Boys and girls basketball teams ranked in this week's coaches poll

4 days ago 1

SAINT CLOUD — Four hoops squads are listed on the most recent coaches poll.

The Becker boys are up a few spots in the Class 3A poll and the Albany boys are down in Class 2A. Additionally, the St. Cloud Apollo boys and the Foley girls are receiving votes after going unrecognized last week.

Girls

Foley (8-1) is the only area girls team on the Jan. 5 coaches association poll. The Falcons are receiving votes in the Class 2A poll after being totally unranked last week. They would be ranked 14th between Milaca (7-2) and Minnewaska Area (9-2) if rankings extended that far.

Since losing to Mayer Lutheran (7-4) to open the season, the Falcons have ripped off eight-straight wins behind star seniors Kylie Storkamp, Addison Beier and Alexis Swanson. The first two dominate the backcourt with junior Lydia Anderson, each averaging at least 13 points per game and Swanson grabs 11.6 rebounds per game. The Falcons outscore opponents by 20.6 points per game.

Foley did not play between the last two polls, but since its last win Dec. 27 against St. Francis (7-4), the Falcons beat Albany (5-4) by a score of 62-57 on Tuesday.

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Class 2A girls rankings:

Providence Academy (7-3)
Crosby-Ironton (8-4)
New London-Spicer (10-0)
Marshall School (6-4)
Rochester Lourdes (10-2)
Proctor (11-2)
Minnehaha Academy (9-5)
Perham (11-1)
Fairmont (10-1)
Red Wing (9-3)/Pequot Lakes (7-5)

RV: Caledonia (9-3), Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (11-1), Milaca (7-2), Foley (8-1), Minnewaska Area (9-2)

Athlete of the week poll: Packed lineup on St. Cloud Times athlete of the week poll

Hockey rankings: Handful of mid-Minnesota hockey teams ranked in latest polls

Boys

Though Albany (8-1) did not play a game between the new poll and the last iteration on Dec. 29, the Huskies dropped from No. 7 to No. 9 in Class 2A. The Huskies were jumped by Caledonia (7-3) and Cotter School/Hope Lutheran (10-1), which occupied the bottom positions in the previous poll. Albany's last game in December was its first loss, a 72-62 Granite City Classic matchup against No. 4 Montevideo (8-1). Since the poll was released, Albany beat Osakis (5-3) by a score of 81-61. The Huskies host Melrose Area (4-4) at 7 p.m. next Tuesday.

Senior guard Ashton Olson leads the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game, but junior Jaxon Austin is nearly averaging a triple-double with 14.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The pair is tied with another senior, Brady Rueter, for the most assists on the team (21). Albany averages 65.4 points per game and holds opponents under 50.

Becker (7-1) moving up two spots to No. 8 in Class 3A makes the Bulldogs the the highest ranked boys team in the coverage area. They benefited from a week off and were moved ahead of then-No. 7 St. Peter (9-2) and then-No. 8 Orono (6-3). Becker lost its first game Dec. 26 against Minneapolis South (4-5) by a score of 82-80 in the Capitol City Classic, but the Bulldogs were back in fashion the next day with a 40-point blowout of St. Paul Harding (2-8) at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. They have since defeated Zimmerman (6-5) on Tuesday. Class 3A No. 9 Willmar (8-0) will test Becker at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Willmar.

Also of note in the Class 3A rankings is Apollo (5-3) garnering support with votes to be ranked in Class 3A. The Eagles would be 15th including every team receiving votes after starting 5-0. If the team wants to move up the board, it will have to turn around a three-game losing streak that started Dec. 19 against Class 4A RV Alexandria (5-3). The Cardinals beat Apollo 89-78 and the Eagles dropped both of their home games in the Granite City Classic. Sartell-St. Stephen (3-4) won 71-59 on Dec. 26, and Class 3A RV Princeton (7-3) beat Apollo the next day 95-81.

Class 2A boys rankings: