Class 4A State Tourney: All-Tournament Teams

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Going into Saturday's Class 4A State Championship game, the season series between Hopkins and Minnetonka was split at one win apiece. The time had come to settle the score. Things got off to an even start with neither team gaining a significant edge. Minnetonka star [player_tooltip player_id='252387' first='Aaliyah' last='Crump'] put up 7 early points, and Hopkins junior [player_tooltip player_id='453753' first='Lauren' last='Hillesheim'] had 9. A Hopkins cold spell that lasted over three minutes tipped the scales in Tonka's favor for the remainder of the half and the Skippers led the Royals 39-30 at the break.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lead for the Skippers grew to as much at 14 points with 7 minutes remaining in the contest, but the Royals were not going to be put to bed easily. Big buckets from Hillesheim, McGill, and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='558627' first='Erma' last='Walker'] sent Hopkins on a 10-0 scoring run, leaving the Royals with a deficit of just 2 point with under three minutes to play. When Crump, Minnetonka's leading scorer, fouled out of the&nbsp;contest with two minutes remaining, the Skippers were up 5. A layup by [player_tooltip player_id='215457' first='London' last='Harris'] put the Royals within 3 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Skippers were set to inbound the ball with just 3 seconds showing on the shot clock. A missed 3-pointer sent the ball into the hands of Minnetonka senior [player_tooltip player_id='392472' first='Cece' last='Nesseth'] who scored an and-one on the put-back, just as the shot clock ran out. A blocked shot on the other end by [player_tooltip player_id='215958' first='Tori' last='McKinney'] sealed the deal for Minnetonka as the Skippers prevailed 64-56 to take home the hardware.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='252387' first='Aaliyah' last='Crump'] <strong>&amp;</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='215958' first='Tori' last='McKinney'] <strong>– Minnetonka</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had a hard time deciding who most deserved our Prep Girls Hoops Class 4A Most Valuable Player recognition – Crump or McKinney. In the end the only obvious choice was to give it to both. Crump has had an illustrious high school career to date. She is a 5-star recruit, currently ranked 1st by Prep Girls Hoops in Minnesota's Class of 2025. Aaliyah is 6th in ESPN's national rankings among American juniors. She won a gold medal with Team USA last summer at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mexico. In 2022, she participated in the U17 National Team Trials at just 15 years old. She totaled 81 points over three games in the State Tournament, and now she has a state championship to add to her resume.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McKinney is just as deserving of the honor. A top 5 prospect in Minnesota's 2024 class, Tori is widely regarded as the state's most elite defender. Her length and athleticism are tremendous attributes, but at the end of the day defense is about energy and effort, and nobody in the state is more committed to defensive excellence than McKinney. She will play college ball at the University of Minnesota next season on the same home floor where she led the Skippers to their first state championship in eight seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BREAKOUT PERFORMER</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='558627' first='Erma' last='Walker'] <strong>– 2027 forward, Hopkins</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unlike our MVP honors for Class 4A, the Breakout Performer award was a relative no-brainer. The Hopkins freshman was nothing short of dominant in the State Tournament. In every contest, she owned the paint, using her size and strength to back opponents down and score. Her best performance came in Thursday's semifinal matchup against Maple Grove. Erma put up 30 points and grabbed 9 boards, made 14 of 16 shots from the field and went 2-for-3 at the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Walker's growth over the course of the season has been amazing to watch. She had big shoes to fill in the front court after the graduations of <strong>Nuna Agara</strong> (Stanford) and <strong>Taylor Woodson</strong> (Michigan), but Erma has done remarkably well in that pursuit, belying her status as a 9th grader. Things are going to look a bit different for Hopkins next season with the graduation of senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='178269' first='Liv' last='McGill'], but one thing that won't change is the presence that Walker brings in the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Please note: When making selections for the Prep Girls Hoops All-Tournament Teams, only performance in games played in the main draw is considered. We did not watch any consolation games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1st Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='252387' first='Aaliyah' last='Crump'] – 2025 guard, Minnetonka</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='558627' first='Erma' last='Walker'] – 2027 forward, Hopkins</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='205298' first='Jordan' last='Ode'] – 2025 guard/wing, Maple Grove (Michigan State)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='178269' first='Liv' last='McGill'] – 2024 guard, Hopkins (Florida)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215958' first='Tori' last='McKinney'] – 2024 guard, Minnetonka (Minnesota)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2nd Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215944' first='Ava' last='Cossette'] – 2024 guard, Maple Grove (South Dakota)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215956' first='Claire' last='Stern'] – 2024 wing, Maple Grove (North Dakota State)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='339129' first='Ja'Kahla' last='Craft'] – 2024 guard, St. Michael-Albertville (Seton Hall)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='453753' first='Lauren' last='Hillesheim'] – 2025 guard/forward, Hopkins</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='335641' first='Trinity' last='Wilson'] – 2024 post, Lakeville North (Vanderbilt)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mentions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='578467' first='Amisha' last='Ramlall'] – 2027 guard, Rosemount</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='339142' first='Avery' last='Moeller'] – 2024 guard, Rosemount (Winona State)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='215957' first='Gabby' last='Betton'] – 2024 guard, Lakeville North (Loyola Maryland)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='344333' first='Cail' last='Jahnke'] – 2026 guard, St. Michael-Albertville</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='392472' first='Cece' last='Nesseth'] – 2024 forward, Minnetonka</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='346182' first='Elayna' last='Boe'] – 2025 guard, Lakeville North</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='178262' first='Emma' last='Frost'] – 2024 forward, Andover (Wayne State)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='339107' first='Jordyn' last='Schmittdiel'] – 2024 forward, White Bear Lake (Northern Michigan)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='252383' first='Lanelle' last='Wright'] – 2026 guard, Minnetonka</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='296531' first='Tatum' last='Woodson'] – 2025 guard, Hopkins</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PGH scout Ally McGinnis contributed to this content.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->