Rae Ehrman would much prefer to have the spotlight shine on her teammates. But after Eden Prairie’s 29-point romp over Buffalo on Tuesday, it was impossible for the senior guard to avoid the attention of all in attendance in the Eagles’ home gymnasium.
“I’d rather it be on the team, as it takes everyone to get individual accomplishments,” Ehrman said afterward.
The co-captain led the Eagles with 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, shooting 10-for-13 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
The game stats were outstanding, but this was a night of milestones as Ehrman scored her 1,000th career point.
“It felt really good,” she said of the achievement, with the look of someone hoping to change the subject immediately and redirect the focus back on her team.
“Yeah, that’s awesome. That was a big deal,” Eden Prairie head coach Ellen Wiese said. “She deserves it, that’s for sure. And I’m glad she got it.”
Ehrman’s performance led Eden Prairie to an easy 77-48 win over the Bison in the regular season’s penultimate game.
The No. 5 Eagles closed out their schedule with another resounding result the following night, trouncing Centennial 77-58. The win clinched the No. 1 seed in Section 2AAAA, leaving players with more than a week to rejuvenate before the playoffs.
“Now everybody is focused on what’s next,” Wiese said.
Before this week, the Eagles had found themselves in the belly of the beast, battling the best teams in the Lake Conference in a four-game gauntlet.
After taking No. 4 Hopkins into overtime, only to be edged 66-64 on Feb. 4, the Eagles fell to No. 3 Wayzata three days later.
But Eden Prairie bounced back the following week, dismantling No. 8 St. Michael-Albertville 87-59 with the program’s all-time scoring leader and co-captain, Tori Schlagel, leading the way with 33 points. Ehrman added 23 in the win.
Schlagel led Eden Prairie the following game as well, scoring 19 points in a 59-39 win over No. 7 Minnetonka. Senior co-captain Cam Denin added 16 in the victory.
The Eagles finished the regular season with four straight wins, improving their record to 21-5.
The win over Minnetonka gave Eden Prairie a season sweep of the Skippers, which Wiese said helped secure their top placement in the section playoffs.
The Eagles’ top seed earned them a bye and nine days to prepare for the winner of the fourth-seeded Chaska vs. No. 5 Chanhassen game.
Eden Prairie won’t play again until the section semifinal on its home court on Saturday, March 1. And while a nine-day break from competition is a good time to rest and heal, the team is eager to get the postseason underway.
“You’re focused on your goals, which have so much to do with the postseason,” Wiese said. “You use the regular season to get ready for sections, and I think we’re in a really good place. So yeah, it’s time.”
Many of this year’s seniors saw extensive minutes as sophomores in 2023, when Eden Prairie knocked off top-ranked Chaska in the section finals and earned a berth in the state tournament.
Two years later, scorers like Schlagel, Ehrman and Denin, along with senior co-captains Vanessa Jordan and Abby Valiton, as well as senior starter Ella Hardwick, give the Eagles a wealth of experience, with eyes on a mad run into March.
“I feel like we’ve been working all season for this point,” Ehrman said. “So we’re just ready to show what we can do.”
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