Previewing the Nickle Dickle 3-point shooting contest

It began as a local fundraiser for a small parochial school in Waconia, just one element of a day-long community festival. Things have changed. The Nickle Dickle 3-point shooting contest and 3×3 tournament has now become a don’t-miss gathering of some of the best girls basketball players in Minnesota. While the event has certainly retained its small-town feel through and through, the lineup of ballers set to participate this Saturday is definitely big-time.

Among the high-profile shooters who’ll be launching bombs at 6 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic School are University of Minnesota signees Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN of Wayzata and Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN of Eden Prairie, along with Division 1 commits Callin Hake Callin Hake 5'8" | PG Chanhassen | 2022 State #64 Nation MN of Chanhassen (Nebraska), Ellie Buzzelle Ellie Buzzelle 5'9" | SG Rogers | 2022 State #60 Nation MN of Rogers (Grand Canyon University), Desiree Ware Desiree Ware 5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN of Minnetonka (Alabama-Birmingham) and Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN of Becker (UW-Green Bay).

“We always start looking for players locally, but this year the Waconia kids were focused on volleyball so that opened up a slot or two,” said event organizer Bart Meath. This year’s hometown representative will be Waconia resident Lucy Hertel Lucy Hertel 5'7" | CG Holy Family | 2022 State MN of Holy Family. “She is a former St Joe’s basketball player and she still volunteers in the St. Joe’s program working with younger players,” Meath said. “We know how hard she has worked to recover from her ACL injury and we look forward to having her back at the school. We have some great players coming out, but more importantly, we have some great kids!”

The event is part of the 60th Annual Nickle Dickle Day, Waconia’s town festival that includes a car and truck show, duck races, live entertainment, a fun run, pie eating contests and more. Some years it has been a scramble to get early commitments from players, and every year it seems one or two have to back out due to injury or a scheduling conflict. Somehow Meath manages to attract a who’s who of Minnesota basketball for the contest, which began in 2013. As the event has grown, players from all over the state lobby for inclusion.

“We had a lot of interest in the 3-point event this year,” Meath said. “We decided to go with almost all seniors and Ellie, Desiree, Callin, and Nicole (Bowlin) all return to our event for the last time… We’ve had some incredible players over the years including Paige Bueckers Paige Bueckers 5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020 State MN (UCONN) and Taylor Koenen (North Carolina), but this has to be our best 3-point field overall… When we started eight years ago, we never expected anything like this. These kids are very busy with school and other commitments so we really appreciate them coming out to our event.”

This year’s field has a distinctly West Metro feel to it, with the exception of Ronnie Porter Ronnie Porter 5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022 State MN of St. Paul Como Park. The lineup looks like this, with each player’s Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking in their respective classes:

Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN – senior guard, Wayzata (Minnesota), #2
Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN – senior forward, Eden Prairie (Minnesota), #5
Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN – junior guard, Becker (UW-Green Bay), #5
Callin Hake Callin Hake 5'8" | PG Chanhassen | 2022 State #64 Nation MN – senior guard, Chanhassen (Nebraska), #7
Molly Lenz Molly Lenz 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN – junior guard, Eden Prairie, #7
Desiree Ware Desiree Ware 5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN – senior guard, Minnetonka (Alabama-Birmingham), #10
Ellie Buzzelle Ellie Buzzelle 5'9" | SG Rogers | 2022 State #60 Nation MN – senior guard, Rogers (Grand Canyon), #11
Ronnie Porter Ronnie Porter 5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022 State MN – senior guard, St. Paul Como Park, #17
Nicole Bowlin Nicole Bowlin 5'6" | PG Holy Family | 2022 State MN – senior guard, Holy Family (Colorado Christian), #47
Lucy Hertel Lucy Hertel 5'7" | CG Holy Family | 2022 State MN – senior guard, Holy Family, #118

The contest follows the format the WNBA uses for the 3-point shootout at its All Star Game. Each player takes five shots from five spots on the floor for a total of 25 attempts. The 5th shot at each station is the “money ball” and is worth two points. Players with the top scores in the first round advance to the second and final round with a clean slate. With a packed gym in a high-energy environment it can definitely be nerve-wracking.

Like so many other annual events, last year’s Nickle Dickle contest was scrubbed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 the 3-point contest came down to the final shot as Kaylee Van Eps Kaylee Van Eps 5'11" | SF Chaska | 2021 State MN of Chaska nailed a long bomb with the money ball as the current Lehigh University guard took home the big prize. Van Eps made seven or eight of her final 10 shots to squeeze past Lauren Jensen Lauren Jensen 5'10" | CG Lakeville North | 2020 State MN of Lakeville North (Creighton) to win the contest in her fourth try. One of the best stories of the event was the performance of the least-heralded player in the field – Katie Johnson Katie Johnson 5'4" | SG Perham | 2021 State MN of Perham, now playing at Valley City State in North Dakota. She finished in a three-way tie for third place with Bowlin and Lenz in her first-ever three-point shooting competition.

28th annual 3×3 tournament with a twist

The 3×3 tournament has always been a big event, but this year Meath decided to change things up a little by moving the primary girls games from the outdoor asphalt into the gym. He also recruited some of the top players in the state to participate on the featured court. “We haven’t tried an indoor court in 28 years. At our core, we are still an old fashioned outdoor 3×3 but we thought we would try something new to boost some life into the girls high school bracket. It seems like it has worked!” Meath said. “Mara and Nia committed to the 3×3 early on. I think that generated some buzz. It certainly set the bar pretty high.”

Among the top teams registered for the event are…

2022s Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN (Wayzata), Amaya Battle Amaya Battle 5'10" | PG Hopkins | 2022 State #29 Nation MN (Hopkins), Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN (Eden Prairie) & Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN (St. Michael-Albertville)
2023s Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN (Becker), Chloe Brunsberg Chloe Brunsberg 5'11" | SF Southwest Christian | 2023 State MN (Southwest Christian) & Clara Glad Clara Glad 6'0" | SF Rogers | 2023 State MN (Rogers)
2024s Gabby Betton Gabby Betton 5'9" | CG Lakeville North | 2024 State MN (Lakeville North), Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN (Minnetonka), Savannah Gardner Savannah Gardner 5'10" | F Eastview | 2024 MN (Eastview) & Rainey Welson (Appleton, WI)
2025s Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN , Lexi Hanna Lexi Hanna 5'9" | SG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN , Bella Hanna & Addie Hanna (all Maple Grove)

There is no admission charge to watch the 3X3 tournament. It’s $5 to watch both the boys and girls 3-point contest and boys slam dunk competition. All proceeds support the St. Joe’s athletic program.

Registration for the 3×3 event remains open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday. You’ll find all the details at nickledickle.com.