Tournament preview: It’s almost time for holiday basketball
Holiday To Do List:
- Dec. 24 –Last-minute Christmas shopping. It’s always last minute!
- Dec. 25 – Celebrate with family
- Dec. 26 – Watch basketball
- Dec. 27 – Watch basketball
- Dec. 28 – Watch basketball
- Dec. 30 – Watch basketball
- Dec. 31 – Watch basketball
It’s the holiday season, and you know what that means. Basketball. Basketball. More basketball. Tournament play begins on Thursday at Hill-Murray and St. Cloud and continues (with a Sunday break) through New Year’s Eve. We’ll be making the rounds. I’ll be at Hill-Murray on Thursday, St. Cloud Tech on Friday and St. Olaf College on Saturday. Nate Wahl will spend Saturday at Park Center to provide coverage there.
Here’s a quick primer on the upcoming holiday tournaments, including those events with more than four teams taking part.
STRONGEST FIELD
The Park Center field is loaded, featuring undefeated Hopkins (9-0) and Park Center (10-0), along with state contenders Chaska and Eden Prairie.
MOST STAR POWER
Not surprisingly, it’s Park Center by a large margin. Nearly 40 players who are ranked in the Prep Girls Hoops top 50 of their respective classes are expected to participate, including 15 athletes ranked in the top 10:
- 2020 – #1 Paige Bueckers (Hopkins), #2 Lauren Jensen (Lakeville North), #8 Nneka Obiazor (Eden Prairie)
- 2021– #1 Adalia McKenzie (Park Center), #5 Kendall Coley (St. Louis Park), #6 Kaylee Van Eps (Chaska)
- 2022 – #1 Maya Nnaji (Hopkins), #2 Amaya Battle (Hopkins), #3 Mallory Heyer (Chaska), #5 Nia Holloway (Eden Prairie), #8 Desiree Ware (Minnetonka)
- 2023 – #1s Nunu Agara (Hopkins) & Taylor Woodson (Hopkins), #5 Kennedy Sanders (Chaska), #6 Molly Lenz (Eden Prairie)
The field at Roseville is pretty good, as well. Top players include:
- 2020 – #5 Mallory Brake (Hastings), #12 Jayda Johnston (Roseville), #26 Sydney White (Andover)
- 2021 – #8 Jade Hill (Minneapolis South), #12 Tamia Ugass (Roseville), #18 Kierra Wheeler (Cooper), #22 Jodi Anderson (Centennial), #28 Jenna Guyer (Centennial)
- 2022 – #6 Ellie Buzzelle (Rogers)
- 2023– #4 Clara Glad (Rogers), #18 Katelyn Maciej (Rogers)
TOP FIRST-ROUND MATCH-UPS
- Thursday, Dec. 26 – Forest Lake vs Hill-Murray (8:15 p.m. at Hill-Murray)
- Friday, Dec. 27 – Chaska vs Hopkins (4:15 p.m. at Park Center)
- Saturday, Dec. 28 – Hopkins vs Park Center (7 p.m. at Park Center)
- Monday, Dec. 30 – Championship game at Roseville (8 p.m. at Roseville)
- Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Beaver Dam (Wisconsin) vs Farmington (1 p.m. at St. Olaf)
Here is a complete rundown on the major tournaments this holiday season.
BREAKDOWN GRANITE CITY CLASSIC
- Location – St. Cloud Tech, St. Cloud Apollo
- Dec. 26, 27
- Annandale, Anoka, Becker, Big Lake, Duluth East, Foley, Henning, Holy Family, Hutchinson, Pine City, Sartell-St. Stephen, Spring Lake Park, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Rockford, Rocori
HILL-MURRAY
- Location – Hill-Murray School, Maplewood
- Dec. 26, 27, 28
- Henry Sibley, Forest Lake, Hill-Murray, Mounds View, St. Croix Lutheran, Tartan, Waconia, Wayzata
MARSHALL
- Location – Southwest Minnesota State University
- Dec. 30, 31
- Dawson Boyd, Minnewaska, St. Clair, Lac qui Parle Valley, Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Springfield, Edgerton, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Canby
NORTHFIELD
- Location – St. Olaf College
- Dec. 27, 28, 30, 31
- Beaver Dam (Wisconsin), Cretin-Derham Hall, Eastview, Farmington, Grand Rapids, Mankato West, Northfield, Prior Lake, Simley, St. Peter
PARK CENTER
- Location – Park Center High School, Brooklyn Park
- Dec. 27, 28
- Champlin Park, Chaska, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Lakeville North, Minnetonka, Park Center, St. Louis Park
ROCHESTER ROTARY TOURNAMENT
- Location – Mayo Civic Center
- Dec. 27, 28
- Stewartville, Park Cottage Grove, Mahtomedi, Rochester Century, Lake City, Rosemount, White Bear Lake, Burnsville
ROSEVILLE
- Location – Roseville High School
- Dec. 27, 28, 30
- Andover, Centennial, Hastings, Minneapolis South, Robbinsdale Cooper, Rogers, Roseville, Woodbury
There are several other holiday tournaments taking place around the state, including Bemidji, Blue Earth, Cloquet, Hayfield, Kimball, Montevideo, Monticello, Mounds Park Academy, Nicollet, Northland, Pelican Rapids, St. Agnes, Willmar and Winona. Most games are listed on the daily schedule at mngirlsbasketballhub.com.
Top photo: Sophomore Lani Schoper of Mankato West will be in action this holiday season as the Scarlets travel to Northfield for the St. Olaf tournament. (Photo courtesy of Mankato Free Press)