Hopkins vs Wayzata: 5 observations on excellence
Last year’s first meeting of the season between Hopkins and Wayzata was one of the most highly-anticipated basketball encounters in recent memory. The pre-game hype was at full volume, and the Lindbergh Center gym was bursting at the seams with every last inch of seating and standing room accounted for. The run-up to this year’s game didn’t have quite so much buzz. Because Hopkins has been so dominant this season, and because Wayzata had graduated two of its top five players, very few people beyond the Trojans’ inner circle were giving the underdogs much of a chance. How wrong that turned out to be.
Instead of a one-sided run-away what we saw was 36 minutes of incredibly competitive basketball, chock-full of drama, intrigue and excellence. Lots of excellence. Hopkins did end up winning by 10, but it felt so much closer than that. In fact, it was a one-possession game with less than two minutes remaining before the Royals closed the deal once again. Now, after 48 hours of reflection, we offer you a summary of events and five observations on what we witnessed.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It took a few minutes for the nerves to settle and the game to take shape before Wayzata’s Annika Stewart Annika Stewart 6'3" | PF Wayzata | 2020 State MN scored the first field goal nearly two minutes into the opening half. The initial Hopkins basket didn’t materialize until nearly four minutes had passed and freshman Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN scored. Paige Bueckers Paige Bueckers 5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020 State MN ‘ first bucket came at the after five full minutes of play when she tied the game at 4-4. Then it got normal, Bueckers rattled off a quick 10 points and the rivalry game was off and running for real.
The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half. The largest Hopkins lead was four points; the largest Wayzata lead was three. The Trojans pulled ahead in the final minute when Stewart made a couple of three-pointers and then fed sophomore Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN for a basket. Wayzata went to the break up 35-32.
The second half felt like a heavyweight fight as the teams delivered alternating buckets like Ali and Foreman trading body blows. Left hook. Right uppercut. Bueckers basket. Jenna Johnson Jenna Johnson 6'2" | PF Wayzata | 2021 State #52 Nation MN score. Right cross. Left jab. Maya Nnaji Maya Nnaji 6'4" | PF Hopkins | 2022 State #7 Nation MN put-back. Stewart jumper. It was terrific theater. Then Hopkins went on a little run. When Nnaji cashed in on an and-1 at the 12:40 mark, the Royals lead was seven. Then sophomore Alayna Contreras Alayna Contreras 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2022 State MN buried a three-pointer and the margin was in double digits. But the Trojans did not fold.
By the time Johnson scored on a bank shot with three minutes remaining, the lead was down to just three points. Wayzata was that close again at the 1:45 mark when freshman Abby Krzewinski Abby Krzewinski 5'11" | PF Wayzata | 2023 State MN completed a pair of free throws to make it 77-74. Just 15 seconds later, however, Johnson fouled Nnajji who cashed in on the 2 + 1 before Bueckers closed it out with four consecutive free throws. In all, Hopkins made 25 of 28 free throw attempts on the night. The Royals might be big, talented and super-athletic, but they spend countless hours on the basics of basketball, too, and that investment of time and energy paid off one more time.
What a show!
THE PAIGE BUECKERS EXPERIENCE
Watching Paige Bueckers Paige Bueckers 5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020 State MN play basketball can be difficult to describe. There’s a tourist attraction in Seattle, built by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, called ‘The Jimmy Hendrix Experience’ constructed in honor of the legendary musician from the Emerald City. Perhaps we should call our journey over these past few years ‘The Paige Bueckers Paige Bueckers 5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020 State MN Experience.’ It has certainly been worth the price of admission. On Tuesday she performed under the watchful eye of her future coach, Geno Auriemma of the University of Connecticut. He’s basketball royalty. Speaking of basketball royality, I had the good fortune to watch the majority of the game with Minnesota coach Lindsay Whalen. How cool is that watching the best player of her generation with analysis from the best Minnesota player ever! As the kids like to say on Twitter, “Blessed!!”
The video guys were all there, too. Packaging and posting highlights of Paige has become a cottage industry in these parts, and the Internet can’t seem to get enough of it. ‘Slam’ was on hand. Their ‘Day in the Life of Paige Bueckers Paige Bueckers 5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020 State MN ‘ video is up to nearly 600,000 views. The ‘Overtime’ package of Paige’s 2019 AAU highlights has more than 1.2 million views. Courtside Films’ recent video of Bueckers bantering with St. Louis Park coach Arsenio Richardson has also been seen by more than a million people. I’m no math whiz but isn’t that more than 20 year’s worth of state tournament spectators for just one video? Incredible. Even the local cable TV broadcast of the game was up to 11,000 views by Thursday afternoon.
I remember when a typical girls high school basketball game drew a sparse crowd of friends and family. That’s still the case at many games I go to. Who could have imagined way back in 1972 when Title IX was passed that the girls game would turn into this? Remarkable.
Paige was brilliant as always. She made a three-pointer, nine two-point field goals and was 6-for-6 at the line for 27 points. And, of course, she dished out assists like candy on Halloween.
JAW-DROPPING JENNA JOHNSON
Bueckers was good but Jenna Johnson Jenna Johnson 6'2" | PF Wayzata | 2021 State #52 Nation MN was equally so. The 6’2 forward, who is the #2-rated player in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2021, has turned in plenty of impressive performances over the years. This topped them all. Every time Paige did something spectacular, Jenna answered. She scored in transition, and out-muscled opponents for rebounds and put-backs. She scored with her left hand and her right and came up with some huge defensive plays. Basically Jenna willed Wayzata into a position where they had a chance to pull off an upset. It didn’t happen, of course, but there’s no chance it could have happened without Jenna’s jaw-dropping performance. The University of Utah commit scored 28 points.
THE BIG TICKET PAID OFF
They used to call Kevin Garnett ‘The Big Ticket’ back when the Timberwolves were good and he was better. Maybe we should hang that moniker on Maya Nnaji Maya Nnaji 6'4" | PF Hopkins | 2022 State #7 Nation MN . The 6’4 power forward, who is the #1-prospect in the 2022 class, is soaring to new heights this season. She’s big, she’s strong, she’s skilled. Nnaji was excellent against Wayzata, scoring eight field goals and going 7-for-7 at the line for 23 points. Nnaji has tons of offers and plenty of accolades and she is proving worthy of both. Maya wasn’t the only size-large talent who performed well on Tuesday. Hopkins freshmen Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN and Nunu Agara Nunu Agara 6'1" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #32 Nation MN were also very good. The 2023 co-#1s scored 15 and 9 points respectively. Woodson, in particular, made some big plays when it was close. These kids are superstars in the making and they are only in the 9th grade.
THE UNDERSTATED UNDERSTUDY
Last season Wayzata had forward Kallie Theisen Kallie Theisen 6'0" | PF Wayzata | 2019 State MN , our top-rated prospect in the 2019 class now at South Dakota State, and Mimi Schrader Mimi Schrader 5'7" | PG Wayzata | 2019 State MN , the standout point guard now at Navy. This year Nebraska commit Annika Stewart Annika Stewart 6'3" | PF Wayzata | 2020 State MN , who scored 22 on Tuesday, is the team’s senior standout. Next year they’ll still have Johnson to lead the way. And then there’s Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN , the silky-smooth guard with the golden touch who still has two more full seasons of high school basketball after this one. It’s a talented group, and Mara may be the most gifted of all. Braun’s skills were on full display against Hopkins as she scored 15 points in the second half, 20 in total, to keep Wayzata in the hunt. Braun is the #4 prospect in the class of 2022, an understated leader with a full box of precision tools.
FROM A TO Z THEY CONTRIBUTED
So much talent. So many stars. But in a game like this your need a supporting cast and Wayzata received excellent contributions from senior Alivia Arnebeck Alivia Arnebeck 5'8" | SG Wayzata | 2020 State MN and freshman Abby Krzewinski Abby Krzewinski 5'11" | PF Wayzata | 2023 State MN . Arnebeck, who will play at UW-Lacrosse, is the prototypical ‘glue guy’ who goes about her business in near-anonymity doing what’s required to help the marque players shine. When tryouts opened at Wayzata in November, Krzewinski wasn’t even penciled in as a varsity player. Now, two months later, the 5’10 freshman is in the starting lineup against some of the best players in the country and more than holding her own. Those two ice-water free throws near the end gave Wayzata hope, and she knocked them down like a seasoned veteran. You had to be impressed.
EPILOGUE
One player who wasn’t able to get in on the excellence was Hopkins sophomore Amaya Battle Amaya Battle 5'10" | PG Hopkins | 2022 State #29 Nation MN . She’s the #2-rated prospect in the 2022 class, a combo guard with all of the required attributes to succeed in high-level college ball. Unfortunately she has been nursing a back injury and has been sidelined for a month. Amaya practiced this week and will hopefully return for the stretch run. As well as Hopkins is playing right now imagine what they’ll be like when Battle returns.
Given how wonderful the evening turned out to be it’s ironic that the game almost didn’t happen. That’s because 30 minutes prior to the scheduled tipoff time the gym was mostly dark thanks to a power outage in the neighborhood. Fortunately the lights came back on, the start time was delayed only a short time and the rest is history. Now we get to do it all over again on Friday, Feb. 14 at Wayzata. What better way to spend Valentine’s Day with your special someone than watching basketball greatness. It promises to be a sweetheart of a game.