The Hopkins mystique appears to be wearing off.
The Royals' stranglehold on the top spot in the Metro Top 10 girls basketball poll has come to an end, now that they have lost two of their past five games. The most recent loss was 55-53 at No. 3 Wayzata. Senior forward Abby Krzewinski made two free throws with eight seconds remaining in the matchup of of Lake Conference heavyweights. Hopkins (19-2) rallied in the second half to win the first meeting between the teams 57-50.
Hopkins falls only one spot to No. 2. It might have been a longer fall, but Wayzata (18-3) lost to No. 4 St. Michael-Albertville 77-53 and sacrificed the chance to rise to No. 2. With the Lake powers beating up each other, the beneficiary is Chaska (21-1), which moves into the No. 1 spot. The Hawks' lone setback is to St. Michael-Albertville (19-2).
No. 7 Providence Academy (19-2) and No. 8 Becker (19-3) continue to be the teams to beat in Classes 2A and 3A, respectively.
This week's marquee matchup
Maple Grove at Eden Prairie, 2 p.m. Saturday
The No. 5 Crimson (18-3) get one last shot at a Lake member when they travel to No. 6 Eden Prairie (15-7). The Crimson, riding a 13-game winning streak, are 1-3 against the state's best conference, having lost to Hopkins, Wayzata and St. Michael-Albertville.
Girls basketball Metro Top 10
1. Chaska (21-1)
2. Hopkins (19-2)
