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Girls’ basketball state tournament preview: Story lines range from revenge to redemption

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 03/15/22, 5:00PM CDT

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Hopkins has matters to correct in Class 4A, Becker aims for a repeat in 3A, high-scoring youngsters dominate 2A and vengeance is sought in 1A.


Hopkins guard Amaya Battle, who tried to get off a shot against Wayzata’s Grace Weber during the section final last week, said she and her teammates have a list of reasons to win the state title this season. Photo by AARON LAVINSKY, Star Tribune

CLASS 4A
Hopkins seeks redemption

In 2020, the Royals’ expected run to a state championship was derailed when the tournament was canceled after the quarterfinals because of COVID-19. Last year they took a state-record-tying 78-game winning streak into the semifinals, only to be upset 67-62 by eventual champion Chaska. The Royals players speak often about the motivation provided by those situations. “Both of those play into this year,” Royals guard Amaya Battle said. “Now we just want to win it all.”

South Suburban style
The talk all season was of the dominance of the Lake Conference, which managed to place two teams, Hopkins and St. Michael-Albertville, into the Class 4A tournament. Perhaps the focus should have been on the South Suburban, which has three teams in the field (Shakopee, Lakeville North and Rosemount).

Familiar faces
The Class 4A field is loaded with state tournament experience. The eight teams in the bracket have 73 previous tournament appearances among them, with three programs already in double digits: Hopkins (15), St. Michael-Albertville (10) and Lakeville North (10). This will be White Bear Lake’s 10th tournament trip.

CLASS 3A
The Porter effect

St. Paul Como Park, making its first tournament appearance since 2016 and second overall, is 97-24 since 5-4 senior guard Ronnie Porter, who is on the Ms. Basketball watch list, moved into the starting lineup as an eighth-grader. She’s averaging 22.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.

Playing up
Of Totino-Grace’s eight losses, seven have been to Class 4A teams. The Eagles play in the Northwest Suburban Conference, which is made up primarily of teams in the state’s largest class, and had a stretch this season of 16 consecutive games against 4A teams.

Ready to repeat?
After beginning the season 6-4, 2021 Class 3A champion Becker, the No. 1 seed, is looking like a team prepared to defend its title. The Bulldogs, who count Class 4A powers Wayzata and Minnetonka, as well at Wisconsin power Appleton East, among teams that have defeated them, have ripped off 17 consecutive victories. All have been by 14 points or more.

CLASS 2A
Counts to three

While Providence Academy eighth-grade wunderkind Maddyn Greenway gets the accolades, the basketball legacy runs deep for the top-seeded Lions. They also feature the three Counts sisters: Maria, a 5-11 senior; Grace, a 6-1 junior; and Hope, a 6-2 freshman. They are granddaughters of former NBA 7-footer Mel Counts, who played as a pro from 1964 to 1976 and won an Olympic gold medal with the United States in 1964.

Winning history
A strong championship legacy marks the quarterfinals matchup between No. 4 seed Albany and No. 5 Rochester Lourdes. Albany has won four state titles, including last year, while Lourdes has eight state titles to its credit, most recently in 2005.

Big numbers early
Three players broke the state record for being the quickest to 1,000 career points this season. Two of them are playing in the tournament. Minnehaha Academy freshman Addi Mack topped 1,000 in the 49th game of her career. Maddyn Greenway did it in her 46th game. The record is 40 games, set in February by Crosby-Ironton eighth-grader Tori Oehrlein.

CLASS 1A
Rangers revenge?

The quarterfinal matchup between No. 1 seed Mountain Iron-Buhl and defending champion Minneota is a rematch of the 2021 semifinal in which Minneota rallied from a six-point deficit with 2:16 to play and won 54-53 on a free throw by Abby Hennen with two seconds left. Mountain Iron-Buhl is the highest-scoring team in 1A, averaging 83.7 points per game.

Veteran Vikings
Minneota is making its 11th state tournament appearance, all since 2005, and its ninth in the past 11 years. The Vikings have won three state championships. Many of the Vikings also play for the volleyball team, which has made 15 tournament trips and won Class 1A championships in 2006, 2018 and 2019. Minneota lost in the 2021 volleyball final to Mayer Lutheran, which is seeded No. 2 in the Class 1A basketball tournament.

Three schools become one
United Christian Academy, which plays Mayer Lutheran in the quarterfinals, is located in Bloomington and was formed by merging three established private schools: Bethany Academy, Christian Life of Farmington and Life Academy of Bloomington. UCA joins Nevis as first-time state tournament entrants.

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