Dec. 5—GLENWOOD — It was a season to remember for the Minnewaska girls basketball team.
The Lakers, who went 11-1 in the West Central Conference and 28-5 overall in ’24-25, advanced to the Class AA state tournament for the first time since 1999. It was their fifth in school history.
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But, Minnewaska, which graduated a trio of key seniors, will look different this season.
Sydney Dahl, an All-Area First Team pick who posted 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, is playing women’s basketball at the NCAA Division II Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
Megan Thorfinnson, an All-Area Second Team selection who averaged 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest, also is attending Minnesota State-Moorhead.
Addy Kath is playing women’s basketball at the NCAA Division III Gustavus Adolphus College.
“There is no way to replace the seniors from last year’s team because they had most of our height and scoring,” Lakers head coach Nick Danielson said. “We are going to have to play a different brand of basketball. We are going to be a much smaller team. We will have to rely on playing fast and shooting more three-pointers. It should be a very exciting season. Whether we win or lose, we feel our girls are ready and prepared for the season.”
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Lauryn Ankeny returns as Minnewaska’s top contributor from a season ago. The senior guard is coming off an All-Area Third Team junior year where she tallied 10.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.4 assists per game. She was the WCC’s Defensive MVP last season.
Senior guards Alia Randt and Olivia Danielson are also back.
Danielson also listed junior Eliana Marthaler, sophomore Berlynn Green and freshmen Nori Song and Allie Mrnak as players to watch.
“These four girls have not played a ton of varsity minutes yet, but we are very excited to see them on the court,” Danielson said. “They are all very athletic and have the ability to put the ball in the basket. It is going to be very fun to see how they mesh with our seniors.”
Brad Randt, Makenzie Larsen and Josh Greene are Danielson’s assistant coaches.
