Four familiar faces are once again chasing a championship

“Do more, say less.” That has been the mantra for the Eastview Lightning throughout the 2018-19 high school basketball season. In what we all thought would be a rebuilding year following the graduation of star forward Megan Walstad (UW-Milwaukee) and friends, Eastview has worked quietly in the shadows while the spotlight has been shining elsewhere. Not many people gave them a chance of winning a second consecutive Class AAAA state championship. Heck, not many people gave them a chance of even being at Williams Arena this week. Yet here they are, returning to the state tournament for another shot, where the Lightning are joined by a trio of recent champions who are all trying to do the same thing. The 2018 champs from Robbinsdale Cooper are back in Class AAA, the 2017 champs from Roseau are back in AA and the 2016 and 2017 winners from Goodhue will once again chase a championship in Class A. To be clear, 29-0 Hopkins – the #1 team in the state, a top 10 team in the country, and the most talented squad in the tournament – are heavy favorites to take home the big prize. Really heavy. Bet-the-farm heavy. But as past seasons have taught us Lightning can strike. So what, exactly, does ‘do more, say less’ really mean? “We do feel like a lot of different people have doubted us in different years and in a lot of different ways,” Eastview coach Molly Kasper said following her team’s dramatic section final win over Rosemount. “We are the program that somehow falls to the back burner, which is fine… We just kind of keep our mouths shut and go about our business the way that Eastview does it, and we like the way we do it. It kind of all started from that.” Walstad was such a valuable piece for Eastview. So, too, were seniors Mariah Alipate and Andrea Abrams. The idea that the program had enough tools left in its box this season to repeat seemed unlikely. But as the year has progressed we have seen senior Jordan Morris make significant improvement. We have watched junior Brynn Schwanz step up big time. And we have seen stellar play from seniors Macy Guebert (South Dakota) and Emma Carpenter (UM-Crookston), along with standout sophomore Cassidy Carson. All of those pieces have been important. From where we sit, however, it appears as though the winning wildcard has been senior Lauren Glas, who isn’t even a full-time basketball player! Glas is good at soccer. Really good. Good enough to earn a D1 scholarship at the University of North Dakota. This season she has made it crystal clear, though, that she is a darn good hooper, too. Glas is as fierce a competitor as you will find, and way more talented than she gets credit for. Lauren’s sheer will and tenacity has helped push Eastview back into the conversation. Glas’ no-nonsense, workman-like approach to the game epitomizes the Lightning’s team culture. “We think we can compete with anyone in the state on any given night and I think our culture is a big part of that,” Kasper said. “We are not outcome-based. I care about us being good teammates, playing good defense, and giving full effort. We preach it day in and day out, and if you don’t buy into it we have hard, head-on conversations about it. We will skip an entire day of practice to figure it out in the classroom. We will talk about it, we will grind it out, we will have one-on-one meetings, we will have team meetings, we will do everything and anything so that when they get on the court they play for each other… I’d like to think that makes a big difference when you are on a big stage in a really big game because you’re not playing for that, you’re playing for each other, and that’s all we want.” Here’s a synopsis of the four former champions who are trying to recapture the big prize.   CLASS AAAA – Eastview Lightning <ul> <li>Location – Apple Valley (population 52,435) is an outer suburb located 21 miles south of Minneapolis.</li> <li>Section – 3AAAA</li> <li>Record – 24-5</li> <li>Coach – Molly Kasper</li> <li>Recent state titles – 2018, 2014</li> <li>Key players – Macy Guebert, Emma Carpenter, Lauren Glas, Cassidy Carson, Brynn Schwanz, Jordan Morris</li> <li>How they got here – Eastview showed its experience in the last minute of a thrilling section final to get past upstart Rosemount.</li> <li>Who stands in the way – Eastview has a long road through Forest Lake and most likely Stillwater to meet #1 and heavily-favored Hopkins (29-0).</li> <li>First game – 4 p.m. Wednesday at Williams Arena vs Forest Lake</li> </ul>   CLASS AAA – Cooper Hawks <ul> <li>Location – New Hope (population 21,032) is an inner-ring suburb 10 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis</li> <li>Section – 6AAA</li> <li>Record – 20-8</li> <li>Coach – Kiara Buford</li> <li>Last state title – 2018</li> <li>Key players – Aja Wheeler, Kierra Wheeler, Andrea Tribble, Sierra Lynch, Arthel Massaquoi, Jayla Reliford</li> <li>How they got here – Cooper defeated Waconia 52-51 in the section finals on a heroic play by Aja Wheeler to earn the #2 seed.</li> <li>Who stands in the way – #1 seed DeLaSalle is healthy now and on a roll. Becker is young, hungry and quick enough to stay with the Hawks. And don’t count out Holy Angels.</li> <li>First game – 2 p.m. Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion vs Austin</li> </ul>   CLASS AA – Roseau Rams <ul> <li>Location – Roseau (population 2,693) is closer to Winnipeg (110 miles) than the Twin Cities (350 miles)</li> <li>Section – 8AA</li> <li>Record – 28-2</li> <li>Coach – Kelsey Didrikson</li> <li>Last state title – 2017</li> <li>Key players – Kacie Borowicz, Katie Borowicz, Julia Braaten, Emma Waling</li> <li>How they got here – The Rams defeated #10 Crookston by 15 to earn the #1 seed.</li> <li>Who stands in the way – The Prep Girls Hoops computer says Holy Family is the Rams’ biggest threat with Proctor next in line. Don’t sleep on the talented veterans from Minnehaha Academy.</li> <li>First game – 6 p.m. Wednesday at Williams Arena vs Redwood Valley</li> </ul>   CLASS A – Goodhue Wildcats <ul> <li>Location – Goodhue (population 1,156) is located 54 miles southeast of St. Paul</li> <li>Section – 1A</li> <li>Record – 24-6</li> <li>Coach – Josh Weime</li> <li>Last state title – 2016 and 2017</li> <li>Key players – Lexie Lodermeier, Kate Opsahl, Arianna Thomforde, Joslyn Carlson, Elissa Lodermeier</li> <li>How they got here – Goodhue knocked off the defending state champions Lyle-Pacelli to earn the #2 seed.</li> <li>Who stands in the way – Class A is a bit of a free-for-all. The Prep Girls Hoops computer says Mountain-Iron Buhl and Minneota are the favorites, but Menahga and Ada-Borup aren’t far behind. Don’t count out Heritage Christian, either.</li> <li>First game – 3 p.m. Thursday at Maturi Pavilion vs Mountain Iron-Buhl</li> </ul>   Top photo: Eastview senior Lauren Glas is a tenacious, high-energy player whose performance this season has been a major factor in the Lightning's success. (Photo courtesy of StarTribune)