Action abounds in girls basketball Metro Top 10, but change is elusive

The top teams in the Lake Conference squared off and didn't change a thing in the girls basketball Metro Top 10.

No. 1 Minnetonka (13-0) beat No. 3 St. Michael-Albertville (13-1) and No. 2 Hopkins (12-2) slipped past No. 6 Eden Prairie (13-2), leading to no movement among the top seven teams.

Class 4A defending state champion St. Michael-Albertville played without its leading scorer, senior guard Ja'Kahla Craft, and lost 63-54 to Minnetonka. Craft, who is committed to Seton Hall and averaging 25.8 points per game, dislocated her right pinkie finger four nights earlier in a 74-62 triumph over No. 5 Maple Grove (10-2). Coach Kent Hamre's team must face a demanding schedule for the next couple of weeks with Craft sidelined.

Sophomore guard Maddyn Greenway continues to score well for No. 4 Providence Academy (12-2), getting 49 points in a 94-72 victory over Edina, her fifth 40-point game of the season.

Andover (10-2) climbs into the Top 10 at No. 10 after Chaska suffered a pair of losses.

Keep an eye on Class 3A defending state champion Benilde-St. Margaret's (7-5) now that Michigan recruit Olivia Olson has returned to the lineup. The Red Knights beat Chaska 66-58 and New Prague 78-39, then won a rematch of the state title game against Stewartville 74-48 on Saturday. Olson, a senior guard, suffered a broken left hand in the season opener.

No. 7 Wayzata (11-3) gets a chance to climb in the rankings in a matchup with the Eagles, slotted right above. The Trojans edged Eden Prairie in both games a year ago, 54-52 and 63-52 in overtime. Expect more of the same in this one.

2. Hopkins (12-2). Last week: 2

3. St. Michael-Albertville (13-1). Last week: 3

4. Providence Academy (2A) (12-2). Last week: 4

5. Maple Grove (10-2). Last week: 5

6. Eden Prairie (13-2). Last week: 6

8. Rosemount (11-3). Last week: 9

9. Lakeville North (8-4). Last week: 8