2020 State Tournament: Class AAAA Preview

<div class="article-content"> With the Minnesota Girl’s State Basketball Tournament starting Wednesday morning from Williams Arena, I wanted to give you a preview of who to watch, where, and where they are ranked with our rankings of Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota. One thing’s to remember, state tournament basketball brings some of the best competition from our fine state to Minneapolis to see who will be the champions. A lot of the talk you’ll hear at the state tournament is in Class AAAA and the spotlight is on the undefeated Hopkins Royals. Can they repeat? Can they get "back to back" undefeated seasons? The first question I’ll answer if they do both, they without question deserve a spot at Geico Nationals, showing off some of the best girl’s hoops teams in the nation. Too bad that’s not my decision to send them there; it would be no brainer! Of course, there are seven other teams in this Class 4AAAA state tournament that you deserve to know their story too. We will start with <strong>Cambridge-Isanti</strong>, a program that plays mostly Class 3AAA schools in the Mississippi 8, but they’ve fought so hard to get this far and deserve to be heard after back to back shockings of 1 seed Andover, and 3 seed Forest Lake in their section championship. Next, there’s <strong>Park Center</strong> who may have one of the most terrific "must watch players" in the Midwest in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="6389" first="Adalia" last="McKenzie"]</strong>. Next, you have <strong>Stillwater</strong>, who had a walk in the park thru their section winning their section final over East Ridge by 47 points, how will they fare this week against prime competition at Williams Arena? Next up you have STMA, a program that I think is much better on the floor than their record gets credit for, what a heck of strength of schedule head coach Kent Hamre put together to lead his girls to this point. We are headed to Lakeville North next, where you get to watch the best shooter in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="1919" first="Lauren" last="Jensen"] and a Lakeville North team that peaked again at the right time to get back to the state tournament. Heading to their south, we head to Farmington, a team I’ll admit I should have watched sooner this year (well before the state tournament, at least.) as watching them on film makes me want to throw a chair like Bob Knight, only for missing out on the fun. Last but not least, Eden Prairie,  a team like STMA certainly an average fan at the state tournament will say "They are 19-8, how’d they get this far?" If you only knew my friend, you should have gone to Chaska last Friday night to watch that rally spark the Eagles had, it was something they say you only see in movies but I was living in the heart of the Eagles faithful fanbase. </div> These are all small stories and those are some stories that are going to be told this week as the state tournament will be live at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus starting on Wednesday morning and ending on Saturday night. Are we ready for it? <div class="article-content"> <strong>10 a.m. – #1 HOPKINS vs. #8 CAMBRIDGE-ISANTI</strong> <strong>Hopkins Royals (28-0)</strong> Number #1 ranked team in the state, #9 ranked team in the nation, National Gatorade Player of the Year, are just a few accolades the Hopkins Royals possess, but there’s many more where that came from. The 2020 class possesses the likes of UCONN commit, <strong>#1 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1915" first="Paige" last="Bueckers"] </strong>who is just a superstar already at the age of 18. They also have combo guard <strong>#28 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110536" first="KK" last="Adams"]</strong> who is an unsigned class of 2020 guard that brings another large spark in the Royals backcourt. The Royals get real fun in 2022, where you have <strong>#1 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="12712" first="Maya" last="Nnaji"]</strong> who provides the Royals with enough length some teams could only dream of. Forwards [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="108348" first="Nunu" last="Agara"] are co-#1s in the class of 2023. And 2022 <strong>#2 [player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"]</strong> is one of the top guards in the state. Sophomore <strong>#23</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="57915" first="Alayna" last="Contreras"] has become a key piece for the Royals, as well. <strong>Cambridge-Isanti  Bluejackets (20-9)</strong> Perhaps the best surprise story before the state tournament belongs to the Bluejackets of Cambridge-Isanti. They have played underdog in their last two games and will play even bigger underdogs on Wednesday morning against Hopkins. The Bluejackets feature strong big  <strong>#48 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1975" first="Jana" last="Swanson"]</strong> who has overcome so much adversity to have back to back double-double seasons for the Bluejackets. At guard, it will be the length of <strong>#44 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28802" first="Amme" last="Sheforgen"]</strong> and the "hardest working prospect in Minnesota" <strong>#30 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30162" first="Mikayla" last="Aumer"]</strong> who leads the Bluejackets in scoring. Another player to watch for Cambridge-Isanti is senior guard <strong>Jackie Olander</strong> who has given the Bluejackets three dependable consistent guards in their lineup. <strong>12 p.m. – #4 PARK CENTER vs #5 STILLWATER</strong> <strong>Park Center Pirates (25-4)</strong> You can’t start talking about Park Center unless you start talking about junior <strong>#1</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="6389" first="Adalia" last="McKenzie"] </strong>who is just a pure playmaker for the Pirates. 2020 guard <strong>#15 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1932" first="Lauren" last="Frost"] </strong>also brings a competitive edge in a game that is a guard’s dream. They also have another 2020 guard in <strong>#55 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56264" first="Aaliyah" last="Ragulen"] </strong>who is a 5’3 guard that can really shoot it and senior #77 [player_tooltip player_id="56260" first="Kayla" last="Cox"] who may be Park Center’s best defender. 8th grade guard <strong>Alivia McGill</strong> is one of the best players in the class of 2024. <strong>Stillwater Ponies (23-5)</strong> The top scorer, assists, and steals is 5’5 junior guard <strong>#15</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="109738" first="Alexis" last="Pratt"] who averaged 18 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals in the regular season. They also possess Marquette commit in power forward <strong> #6 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28784" first="Liza" last="Karlen"] </strong>who is a force on the boards for the Ponies. Another clutch guard who averaged 15 and 5 boards is <strong>#34 [player_tooltip player_id="57928" first="Amber" last="Scalia"] </strong>who will light the spark from deep for the Ponies in their matchup with the Pirates. #68 junior [player_tooltip player_id="109766" first="Gionna" last="Carr"] is an excellent defender. Stillwater has more quality bigs in seniors <strong>#72</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="56289" first="Mary" last="Fultz"] (Missouri Western) and <strong>#47</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="28808" first="Grace" last="Cote"] (Mayville State) plus sophomore <strong>#72</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="147443" first="Lizzie" last="Holder"]. <strong>4 p.m. – #3 ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE vs. LAKEVILLE NORTH</strong> <strong>St. Michael-Albertville Knights (19-8)</strong> The depth of the Knights is what stands out in this matchup. Starting off the bench, you have sophomore speedster <strong>#17 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"]</strong> who is not a player I would let roam free very often. With MSU-Moorhead commit <strong>#59 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56242" first="Lily" last="Tennyson"] </strong>you get a little more length than Lakeville North has in their lineup. As for bigs, Winona State commit <strong>#68 [player_tooltip player_id="110550" first="Vanessa" last="Alexander"] </strong>I am a big fan of because of how strong she is at getting rebounds in both games I’ve watched out of STMA this year. And who could forget about <strong>#4 </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1916" first="Mackenzie" last="Kramer"]? She’s just is the total package you want in your star guard in someone that’s a strong shooter but has a handle and a provides a lift in almost anywhere you need her. Perhaps the most dynamic player for STMA is <strong>#3</strong> freshman [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"], who has had an amazing year. The most versatile athlete is 2021 #27 [player_tooltip player_id="109742" first="Kendal" last="Cox"], who can play any role you want. <strong>Lakeville North Panthers (18-10)</strong> The Panthers possess my favorite senior guard duo in the state in sharpshooter and Iowa commit <strong>#2 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1919" first="Lauren" last="Jensen"] </strong>and Concordia-St. Paul commit <strong>#37 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56235" first="Sarah" last="Kuma"]</strong>. After watching Lakeville North earlier in the year at the Park Center Showcase, I was blown away with hearing that Jensen was playing on a broken foot and still put up a 20+ point game. If that’s not dedication I don’t know what is. Outside of those two, the Panthers have a lot of consistent players which starts with early MSU-Moorhead commit <strong>#48 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109755" first="Lizzie" last="Berkvam"]</strong> who averages just over 8 points per game and has had stronger scoring games this year.  Another senior guard to look at is <strong>#120 [player_tooltip player_id="110904" first="Morgan" last="Robison"] </strong>who plays a key role. <strong>#38</strong> freshman [player_tooltip player_id="108334" first="Haley" last="Bryant"] is an emerging star. <strong>6 p.m. – #2 FARMINGTON vs. #7 EDEN PRAIRIE</strong> <strong>Farmington Tigers (27-2)</strong> The Tigers have played darn near perfect basketball this season besides a loss to the powerful Hopkins Royals, and a defeat by Rosemount. The Tigers start with 2020 Creighton commit <strong>#7 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="13357" first="Molly" last="Mogensen"] </strong>at point guard who I wish I had the chance to watch more of in 2020. Unfortunately her season is done due to a broken foot. A combo guard, the Tigers have <strong>#10 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="2109" first="Paige" last="Kindseth"] </strong>who has some good length, that’s been one of the top scorers in section play for Farmington. <span style="font-size: 1rem">Tigers 6’4 big <strong>#4 </strong></span><strong style="font-size: 1rem">[player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"] </strong><span style="font-size: 1rem">has one of the quickest first steps to the hoop I may have seen this year. <strong>#50 [player_tooltip player_id="109756" first="Peyton" last="Blandin"]</strong> is another versatile junior guard that rounds out probably one of the best 2021 classes from the state coming from one program in the Farmington Tigers. Sophomore <strong>#82</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="147445" first="Rose" last="Wille"] has been a force down the stretch along with standout seniors [player_tooltip player_id="110903" first="Morgan" last="Ebel"] and [player_tooltip player_id="110892" first="Katelyn" last="Mohr"], who is a regular in the starting lineup.</span> </div> <div class="article-content"> <strong>Eden Prairie Eagles (18-11)</strong> The Eagles are proof that strength of schedule certainly matters and your record getting into the state tournament does not. Led by one of the strongest 1-2 punches of 2020 frontcourts in the state in <strong>#8 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110525" first="Nneka" last="Obiazor"] </strong>and <strong>#16 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1945" first="Natalie" last="Mazurek"]</strong>, that will make a tough matchup in the paint for the Tigers of Farmington. Not to mention, another talented forward I watched the other night in 2022 <strong>#5 </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="12732" first="Nia" last="Holloway"], who adds another element to this Eagles team along with highly skilled guard <strong>#53</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="109758" first="Destinee" last="Bursch"]<strong> </strong>and another polished guard in <strong>#27 </strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="12745" first="Myra" last="Moorjani"]</strong> who plays lots of minutes for the Eagles. Point guard [player_tooltip player_id="108302" first="Molly" last="Lenz"] is the #6 freshman in the state and will be crucial for EP. #80 junior [player_tooltip player_id="57120" first="Allison" last="Miranda"] is deadly from distance while #47 freshman [player_tooltip player_id="108323" first="Ashley" last="Fritz"] is an important backup. </div> <div class="section related-posts-widget mb-4"> <div class="card w-100 card-no-border"></div> </div>