State Tourney: Class 4A MVP and All-Tournament Team

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first half of Saturday's Class 4A state championship game, everything that could go right for St. Michael-Albertville did. Really right. So stunningly right that everyone in the building wasn't sure if they should believe what they were seeing. What the Knights did in the opening 18 minutes was as close to perfect as a team can play in the biggest game of their lives.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>STMA senior [player_tooltip player_id='108299' first='Tessa' last='Johnson'] got on the scoreboard just two minutes into the game with an end-to-end rush to give her team a two-point lead. Then junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='339129' first='Ja'Kahla' last='Craft'] got down to business, nailing a three-point shot from the corner at 13:10 to put the Knights ahead by 8. Less than a minute later, Craft made a court-length rush to score at the rim and STMA just kept on rolling – a mid-range jump shot from Johnson, an [player_tooltip player_id='330743' first='Abby' last='Hoselton'] corner 3, another bucket form Craft, another from Johnson… it was nuts. Before long the Knights were ahead by an unimaginable 20 points and Hopkins was 1-for-15 from the field. At the half it was 42-25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With under 12 minutes remaining in the game, STMA was up 20. And then Hopkins came back. You knew they would. And they did so with a vengeance sparked primarily by the heroics and physical presence of [player_tooltip player_id='108298' first='Taylor' last='Woodson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='108348' first='Nunu' last='Agara']. The Royals assembled a 13-0 run to narrow the gap to 7. With 30 seconds remaining on the game clock, junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='178269' first='Liv' last='McGill'] attacked the basket to score, pulling Hopkins within 4. At the 22-second mark, Woodson cut the margin to just two. But Johnson made a pair of free throws with the clocking showing 7.6-seconds to make it four again before a Boyle 3-pointer with under three seconds remaining left the Royals a single point short. TMA was a 71-70 victor. Coach Kent Hamre's post-game jump for joy and Craft's on-court dance party spoke volumes about what it meant to the Knights. It was certainly a memorable moment for Minnesota basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Johnson's performance was exceptional, and Craft delivered a big-time display in the most important game of her career, the one player whose efforts cannot go unnoticed is [player_tooltip player_id='220824' first='Piper' last='Carlson']. When Johnson and Craft were lighting up the scoreboard, Carlson was down low dishing out punishment, trying to contain the Hopkins' bigs, and making life miserable to all who came her way. The big senior is, without a doubt, the Knights' unsung hero, a player who has improved every year, earned everything she has, and will play Division 1 basketball next season at Idaho State because of it. When you scroll down to see our All-Tournament team you'll find Piper's name in the first five. She earned it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MOST VALUABLE PLAYER</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='108299' first='Tessa' last='Johnson'] <strong>– 2023 guard, St. Michael-Albertville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Tessa missed an entire basketball season with a broken femur, you had to wonder how it was going to impact what was already looking like an amazing career. Would she ever play like she had before? Could she be as quick, as fast, as graceful? The answers came in due course: Yes. Yes. Yes. This season Johnson has done it all, announcing her commitment to the University of South Carolina, earning Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year Honors, being chosen as a McDonald's All-American, and making herself an odds-on favorite to win Miss Basketball. It was only fitting then that Tessa should turn in a virtuoso performance in her final high school game, which is exactly what she did on Saturday. Johnson went 8-for-16 from the field and 10-for-10 at the free throw line for 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds. 7 assists and a half dozen smiles even when the game was hanging in the balance. Johnson is special and now she's a state champion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our picks are based solely on games played in the main bracket. No consideration is given to consolation games since we are not able to watch those.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1st team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='108299' first='Tessa' last='Johnson'] – 2023 guard, St. Michael-Albertville (South Carolina)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='339129' first='Ja'Kahla' last='Craft'] – 2024 guard, St. Michael-Albertville</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='220824' first='Piper' last='Carlson'] – 2023 forward, St. Michael-Albertville (Idaho State)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='108298' first='Taylor' last='Woodson'] – 2023 forward, Hopkins (Michigan)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='108348' first='Nunu' last='Agara'] – 2023 forward, Hopkins (Stanford)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2nd team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='178269' first='Liv' last='McGill'] – 2024 guard, Hopkins</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='178274' first='Amy' last='Thompson'] – 2024 guard, Stillwater</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='330743' first='Abby' last='Hoselton'] – 2025 forward, St. Michael-Albertville</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='108302' first='Molly' last='Lenz'] – 2023 guard, Eden Prairie (Illinois State)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'] – 2025 guard, Eden Prairie</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable mention</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='220827' first='Annika' last='Anderson'] – 2023 guard, Eden Prairie</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='148318' first='Lexi' last='Karlen'] – 2023 forward, Stillwater (UM-Duluth)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='208185' first='Liana' last='Buckhalton'] – 2025 guard, Stillwater</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='335641' first='Trinity' last='Wilson'] – 2024 forward, Lakeville North</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='296530' first='Gracie' last='Winge'] – 2025 guard, Lakeville North</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='215957' first='Gabby' last='Betton'] – 2024 guard, Lakeville North (Loyola MD)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='215953' first='Marisa' last='Frost'] – 2024 guard, Centennial (North Dakota State)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='346166' first='Autumn' last='McCall'] – 2025 forward, Centennial</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='215968' first='Kendall' last='Barnes'] – 2024 guard, Roseville</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='215983' first='Drew' last='Buslee'] – 2024 guard, Eagan</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->