Jan 23, 2025
File photo by Ari Selvey Cedar Mountain’s Aubrey Steffl, pictured dribbling the ball in this Jan. 3 file photo where the Cougars hosted Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, recently became the Cedar Mountain girls basketball all-time scoring leader in just her sophomore year.
MORGAN — Aubrey Steffl has had a quick start to her prep basketball career, playing as early as her seventh-grade season for Cedar Mountain.
Now in her sophomore season, the guard has already hit a historic mark at Cedar Mountain High School.
On Friday, Steffl scored 22 points to surpass Shannon Dallenbach’s career points record for Cedar Mountain girls basketball, a record that has stood since 1991. After Tuesday’s win over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, Steffl now sits at 1,631 career points, along with 749 rebounds, 451 assists and 336 steals with two-and-a-half seasons to go in her prep career.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to reach it,” Steffl said of her record-breaking night. “It’s really nice that I did. Knowing that I still have two more years — I wasn’t really nervous, but I feel like if I got it as a senior, I would feel like I had to reach it. But knowing that I had [two more years], it was just a very fun thing to get. It was new, and a lot of people are supporting me.”
Steffl’s climb to the top of the Cedar Mountain’s record book really got its start during her eighth-grade season. Now a full-time starter, Steffl led the Cougars with 18.7 points per game and was an All-Journal First Team selection. Last year as a freshman, Steffl was an All-Journal Second Team player, averaging 18.8 points per game.
With such an early start to an impressive career, Steffl has been able to achieve things that many players hope to get in their senior seasons. Last year, Steffl reached 1,000 career points as a freshman and has two All-Conference nominations in her career.
Steffl credits the teammates and role models she has had during her career at Cedar Mountain with helping her reach such a lofty goal so quickly.
“They’re a big part, because without them, I couldn’t do anything,” Steffl said. “Even like my teammates from when I was a seventh-grader playing, eighth-grader playing, freshman playing, even now as a sophomore. That’s a really big part. Then also all the hard work I’ve put in with my parents and doing traveling ball and everything has been a big part of it.”
Steffl has leveled up her game this season, averaging 25 points per game through 17 games. But largest growth might have come outside of her scoring this year.
“I feel like my biggest area of improvement has been my assists,” Steffl said. “Because last year, I feel like that was pretty low, and this year I feel like it’s one of my highest. That was my goal to get that higher and to involve my teammates more. And then also my rebounding. I feel like that was lower and I feel like I needed to work on those two more this season.”
Those improvements have shown through in the numbers, as Steffl leads the Tomahawk Division in both rebounds (11.4 per game) and assists (6.1 per game) so far this season, all while markedly increasing her scoring with 25 points per game.
Steffl has recorded four triple doubles this season, two with points, rebounds and assists and two with points, rebounds and steals. Her dominance in all areas on the court just comes with the desire to get a team win.
“It’s definitely my teammates,” Steffl said. “They really help me with it, and I tell them, ‘If I get the ball, I’m going to find you.’ Then wanting to win the game, I don’t even know when I [get a triple double], I’m just going out to win and doing everything possible to get to that point.”
So far, more often than not, Steffl’s play has achieved just that, with the Cougars sitting at a 12-5 record overall. Steffl said her goals for the rest of the season is to continue to work as a team to get wins.
“I think just continuing to play my best and do whatever I can for the team,” she said. “Continuing to get the team in the game, get everybody scoring. As a team, just working in practice, showing up, knowing who we are as a team, that we’re not lower than anybody and we have to work higher for ourselves.”
Information courtesy of Adam Hussman/MLC SID MEN’S BASKETBALL BLC 95, MLC 93 MANKATO – The Martin Luther …
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