File photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Morgan Mathiowetz was named the All-Journal Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the 2024- 2025 season.

SLEEPY EYE — Morgan Mathiowetz just had one of the greatest seasons in Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s basketball history.

Mathiowetz scored 1,143 total points, a record for St. Mary’s basketball and most in the state this season, for an average of 33.6 per game. Mathiowetz also averaged 7.9 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 4.8 assists per game. She surpassed both the 2,000-point career mark and the 2,500-point threshold this season, wrapping up the year with 2,519 career points.

Mathiowetz led the Knights to plenty of team success as well, with St. Mary’s reaching the state tournament, where they finished fourth and Mathiowetz was on the All-Tournament team. The Knights also finished with a team record for wins in a season with a 30-4 mark. Before that, the Knights also won in the first-ever Tomahawk-Valley Conference Girls Basketball Championship.

Mathiowetz was the Tomahawk Division Girls Basketball Player of the Year, an All-State Player in Class A and earned her third All-Conference selection this season.

For her achievements, Mathiowetz has been unanimously selected as the 2024-2025 All-Journal Girls Basketball Player of the Year, as voted on by The Journal’s sports staff.

“I think it means a lot,” Mathiowetz said. “I think it shows how important the sport is to me, and I just want to thank all the people around me. None of this would be possible without my teammates, coaches and family around me. And just the culture we at St. Mary’s. I feel like we really emphasize hard work, coming to practice every day and working hard, and I think our team really did that this year and we found ourselves be very successful with that mentality. I think it was a really special year and all these awards just emphasize how great my teammates are in helping me get these awards.”

And while Mathiowetz already has four years of varsity basketball under her belt, she still has two more to go as she closes her sophomore season. Mathiowetz credits the example set by previous year’s St. Mary’s teams for her quick start.

“In my younger years, I was just learning from other girls,” Mathiowetz said. “I think they set the tone for St. Mary’s and built our characters while we were learning from them. They were very inspiring for all of us. I would say learning from all of them, and just playing with my team. We’ve been playing with each other for a long time, so it’s really easy to come back every season and be with the same girls every year and just kind of know what to expect.

“I would say that’s a big thing, having that consistency with our program. I still have two more years, so it’s super exciting. Obviously we got to the state tournament this year, and we came up two games short of the ultimate goal. Just knowing that we have two more years to get back to that game and go on another run in the state tournament is definitely the goal.”

Mathiowetz didn’t just lead the state in scoring this season, she had the third-highest points total in Minnesota state girls basketball history, according to MSHSL.com. Mathiowetz said her scoring prowess was a testament to the confidence that the team built throughout the season.

“There’s a lot of good basketball in Minnesota,” she said. “To be recognized with some of those girls is really inspiring. A lot of those girls before me set the tone. You start the season, and you just kind of stay consistent throughout each game. But as the games go on, you build your confidence up. I think for us, we started to get more confident in each other and comfortable for each other, and we just ran with it and never looked back.

“We set our goals and we achieved them at the end of the year. I think all those things in between are a big part of that. Knowing that you have to score and make plays to get to those goals at the end of the year.”

Last season, Mathiowetz averaged 28.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game, and this year, nearly all her numbers saw improvement. Despite her gaudy scoring numbers, Mathiowetz believes her biggest improvement from a season ago is in her playmaking and making a difference on the fringes.

“My ability to create for other people,” Mathiowetz said. “A lot of teams, if they zone in on one player, that player usually has to create for your teammates. Giving my teammates the opportunity to score the ball, that’s been the biggest thing. And also doing the little things. Obviously scoring is a big part of the game, but there’s so many other things you can do, like rebounding and steals and just trying to do all the little things that come together to get the big goals in the end.”

Mathiowetz’s ability to create for her teammates came through this season, as she had three teammates — Olivia Schieffert, Natalie Fischer and Brynne Ibberson — average over 9 points a game this year, with each having the ability to score 20 in a game.

Mathiowetz said some moments that stand out to her from the season are the Section 2A title game against BOLD, where Mathiowetz converted a last-minute and-one to give the Knights the win to send them to the state tournament, and all the small moments with her team.

“[Getting to the state tournament] was a dream come true for me,” Mathiowetz said. “It was just super exciting to go with the team we had this year, and hopefully we’ll get back there the next two years, but never know what happens, so obviously never taking it for granted. And then just making memories throughout the season that a lot of other people don’t get to see with the team, outside of basketball too. It’s always important and you remember the memories that you make more than the games that you win. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

At the state tournament, St. Mary’s defeated Sacred Heart in the first round before falling to MACCRAY and Goodhue in the next two games. All three games were close, however, with just a few baskets being the difference between winning and losing. Mathiowetz said her biggest takeaway from the state tournament was the memories she was able to make with her team.

“It was an unforgettable experience,” she said. “In 2021 [the last St. Mary’s team to make the state tournament] they didn’t get the full state experience because it was COVID. So it was very rewarding to go up there and get the full experience and just make those memories that you’ll have for the rest of your life with your teammates. It was just a very fun experience and we’re hungry to get back there next year. That will be the goal. Just knowing that it will take a lot of hard work to get back there, it won’t happen over night. Just staying consistent and keeping your eyes on the prize.”

Mathiowetz said her biggest learning experience from state was how to deal with the pre-game nerves.

“Knowing that you’re going to have a lot of nerves coming into the game,” she said. “It’s definitely a lot bigger that your regular season game. Just knowing that there’s going to be a lot of nerves, and that’s OK, because everybody there is going to have those same feelings. Just knowing that you have to go on the court and play your game and everything is going to fall in place, and my teammates just realized that we have each other’s backs no matter what.

“You can go through the stat tournament and get blown out, or you can play your heart out and give it everything you have, and I think we really did do that. We went up there and we played the best basketball we played all season I think. We finally put all the little things together and put the puzzle pieces in and had a really great experience.”

Aside from making a return to the state tournament, Mathiowetz has a few goals for next season.

“Doing the same things we did this year obviously,” she said. “[Winning] the conference is going to be a big goal for us, but also taking it one game at a time. I think, especially with injuries, like Kylie Pelzel, we had her back this year, trying to get her back. And obviously never taking any game for granted, because you never know what’s going to happen.

“Just enjoying every game at a time and making memories, but you want to be really competitive in the games you play. Not taking any team for granted or overlooking anybody, just playing every game hard, and I think next year I think we have the ability to take our game and our team to the next level. Working throughout the summer will get us there if we work hard.”