After graduating the entire starting lineup from a team that went 26-3 and reached the Section 8AA championship game, head coach Cody Pulju expected a bit of a rebuilding season from the Menahga girls basketball team.
Despite having role players take over starting spots and battling injuries all season, the Braves still managed to post a winning record by finishing third in Park Region Conference play with a 10-4 record while ending the season with a 15-12 overall mark.
The Braves opened the season with a 1-4 start and a 7-9 record after 16 games. Menahga dropped its openers to Pelican Rapids (54-49 in a Section 8AA game) and Henning (73-49 in the conference opener) before defeating Bertha-Hewitt (66-23 in a conference game). Losses to Mountain Iron-Buhl (84-63) and Park Rapids (62-52) were followed with conference wins over Verndale (66-30) and Sebeka (66-33).
After a 54-39 section loss to Crookston, the Braves won conference games against Wadena-Deer Creek (46-44) and Pillager (68-46) and added a victory over Pine River-Backus (58-40). Conference losses to Henning (57-37) and New York Mills (43-28), a loss to Hibbing (45-40), a win over Chisholm (59-50) and a loss to New York Mills (54-44) had Menahga below the .500 mark.
The Braves responded with an eight-game winning streak by defeating Bertha-Hewitt (64-29), Verndale (65-60), Sebeka (52-43), Osakis (38-28), Browerville-Eagle Valley (56-42), W-DC (67-61), Pillager (42-38) and Frazee (59-56). Sauk Centre (52-40) and Hawley (64-58) ended that run to close out the regular season.
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Henning won the conference title with a 14-0 record while New York Mills finished at 11-3. Following Menahga were Wadena-Deer Creek (9-5), Pillager (5-9), Verndale (4-13), Sebeka (3-11) and Bertha-Hewitt (0-14).
For the Section 8AA tournament, the Braves received the No. 10 seed and were eliminated with a 42-38 loss to No. 7 Crookston in the first round. Perham, the No. 1 seed, defeated No. 11 W-DC 58-44 in the section title game.
“I thought we had a great season of growth. We battled injuries all season long and had so many different starting lineups. Many games we were without 2 to 3 starters and this group just kept working and stepping up,” said Pulju. “They battled a lot of adversity and still found a way to win 15 games this season.”
For the season, the Braves averaged 52.1 points a game while shooting 37% from the field (532 for 1,438, including making 98 of 454 3-pointers) and 57.6% on free throws (245 for 425). Menahga averaged 15.1 turnovers a game while forcing 21.3 turnovers and allowing 48.8 points a night.
Leading the Braves this season were juniors Janelle Hendrickson, Erica Tormanen and Addie Pinoniemi; and sophomores Mackenzie Anderson, Anjalie Aho, Taija Pinoniemi, Joie Koll, Leah Weaver, Niina Pinoniemi and Anna Pietila. Anderson and Hendrickson received all-conference honors while Aho and Tormanen were all-conference honorable mention players. Anderson received the team’s Offensive MVP award and Hendrickson was named the Braves’ Defensive MVP.
Tormanen led the team by averaging 14.8 points a game, scoring 281 points in 19 games. Tormanen also had 78 rebounds, 19 steals and 18 assists.
Anderson played in 26 games and led the Braves with 354 points (13.6 per game), 127 rebounds, 71 steals and 39 3-pointers while chipping in 40 assists.
Hendrickson was third in scoring at 8.5 per game, scoring 222 points in 26 games. Hendrickson was second with 19 3-pointers and 123 rebounds while adding 35 assists and 38 steals.
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Aho led the team with 100 assists and was second with 68 steals while scoring 173 points (6.4 per game). Aho hit 14 3-pointers and grabbed 79 rebounds while playing in all 27 games.
Weaver missed 17 games with an injury, finishing the season by averaging 7.2 points a game. In 10 games, Weaver scored 72 points and had 72 rebounds, 16 steals and 14 assists.
Koll also missed time, playing in 17 games and averaging 4.8 points a game. Koll scored 81 points and had 64 rebounds, 22 assists and 21 steals.
Taija Pinoniemi scored 91 points (4.0 per game) and had 66 rebounds, 16 assists and 15 steals in 23 appearances.
Niina Pinoniemi played in 26 games and contributed 49 points, 64 rebounds, 24 assists and 22 steals.
Pietila finished the season with 46 points, 49 rebounds, 23 steals and 18 assists in 24 games.
Addie Pinoniemi chipped in 25 points and 10 rebounds in nine games.
Also seeing some varsity time were senior Abby Johnson; sophomores Maddie Hendrickson and Isabelle Aho; freshmen Joanna Lehto, Kiana Skoog and Elise Torola; and seventh graders Dreah Christiansen and Kylie Anderson.
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With 16 players returning next season, Pulju is counting on the Braves to have a productive offseason and move up in both the conference and section standings.
“We return our top 16 scorers from this season and now have a lot of experience to build off,” said Pulju. “Hopefully we can stay healthy and hungry this offseason and heading into next winter.”
Menahga statistics
Scoring average: Tormanen 14.8, Anderson 13.6, J. Hendrickson 8.5, Weaver 7.2, A. Aho 6.4, Koll 4.8, T. Pinoniemi 4.0, A. Pinoniemi 2.9, N. Pinoniemi 1.9, Pietila 1.9, Christiansen 1.8, Torola 0.4, I. Aho 0.3, M. Hendrickson 0.2, Johnson 0.0, Skoog 0.0, Lehto 0.0, Anderson 0.0.
Points: Anderson 354, Tormanen 281, J. Hendrickson 222, A. Aho 173, T. Pinoniemi 91, Koll 81, Weaver 72, N. Pinoniemi 49, Pietila 46, A. Pinoniemi 25, Christiansen 7, M. Hendrickson 2, I. Aho 2, Torola 2.
Field goals: Anderson 134-361, Tormanen 108-225, J. Hendrickson 75-235, A. Aho 65-190, T. Pinoniemi 36-102, Weaver 32-72, Koll 32-92, N. Pinoniemi 23-57, Pietila 16-63, A. Pinoniemi 8-26, Christiansen 2-3, M. Hendrickson 1-7, Johnson 0-1, I. Aho 0-2, Torola 0-2.
Three-pointers: Anderson 39-152, J. Hendrickson 19-87, A. Aho 14-67, T. Pinoniemi 8-28, Koll 6-39, A. Pinoniemi 4-15, Tormanen 4-18, Pietila 3-30, Weaver 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Christiansen 0-1, M. Hendrickson 0-3, N. Pinoniemi 0-9.
Free throws: Tormanen 61-91, J. Hendrickson 53-92, Anderson 47-87, A. Aho 29-46, T. Pinoniemi 11-17, Pietila 11-18, Koll 11-24, Weaver 7-19, A. Pinoniemi 5-9, Christiansen 3-4, I. N. Pinoniemi 3-10, Aho 2-2, Torola 2-3, M. Hendrickson 0-3.
Rebounds: Anderson 127, J. Hendrickson 123, A. Aho 79, Tormanen 78, Weaver 72, T. Pinoniemi 66, N. Pinoniemi 64, Koll 64, Pietila 49, A. Pinoniemi 10, M. Hendrickson 10, Torola 4, Johnson 2, Lehto 2, I. Aho 1, Christiansen 1, Skoog 1.
Assists: A. Aho 100, Anderson 40, J. Hendrickson 35, N. Pinoniemi 24, Koll 22, Tormanen 18, Pietila 18, T. Pinoniemi 16, Weaver 14, M. Hendrickson 3, A. Pinoniemi 3, I. Aho 2, Torola 1.
Steals: Anderson 71, A. Aho 68, J. Hendrickson 38, Pietila 23, N. Pinoniemi 22, Koll 21, Tormanen 19, Weaver 16, T. Pinoniemi 15, A. Pinoniemi 5, I. Aho 2, M. Hendrickson 1, Christiansen 1.
Blocked shots: Weaver 14, Tormanen 8, Anderson 7, A. Aho 6, J. Hendrickson 6, Koll 4, A. Pinoniemi 1.
Fouls: Anderson 53, J. Hendrickson 43, Tormanen 43, A. Aho 40, T. Pinoniemi 40, Koll 40, N. Pinoniemi 25, Weaver 21, Pietila 20, A. Pinoniemi 16, M. Hendrickson 5, Torola 2, Johnson 2, I. Aho 1, Christiansen 1.
Turnovers: Anderson 66, J. Hendrickson 62, A. Aho 51, Tormanen 43, Koll 43, T. Pinoniemi 32, Pietila 25, N. Pinoniemi 22, Weaver 21, A. Pinoniemi 17, M. Hendrickson 8, I. Aho 6, Johnson 2, Torola 1, Christiansen 1.
Minutes: Anderson 860, A. Aho 830, J. Hendrickson 830, Tormanen 487, T. Pinoniemi 426, N. Pinoniemi 382, Pietila 325, Weaver 240, A. Pinoniemi 88, M. Hendrickson 60, I. Aho 20, Christiansen 11, Torola 10, Johnson 10, Lehto 4, Skoog 3, Anderson 2.
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