kunert, Wisconsin’s second-leading shot-blocker, has made Northwestern a legitimate threat.

Johnson and Kunert, who average 19.6 and 13.5 points per game, respectively, account for more than half of Northwestern’s offensive production every night. The Tigers have a couple of marquee games coming up, and that will tell us more about them moving forward.

— Reagan Hoverman

The top-ranked Tigers just keep cruising along this season and I think it’s time to ask the question, will anyone challenge these guys before the state tournament?

The only team within 10 points of Cherry this season has been Dawson-Boyd, the No. 2 Class A team in the state.

How are Jordan Christianson’s Tigers doing it? One word: balance. Cherry has four players scoring in double digits: Noah Sundquist, Isaiah Asuma, Noah Asuma and Carson Brown.

If that sounds familiar, balance is how the Tigers smashed their way to the Class A title last year.

— JDM

For opposing players looking to go toe-to-toe with 6-foot-6 Denfeld big man Antonio Brown in the post, you’d better pack a lunch.

Brown was a force to be reckoned with in Thursday’s game against Superior in scoring 10 first-half points, the bulk of which came on putbacks and second-chance baskets.

Brown, along with versatile 6-4 wing Carter Brown, provides the perfect complement to ultra-quick senior guard Marnaries Ferguson and junior Lee Brooks in the starting five.

— JP

The week of Jan. 13 proved to be the first rough patch Cloquet has been forced to navigate this season. The ‘Jacks followed up a seven-point loss at home to Rock Ridge with a 92-46 defeat at Superior just three days later.

Senior guard Jack Battaglia, who scored just 12 points at Superior, bounced back with a 36-point effort, including six points and six assists, in an 82-53 win at Proctor on Jan. 21.

Cloquet may have hit turbulence, but their plane is still cruising at 36,000 feet and will arrive on time. A couple of lackluster shooting nights do not change my belief that they’re a legitimately talented team capable of doing something special this year.

— RH