Last weekend kicked off the 2022-23 Minnesota girls high school basketball season with a bang. We saw great teams, excellent individual performances and some interesting newcomers. This weekend we’ll crank up the volume another few notches at the Breakdown USA Girls Tip Off Classic, the single best in-season event of the campaign. Other than the State Tournament in March, this is the biggest and the best, and it promises to be a ton of fun once again. The Tip Off opens Friday with six games beginning at 5 p.m. and continues with 16 more games on Saturday. Hopkins is the place to be if you want to see the cream of the crop all in one place at one time. Here’s what you can expect.
WHAT IS THE BREAKDOWN TIP OFF?
Breakdown Sports is a Minnesota-based event organizer and the undisputed leader in staging high school basketball events in the state. Justin Hegna, Dean Kesler and company have built a stellar reputation over the past 20 years for their ability to execute top-notch events featuring high school teams, be that in the summer or during the winter season. Every year they put together quality fields and the Tip Off is their Superbowl. Even though it takes place at the same time that college teams are in the thick of their non-conference schedules, many of the leading D1 programs in the country manage to make their way to Hopkins to shop for standouts.
WHO IS PLAYING?
Unlike the State Tournament, this event includes the leading programs, not just the section winners. Nine of the top 10 ranked teams in Class 4A will be present along with eight of the 10 highest-ranked squads in Class 3A. The defending 2A champions (Providence Academy) and two of the favorites to win it this season (Minnehaha Academy and Albany) will also be on hand along with a pair of favorites in Class A – Hayfield and Mountain Iron-Buhl. The cross-class match-ups are particularly interesting as teams like Minnehaha Academy, Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Providence Academy will play marque programs from bigger classes. This year’s event also features two strong programs from neighboring states – Bismarck Century of North Dakota led by Nebraska commit Logan Nissley and Hortonville of Wisconsin which features elite guard Rainey Welson, who competes here in the summer for North Tartan.
FRIDAY’S TOP 3 GAMES TO SEES
5:30 p.m. – Minnehaha Academy vs Minnetonka (West Court)
7:00 p.m. – Bismarck Century vs Wayzata (West)
8:30 p.m. – Benilde-St. Margaret’s vs Hopkins (West)
SATURDAY’S BEST 6 MATCH-UPS
10:30 a.m. – Holy Family vs St. Croix Lutheran (East)
12:15 p.m. – Alexandria vs Stewartville (East)
3:45 p.m. – Lakeville North vs Chaska (West)
5:00 p.m. – Hayfield vs Mountain Iron-Buhl (East)
7:00 p.m. – Becker vs Providence Academy (West)
8:30 p.m. – Maple Grove vs Hopkins (West)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Tip Off offers big-time talent everywhere you look. The gym will be swarming with college coaches looking for players to fill their future rosters and no wonder. More than 20 Division 1 commits will play Friday and Saturday in Hopkins. Another 50 or so prospects at the event will eventually end up at the D1 level, too. Listed in the order of their respective Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking, these are some of the premier players available who are expected to compete:
TOP UNSIGNED SENIORS
#17 Vanessa Saidu Vanessa Saidu 6'2" | SF Cooper | 2023 State MN – forward, Park Center
#28
Emily Christenson
Emily
Christenson
5'11" | SF
East Ridge | 2023
State
MN
– guard, East Ridge
#30
Grace Counts
Grace
Counts
6'1" | PF
Providence | 2023
State
MN
– forward, Providence Academy
#47
Kelly Boyle
Kelly
Boyle
5'7" | CG
Hopkins | 2023
State
MN
– guard, Hopkins
#67
Grace Knupp
Grace
Knupp
5'8" | CG
East Ridge | 2023
State
MN
– guard, East Ridge
BEST AVAILABLE JUNIORS
#2
Liv McGill
Liv
McGill
5'7" | CG
Hopkins | 2024
State
MN
– guard, Hopkins
#4
Jordan Zubich
Jordan
Zubich
5'11" | SG
Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024
State
MN
– guard, Mountain Iron-Buhl
#9
Trinity Wilson
Trinity
Wilson
6'3" | PF
Lakeville North | 2024
State
MN
– forward, Lakeville North
#16
Morgan Miller
Morgan
Miller
6'2" | PF
Andover | 2024
State
MN
– forward, Andover
#17
Piper Engelby
Piper
Engelby
5'11" | SG
Andover | 2024
State
MN
– guard, Andover
HIGHEST-RANKED SOPHOMORES
#1
Aaliyah Crump
Aaliyah
Crump
6'1" | SF
Minnetonka | 2025
State
MN
– forward, Minnetonka
#2
Kendall McGee
Kendall
McGee
5'10" | CG
Benilde-St. Margaret's | 2025
State
MN
– guard, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
#3
Jordan Ode
Jordan
Ode
5'11" | CG
Maple Grove | 2025
State
MN
– guard, Maple Grove
#4
Addison Mack
Addison
Mack
5'8" | PG
Minnehaha Academy | 2025
State
MN
– guard, Minnehaha Academy
#6
Tori Schlagel
Tori
Schlagel
5'9" | CG
Eden Prairie | 2025
State
MN
– guard, Eden Prairie
BEST FRESHMEN
Co #1
Maddyn Greenway
Maddyn
Greenway
5'8" | PG
Providence Academy | 2026
State
MN
– guard, Providence Academy
Co #1
Tori Oehrlein
Tori
Oehrlein
5'11" | CG
Crosby-Ironton | 2026
State
MN
– guard, Crosby-Ironton
#3
Lanelle Wright
Lanelle
Wright
5'7" | PG
Minnetonka | 2026
State
MN
– guard, Minnetonka
#4
Kate Amelotte
Kate
Amelotte
5'11" | SF
Wayzata | 2026
State
MN
– forward, Wayzata
#5
Cail Jahnke
Cail
Jahnke
6'1" | CG
St. Michael-Albertville | 2026
State
MN
– guard, St. Michael-Albertville
ELITE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS
Chloe Johnson
Chloe
Johnson
5'9" | PG
Duluth Marshall | 2028
MN
– 7th grade guard, Duluth Marshall
Ava Cupito
Ava
Cupito
5'8" | CG
Minnehaha Academy | 2027
MN
– 8th grade guard, Minnehaha Academy
Emma Millerbernd
Emma
Millerbernd
5'9" | CG
Providence Academy | 2027
MN
– 8th grade guard, Providence Academy
Erma Walker Erma Walker 5'11" | PF Hopkins | 2027 MN – 8th grade forward, Hopkins
Isa Griefenhagen
Isa
Griefenhagen
5'9" | CG
Minnehaha Academy | 2027
MN
– 8th grade guard, Minnehaha Academy
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
These are sanctioned regular season high school games and are played under the rules of the Minnesota State High School League, i.e. 36 minutes of stop-time basketball. The games will be contested at the Royals Athletic Center on the campus of Hopkins High School, 2400 Lindbergh Drive in Minnetonka. Play begins on Friday at 5 p.m. with six games, three on the West Court and three on the East. Saturday’s 16 games start at 9 a.m. and the last one – Maple Grove vs Hopkins – tips off at 8:30 p.m. There will be non-varsity games throughout the weekend, as well.
COMPLETE GAME SCHEDULE
6 games Friday
West Court
5:30 p.m. – Minnehaha Academy vs Minnetonka
7:00 p.m. – Bismarck Century vs Wayzata
8:30 p.m. – Benilde-St. Margaret’s vs Hopkins
East Court
5:00 p.m. – Bloomington Kennedy vs Hill-Murray
6:30 p.m. – Maranatha vs Duluth Marshall
8:00 p.m. – Eastview vs Mahtomedi
16 games Saturday
West Court
9:30 a.m. – Rosemount vs Andover
11:00 a.m. – East Ridge vs Eden Prairie
12:45 p.m. – White Bear Lake vs Wayzata
2:15 p.m. – St. Michael-Albertville vs Bismarck Century
3:45 p.m. – Lakeville North vs Chaska
5:30 p.m. – Hortonville (WI) vs Minnetonka
7:00 p.m. – Becker vs Providence Academy
8:30 p.m. – Maple Grove vs Hopkins
East Court
9:00 a.m. – Prior Lake vs Park Center
10:30 a.m. – Holy Family vs St. Croix Lutheran
12:15 p.m. – Alexandria vs Stewartville
1:45 p.m. – Crosby-Ironton vs Albany
3:15 p.m. – Grand Rapids vs St. Peter
5:00 p.m. – Hayfield vs Mountain Iron-Buhl
6:30 p.m. – Sauk Centre vs Pine City
8:00 p.m. – Rochester Mayo vs Lakeville South
For more information visit breakdownsportsusa.com/girlstipoff
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