State Tournament: Thursday’s standout performers

“The Kids Are Alright” is the title of a memorable tune written by Pete Townshend of The Who more than 50 years ago. It is also an apt description for the events we witnessed on Thursday at the Minnesota high school girls state basketball championship. Actually, they were more than alright. As my British friends might say, the freshman class was bloody brilliant! We’re talking, of course, about [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] of Hopkins, [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] of St. Michael-Albertville and [player_tooltip player_id="108304" first="Maren" last="Westin"] of Becker, three highly gifted 9th graders who topped the charts at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on day 2 of the tournament. Johnson’s heroics were not quite enough to keep her Knights from being eliminated from title contention by Farmington, but the performances by Woodson and Westin played a major role in helping their respective squads advance to Saturday’s state championship games. They lead the Prep Girls Hoops lineup of Thursday’s standouts at state. [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] – 6’0 freshman forward, Hopkins Woodson is only a 9th grader, but she is a already varsity veteran with a state championship medal, a big reputation and an incredibly large amount of potential. The super-fast, super-strong power forward was dominant as Hopkins dismantled the Stillwater Ponies by a score of 66-40 in the class AAAA semifinal, which was a rematch of last year’s state championship game. Woodson had struggled with her shot in the Royals’ opening win on Wednesday so she put in a couple of extra hours shooting in the gym prior to Thursday’s encounter. It paid off. Woodson was 10 for 15 from the field for 21 points. Taylor is a co-#1 in the class of 2023 with her Hopkins teammate [player_tooltip player_id="108348" first="Nunu" last="Agara"]. Woodson has had a lot of big performances in her career to date. This may have been the biggest of all. [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] – 5’11 freshman guard, St. Michael-Albertville Tessa is one of the most talented young players in Minnesota. She’s super long, has impossibly big strides, and can fly by you in the open court in the blink of an eye. She also possesses a beautiful stroke and can knock down shots from pretty much anywhere. Johnson showed us all of that and more Thursday night against Farmington. When the chips were down for STMA it was Johnson who attempted to rally the troops. Tessa made four threes and 5 of 6 free throws for 27 points for the Knights. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough. STMA bowed out of state title contention as Farmington pulled away in the second half for a 78-59 win. Johnson is the #3-rated prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2023. Before it’s all over she might emerge as the #1. [player_tooltip player_id="108304" first="Maren" last="Westin"] – 5’7 freshman guard, Becker This game was Maren’s coming out party. Westin (pronounced West-teen) entered the Bulldogs’ game with Waconia for the first time after about 5 minutes of play had elapsed. She made an immediate impact with a quick bucket that put her team up 8-4. Maren followed that up less than a minute later with a smooth three-pointer that stretched the lead to 8. Shortly after that she nailed a sweet mid-range jumper. The game was played a frenetic pace – perfect for Westin’s mode of operation – including a one-minute period late in the first half when the two teams combined for 18 points! With Becker’s five starters rolling in what turned out to be a 96-75 win, Westin was limited to just 16 minutes. She made the most of it, going 7 for 9 from the field for 19 points plus four rebounds, an assist and a steal. The uber-athletic Westin is the #8-ranked player in the class of 2023. [player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"] – 6’4 junior center, Farmington It was a great day for the youngsters at the state high school tournament yesterday, but the kids weren’t the only ones who were alright. Farmington junior [player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"], a season veteran whose resume includes a top-35 spot at the Team USA tryouts in Colorado Springs, turned in a dominant performance in the Tigers 78-59 win over St. Michael-Albertville. Hart was on the triple-double watch throughout the second half but ended up falling two assists short. Sophie played 30 minutes, went 8 for 12 from the field and 5 for 6 at the line to finish with 21 points. She also had 16 rebounds and 8 assists. Given the significance of the win for Farmington, which advanced to the state AAAA championship game in their first-ever tournament appearance, this had to have been the most impressive performance of Hart’s career. She is the #3-ranked prospect in 2021. OTHER TOP PERFORMERS [player_tooltip player_id="1915" first="Paige" last="Bueckers"] – The 5’11 senior guard from Hopkins had another outstanding game in the second-to-last appearance of her high school career which, thanks to attendance restrictions placed on the tournament due to health concerns, turned out to be the final one she will play in front of all but her closest fans. The 2019-20 National Player of the Year finished with another double-double. Paige shot 62% from the field for 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks. [player_tooltip player_id="12747" first="Savannah" last="White"] – The 6’1 sophomore forward from DeLaSalle took it up a notch Thursday from her Wednesday outing, parlaying her exceptional length and athleticism into a standout performance for the Islanders. The #16 prospect in the class of 2022 played 29 minutes and shot 55% from the field for 16 points. White, whose silky smooth game makes her one of the more intriguing sophomores in the state, also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block. [player_tooltip player_id="110529" first="Nurjei" last="Weems"] – The 6’0 senior forward from DeLaSalle has had a very nice career as her game has grown and evolved and eventually blossomed. The one they call ‘N.J.’ appears to have saved her best for last. She had a terrific game in DeLaSalle’s first-round win over Hermantown and followed that up with an even better day in the Islanders’ round-two win over Simley. Weems had a double-double on Thursday, shooting 50% from the field for 14 points to go along with 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and 3 blocks while playing all 36 minutes. She is ranked #20 in 2020 and remains unsigned. [player_tooltip player_id="12749" first="Champ" last="Danso"] – The 5’10 freshman forward from Simley got off to a great start in the AAA semifinal game against DeLaSalle. She was scoring and rebounding and looking like you would expect from a top 25 prospect. Then things went south for Simley as the black-and-gold wave swamped the Spartans in the second half. Danso was their brightest light, however, recording a double-double in the final game of her season. Champ was 7-for-10 from the field and 4 of 6 at the line for 18 points. She also recorded 13 boards. [player_tooltip player_id="30163" first="Adeline" last="Kent"] – The 5’8 sophomore guard from Becker has had a breakout season, earning all-state honors from the high school coaches and playing a key role in the Bulldogs run to another shot at the AAA state championship. Kent demonstrated her quickness and speed in the open court Thursday against Waconia, as well as her ability to elude defenders of all descriptions to get to the rim. Kent, who is #44 in the class of 2022 and rising, had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals for Becker. [player_tooltip player_id="109822" first="Brielle" last="Bartelt"] – The 5’6 junior from Waterville-Elysian-Morristown is a crafty point guard who plays the game with panache. She never met a crossover opportunity she didn’t like, and if there’s a chance to make a showy play, well, Brielle is all up for that. She proved it once again in a 58-46 win over Heritage Christian Academy in a class A quarterfinal game at Maturi Pavilion with a 23-point performance. Bartelt, who has been stellar in the home stretch of the season, was 7 for 13 from the field and 8 of 8 at the line for the Buccaneers. [player_tooltip player_id="1956" first="Taya" last="Hakamaki"] – The 5’8 senior guard from Cromwell-Wright is attempting to lead her Cardinals to a class A state title, and on Thursday she did everything a player can possibly do to make that happen for her squad. The UM-Duluth commit was simply outstanding as she led her team to a 67-58 win over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. Hakamaki, who could start on literally any high school team in Minnesota, went 11 for 20 from the field and made 10 of 11 free throw attempts for a total of 34 points. She also had 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds and a block. This young woman is really good! Top photo: Hopkins’ freshman forward [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] delivered her biggest performance Thursday. (Photo courtesy of the StarTribune)