Pass the turkey, it’s Thanksgiving tourney time!

The whole world is trying to catch a glimpse of Caitlin Clark these days it seems. Folks are pretty fired up for a front-row seat to the epic Paige Bueckers comeback season, too. Had these avid hoop fans not been so late to the party, they would already have seen both Clark and Bueckers right here in our backyard over previous Thanksgiving holidays on multiple occasions. As Minnesota’s high school season begins for real this week with a plethora of post-turkey tournaments, the stars will be shining once again at Hamline University’s Pat Paterson Invitational and the Twin Cities Thanksgiving Tip Off.

We fondly recall the memorable battle in 2017 at the TC Tip Off between Clark, representing Dowling Catholic of Iowa, and Frannie Hottinger of Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul. It was epic. Clark turned college basketball on its ear last winter, of course. Hottinger has since completed a four-year career at Lehigh University and is now making an impact as a 5th year standout at Marquette. Bueckers did battle at the Hamline tournament on multiple occasions. Not surprisingly, Paige has turned out to be all-everything and is the starting point guard at powerhouse UConn.

This year we’ve got the likes of Michigan commit Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN , Florida signee Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN , North Carolina’s Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN , Minnesota signee Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN , and many more. Here’s a rundown on the two events and what you’ll want to watch on Friday and Saturday.

PAT PATERSON TOURNAMENT

For more than 20 years the Pat Paterson tournament at Hamline University has been synonymous with opening week in Minnesota girls basketball. Staged at the birthplace of the college game – historic Hutton Arena – the event features 14 games over two days on the big court. Hosted by the women’s basketball team, the Hamline event has always produced plenty of drama. The first game tips off Friday at 9:30 a.m. with the day’s final encounter starting at 8:15 p.m. They’ll do it again Saturday on the same schedule.

6 games to see at Hamline

Prospects in the Top 25 expected to play

Aaliyah Crump Aaliyah Crump 6'1" | SF Montverde Academy | 2025 State FL – 2025 #1, Minnetonka

Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN – 2024 #4, Minnetonka (Minnesota)

Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN – 2025 #4, Minnehaha Academy

Lanelle Wright Lanelle Wright 5'8" | PG Minnetonka | 2026 State MN – 2026 #3, Minnetonka

Mya Moore Mya Moore 5'10" | PG Orono | 2026 State MN – 2026 #6, Orono

Finley Ohnstad Finley Ohnstad 6'1" | SF Lakeville South | 2024 State MN – 2024 #8, Lakeville South (Kansas State)

Marisa Frost Marisa Frost 5'8" | PG Centennial | 2024 State MN – 2024 #9, Centennial (North Dakota State)

Autumn McCall Autumn McCall 6'2" | PF Centennial | 2025 State MN – 2025 #12, Centennial (St. Thomas)

Aneisha Scott Aneisha Scott 5'6" | PG DeLaSalle | 2025 State MN – 2025 #16, DeLaSalle

Sinae Hill Sinae Hill 5'10" | SG Minnehaha Academy | 2026 State MN – 2026 #16, Minnehaha Academy

Dalia Thornton-Fay Dalia Thornton-Fay 5'11" | CG Minnetonka | 2026 State MN – 2026 #17, Minnetonka

Maddy Blaylark Maddy Blaylark 5'7" | CG DeLaSalle | 2026 State MN – 2026 #23, DeLaSalle

Danielle Coleman Danielle Coleman 6'1" | SG Lakeville South | 2025 State MN – 2025 #22, Lakeville South

Ella Keenan Ella Keenan 6'0" | PF Chaska | 2025 State MN – 2025 #25, Chaska

TWIN CITIES THANKSGIVING TIPOFF

This will mark the 7th playing of the Twin Cities Thanksgiving Tip Off. It began as a Catholic-school event held at the University of St. Thomas. It has since moved to St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights and expanded dramatically. The Tip Off features a stellar field that includes all four defending state champions – St. Michael-Albertville (4A), Benilde-St. Margaret’s (3A), Providence Academy (2A) and Mountain Iron-Buhl (Class A). Among the primary attractions are three opponents from out of state: Dowling Catholic and Davenport North of Iowa, and LaCrosse Aquinas of Wisconsin. The tournament tips off at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continues through Saturday evening.

6 games to see at St. Thomas Academy

Visit twincitiesthanksgivingtipoff.com for the complete schedule.

Top 20 prospects to watch

Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN – 2024 #1, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Michigan)

Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN – 2024 #2, Hopkins (Florida)

Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN – 2024 #3, Mountain Iron-Buhl (North Carolina)

Maddyn Greenway Maddyn Greenway 5'8" | PG Providence Academy | 2026 State MN – 2026 #1, Providence Academy

Pressley Watkins Pressley Watkins 6'0" | CG Benilde-St. Margaret's School | 2027 State MN – 2027 #2, Benilde-St. Margaret’s

Ava Cupito Ava Cupito 5'10" | CG Hopkins | 2027 State MN – 2027 #3, Hopkins

Emma Millerbernd Emma Millerbernd 5'10" | CG Providence Academy | 2027 State MN – 2027 #4, Providence Academy

Sam Wills Sam Wills 6'0" | SG Visitation | 2025 State MN – 2025 #5, Visitation

Erma Walker Erma Walker 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2027 State MN – 2027 #5, Hopkins

Cail Jahnke Cail Jahnke 6'2" | CG St. Michael-Albertville | 2026 State MN – 2026 #5, St. Michael-Albertville

Laura Hauge Laura Hauge 5'9" | SG St. Croix Lutheran | 2024 State MN – 2024 #7, St. Croix Lutheran (St. Thomas)

Audrey Shindelar Audrey Shindelar 6'0" | CG Stewartville | 2026 State MN – 2026 #7, Stewartville

Abby Hoselton Abby Hoselton 5'11" | PF STMA | 2025 State MN – 2025 #8, St. Michael-Albertville

Morgan Staloch Morgan Staloch 6'0" | PF Jordan | 2026 State MN – 2026 #8, Jordan

Vienna Murray Vienna Murray 6'1" | SG East Ridge | 2026 State MN – 2026 #9, East Ridge

Ja’Kahla Craft Ja’Kahla Craft 5'9" | CG STMA | 2024 State MN – 2024 #12, St. Michael-Albertville (Seton Hall)

Jayci Rath Jayci Rath 6'1" | SF Stewartville | 2026 State MN – 2026 #12, Stewartville

Jocelyn Land Jocelyn Land 6'0" | PF Holy Family | 2024 State MN – 2024 #13, Holy Family (Butler)

Callie Oakland Callie Oakland 6'1" | PF St. Croix Lutheran | 2026 State MN – 2026 #13, St. Croix Lutheran

Hope Counts Hope Counts 6'2" | SF Providence Academy | 2025 State MN – 2025 #14, Providence Academy

Savannah Gardner Savannah Gardner 5'10" | F Eastview | 2024 MN – 2024 #15, Eastview (St. Thomas)

Kendall Barnes Kendall Barnes 5'7" | CG Roseville | 2024 State MN – 2024 #25, Roseville