Duluth Marshall's Gianna Kneepkens Sets New State Scoring Record

While it wasn't the way the Duluth Marshall girls basketball team hoped their season would end, the Hilltoppers capped off their 2020-2021 campaign with an offensive shootout that put one of their players in the state record books.

In the opening round of the Class AA State Girls Basketball Tournament, Duluth Marshall fell to Providence Academy Tuesday evening in a high-scoring 94-91 thriller, easily outscoring all of the other games in the first round of the tournament. While Providence Academy squeaked out a victory, senior Gianna Kneepkens put up a record-setting performance for the Hilltoppers in their attempt to advance in the tourney.

Kneepkens scored 67 of the Duluth Marshall's 91 points Tuesday night, putting her into the history books in a few different categories. The senior's tally eclipsed the previous single-game Minnesota girls scoring record of 63 points set back in 2018 by McKenna Hofschild of Prior Lake. Kneepkens point total in the game also far surpassed the previous single-game tournament scoring record of 53 points, set in 2014 by Carlie Wagner of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

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Tuesday night's performance added yet another line to Kneepkens's already lengthy list of high-scoring performances in games. Aside from holding the record for best single-game scoring performance of 67, Gianna also shows up 5 other times in top scoring performances, including a previous high of 56 points set earlier this season, which is tied for 4th best single-game performance in Minnesota girls basketball.

With her high school career complete, Kneepkens finds herself the fifth-highest career scorer in Minnesota girl's basketball history. She will look to continue her basketball career at the Division 1 level in college, committing last spring to the University of Utah.