The Breakdown Tipoff Classic is always one of the premier events of the high school season but it’s not usually the first big event. That honor normally goes to the Thanksgiving tournaments at Hamline and St. Thomas, but with the way the holiday falls on the calendar this year the schedule has been reversed and the Tipoff tips off on Friday night at the Lindbergh Center in Hopkins.
The folks at Breakdown Sports have outdone themselves this year with a lineup that features 38 varsity teams and 21 games. They added a five-game Friday night session to the 16-game Saturday slate and assembled some truly great matchups. Among those participating are the biggest of the big dogs, including Hopkins, Wayzata, Farmington, Eden Prairie, Stillwater, St. Michael-Albertville, Maple Grove, Park Center and Eastview.
There are some high-quality 3A squads, too, including Becker, Alexandria, Austin, Big Lake, Waconia and Holy Angels. Add in some of the best outstate teams – Cromwell-Wright, Sauk Centre, Stewartville, Rochester Lourdes, Albany and Fergus Falls, for example – and you have the makings of a terrific event to open the season in style.
Here are five games you’ll want to watch, along with the complete Tipoff schedule.
Saturday at 9:30 a.m. – Waconia vs Rosemount (Main court)
Waconia is led by senior guard
Tess Johnson, an all-state honorable mention and the #69-ranked player in the class of 2020, along with talented junior
Addy Salzer (#38), who is one of the premier players in the state when she is healthy. Junior guard
Sydni Olson (#60) is one of the best three-point shooters around. Sophomores
Ava Stier (#32) and
Audrey Swanson (#61) are versatile and athletic. Although they will certainly miss the size and veteran presence of all-conference post
Courtney Freeburg (St. Cloud State) Waconia will be strong in class 3A.
The Wildcats will play the Rosemount Irish, who are their mirror image in many ways. The Irish are led by Montana State commit
Taylor Janssen, the #22-ranked player in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2020. With superior length and the ability to score inside or out, Janssen is difficult to guard. She’s joined by juniors
Helen Staley (#27) and
Ivory Finley (#53) along with a trio of quality sophomores in
Alexa Ratzlaff (#15),
Tayah Leenderts (#34) and
Anna Tauer (#116). This game will have pace, skill and energy.
Saturday at 12:15 p.m. – Cromwell-Wright vs Minneota (East court)
It’s the Family Feud, girls basketball edition. All this game needs is the gregarious Steve Harvey on play-by-play because it’s the Hakamakis of Cromwell-Wright versus the Hennens of Minneota, and it’s bound to be a great contest. Cromwell has produced an endless stream of Hakamakis. This edition of the Cardinals is led by senior
Taya Hakamaki, a top-30 prospect who has signed at Minnesota Duluth. Her numbers are stunning, with an average per game output of 27 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 steals! Taya’s cousin
Shaily Hakamaki (#74) is also a UMD-bound senior, who averages 21 ppg. Shailey’s sister
Natalee Hakamaki is a top-50 sophomore. Cromwell returns all five starters from a team that was 24-2.
Minneota, which is located near Marshall in the southwestern part of the state, is no slouch, either, although they will have to adapt following the graduation of star performers
Lydia Sussner and
Lizzie Gillingham. The Vikings went 30-1 last season and won the class A state championship. Minneota returns a pile of Hennens, including senior
Morgan Hennen (#118), junior
Abby Hennen (#64) and sophomore
Summer Hennen. Sophomore forward
Natalie Rolbiecki (#59) is always a threat. Let the feuding begin.
Saturday at 2:15 p.m. – Eden Prairie vs Maple Grove (Main)
Eden Prairie is loaded. The Eagles boast four top-10 prospects in senior forwards
Nneka Obiazor (Youngstown) (#8) and
Natalie Mazurek (South Dakota) (#17), sophomore forward
Nia Holloway (#5) and freshman point guard
Molly Lenz (#6). In addition, Eden Prairie has juniors
Katie Leisen (#37),
Destinee Bursch (#54) and
Allison Miranda (#78), sophomore
Myra Moorjani (#28) plus top freshmen
Savanna Jones (#12) and
Ashley Fritz (#27).
Maple Grove is also chock-full of talent. The Crimson are led by senior guard
Abby Schulte, a North Dakota State commit who is ranked #10 in the 2020 class. Her sidekick is the rather lengthy, rather versatile junior
Jordyn Lamker (#13), who set a single season scoring record last winter at Maple Grove. Junior
Kylie Baranick (#133), and sophomores
Ari Gordon (#46),
Kiera Albers (#66) and
Becca White (#98), are all quality prospects. Waiting in the wings on JV is the #40 freshman in the state,
Audrey Kormann. This battle features two of the top 10 squads in the state and the quality will be very high.
Saturday at 3:45 p.m. – Farmington vs St. Michael-Albertville (Main)
In a match-up that is similar to the Eden Prairie vs Maple Grove encounter, this game features an up-and-coming program loaded with talent – Farmington – and a perennial contender with lots of experience – St. Michael-Albertville. Farmington's lineup features top-10 juniors
Sophie Hart (#4) and
Paige Kindseth (#10), along with senior guards
Katelyn Mohr (#102) and
Morgen Ebel (#113). and talented junior guard
Peyton Blandin (#51). It is a formidable group.
STMA has been one of the top teams in the state for a long time. The Knights are led by one of the smartest players you'll find in guard
Mackenzie Kramer, the 4th-ranked senior and a Division 1 commit to Lehigh. Kramer is joined by fellow seniors – both D2 commits –
Lily Tennyson (MSU-Mankato) (#56) and
Vanessa Alexander (Winona State) (#66), junior
Kendal Cox (#24), sophomore
Emma Miller (#17) and one of the very best freshmen in Minnesota in #3
Tessa Johnson. Get to courtside early if you want a good seat because plenty of space will be taken up by high-level college coaches with drool rags.
Saturday at 8:30 p.m. – Becker vs Hopkins (Main)
What can you say about Hopkins that hasn’t already been said. This week the Royals were named the #3-ranked high school team in America. Too bad Minnesota State High School League rules prevent the team from travelling to face the other top squads, but that’s a topic of contention we’ll save for another day. For now we will just enjoy the Royals debut performance for the 2019-20 season. We’ll see the top senior on the planet –
Paige Bueckers (UCONN) – the top sophomore in Minnesota –
Maya Nnaji – and her elite colleague
Amaya Battle (#2). Don’t forget the co-#1 freshmen
Nunu Agara and
Taylor Woodson, plus seniors
KK Adams (#28) and
Jaide Pressley (#34), and sophomores
Alayna Contreras (#21) and
Selam Maher (#32).
Kudos to state 3A runner-up Becker for having the chutzpah to step up and challenge the mighty Royals. The Bulldogs obviously cannot match all of that Hopkins firepower, but it doesn’t mean they’ll show up to the Lindbergh Center without ammunition. Becker has speed, skill, experience and chemistry. They are led by top-30 junior
Julia Bengtson, one of the best point guards in the state. She leads an impressive group of juniors that includes
Megan Gamble (#62),
Courtney Nuest (#80) and
Alayna Lindquist (#114), along with sophomore
Adeline Kent,(#47). Becker’s freshman class is equally impressive.
Maren Westin cracked the top 10 in our first ranking of 2023s. She is an elite athlete and a game-changer.
Dani Nuest (#42) is an outstanding defender who played big minutes last season, as did guard
Ayla Brown. Hopkins is obviously a heavy favorite in this game, but there is plenty of fight in the ‘Dogs and it is bound to be entertaining.
Here is the complete schedule for the 2019 Breakdown Tip-off Classic.
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
- 5:30 p.m. – Hill-Murray vs St. Louis Park (Main)
- 6:15 p.m. – St. Croix Lutheran vs Bloomington Kennedy (East)
- 7:00 p.m. – Fergus Falls vs Wayzata (Main)
- 7:45 p.m. – Apple Valley vs Centennial (East)
- 8:30 p.m. – St. Michael-Albertville vs Park Center (Main)
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
- 9:00 a.m. – Holy Angels vs Burnsville (East)
- 9:30 a.m. – Waconia vs Rosemount (Main)
- 10:30 a.m. – New Prague vs Alexandria (East)
- 11:00 a.m. – Albany vs Stewartville (Main)
- 12:15 p.m. – Cromwell-Wright vs Minneota (East)
- 12:45 p.m. – Chaska vs Simley (Main)
- 1:45 p.m. – Sauk Centre vs Minnehaha (East)
- 2:15 p.m. – Eden Prairie vs Maple Grove (Main)
- 3:15 p.m. – Andover vs Minnetonka (East)
- 3:45 p.m. – Farmington vs St. Michael-Albertville (Main)
- 5:00 p.m. – Eden Valley-Watkins vs Rochester Lourdes (East)
- 5:30 p.m. – Park Center vs Stillwater (Main)
- 6:30 p.m. – Austin vs Big Lake (East)
- 7:00 p.m. – Wayzata vs Eastview (Main)
- 8:00 p.m. – St. Louis Park vs Cretin-Derham Hall (East)
- 8:30 p.m. – Becker vs Hopkins (Main)
Top photo: The Minneota Vikings have had plenty of celebrate in recent years. (Photo courtesy of the Marshall Independent)