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 3x3 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 BraunMaraBraun
5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022State#21NationMN
of Wayzata and Nia HollowayNiaHolloway
6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022State#45NationMN
of Eden Prairie, along with Division 1 commits Callin HakeCallinHake
5'8" | PG Chanhassen | 2022State#64NationMN
of Chanhassen (Nebraska), Ellie BuzzelleEllieBuzzelle
5'9" | SG Rogers | 2022State#60NationMN
of Rogers (Grand Canyon University), Desiree WareDesireeWare
5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022StateMN
of Minnetonka (Alabama-Birmingham) and Maren WestinMarenWestin
5'8" | CG Becker | 2023StateMN
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 HertelLucyHertel
5'7" | CG Holy Family | 2022StateMN
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 BueckersPaigeBueckers
5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020StateMN
(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 PorterRonniePorter
5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022StateMN
of St. Paul Como Park. The lineup looks like this, with each player’s Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking in their respective classes:
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 EpsKayleeVan Eps
5'11" | SF Chaska | 2021StateMN
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 JensenLaurenJensen
5'10" | CG Lakeville North | 2020StateMN
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 JohnsonKatieJohnson
5'4" | SG Perham | 2021StateMN
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 3x3 tournament with a twist
The 3x3 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 3x3 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 3x3 early on. I think that generated some buzz. It certainly set the bar pretty high.”
Among the top teams registered for the event are...