Coming up: Breakdown Girls Tip Off starts Friday
The girls state tournament is amazing with all of its hoopla, excitement and fan support, and every girl wants to play there at least once. It’s not the best high school basketball you’ll see in Minnesota, however. The place for that is this weekend at Hopkins where the Breakdown Girls Tip Off Classic will take place on Friday and Saturday. This year’s event features the best lineup of girls basketball games we’ve seen – 22 of them in all – and it promises to produce an ample supply of fireworks. With a ton of star power on display, and almost all of Minnesota’s best programs on the schedule, it is the place to see and be seen this weekend. Here’s a rundown on what you can expect.
WHAT IS THE BREAKDOWN TIP OFF?
Breakdown Sports is a Minnesota-based event organizer and the leader in staging high school basketball events in the state. Breakdown has built a quality reputation over the past 20 years for their commitment to both boys and girls basketball, the efficient way they run their events, and the quality of the tournament fields they manage to assemble every year. The Tip Off is the annual extravaganza that offers the largest number of great teams, great matchups and great players all in one location at the same time. It’s a large, loud and luxurious reminder that the high school basketball season is officially underway.
WHO IS PLAYING?
- 9 of the top 10 teams in Class 4A – Led by the defending state champions from Chaska, the field includes all of the major contenders for the 2022 title such as Hopkins, Wayzata, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Stillwater and St. Michael-Albertville.
- 7 of the top 10 teams in Class 3A – Becker won the championship last season and they are back in the driver’s seat this year despite some major losses to graduation. The team everyone is watching with interest is Benilde-St. Margaret’s, largely because it features the best sophomore in America Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN . Como Park, Mankato East, and DeLaSalle will be here, too.
- The defending 2A champions (Albany) and two of the favorites to win it this season (Minnehaha Academy and Providence Academy) – With so many bright young stars, Minnehaha and Providence will draw a crowd, but the Huskies still have plenty of bite. Sauk Centre, Goodhue, Pine City and St. Croix Lutheran are also teams to watch.
- Two of the favorites in Class A – Mountain Iron-Buhl and Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s are legit and offer a glimpse of perhaps the premier small-school players in the state: Madison Mathiowetz Madison Mathiowetz 5'10" | CG Sleepy Eye St. Mary's | 2022 State MN of SESM (South Dakota State) and Top 10 prospect Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN of MIB.
5 GAMES YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS
- Friday at 7:00 p.m. – Wayzata vs Becker (Main court)
- Saturday at 1:45 p.m. – Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s vs Mt Iron-Buhl (East)
- Saturday at 5:30 p.m. – Minnetonka vs Maple Grove (Main)
- Saturday at 7:00 p.m. – Providence Academy vs Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Main)
- Saturday at 8:30 p.m. – Chaska vs Hopkins (Main)
WHO ARE THE BEST PLAYERS?
The Tip Off offers big-time talent everywhere you look. Some 20 Division 1 commits will play Friday and Saturday in Hopkins. Another 50 or so prospects at the event will eventually end up at the D1 level, too. The Tip Off features 8 of the top 10 and 17 of the top 20 seniors, the top 7 juniors, the best 7 sophomores and 9 of the top 10 freshmen! The gym will be crawling with college coaches from across the country, all angling for the opportunity to lure a prize recruit to their campus.
The Elite Upperclassmen
- Maya Nnaji Maya Nnaji 6'4" | PF Hopkins | 2022 State #7 Nation MN – senior forward, Hopkins (Arizona)
- Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN – senior guard, Wayzata (Minnesota)
- Amaya Battle Amaya Battle 5'10" | PG Hopkins | 2022 State #29 Nation MN – senior guard, Hopkins (Minnesota)
- Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN – senior forward, Chaska (Minnesota)
- Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN – senior forward, Eden Prairie (Minnesota)
- Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN – junior guard, St. Michael-Albertville (#1 in 2023)
- Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN – junior forward, Hopkins (#2 in 2023)
- Nunu Agara Nunu Agara 6'1" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #32 Nation MN – junior forward, Hopkins (Stanford)
- Kennedy Sanders Kennedy Sanders 5'8" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN – junior guard, Chaska (Colorado)
- Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN – junior guard, Becker (UW-Green Bay)
The Rising Stars
- Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN – sophomore guard, Benilde-St. Margarets (#1 in 2024)
- Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN – sophomore guard, Hopkins (#2 in 2024)
- Claire Stern Claire Stern 6'0" | SF Maple Grove | 2024 State MN – sophomore forward, Maple Grove (#3 in 2024)
- Aaliyah Crump Aaliyah Crump 6'1" | SF Minnetonka | 2025 State MN – freshman forward, Minnetonka (#1 in 2025)
- Kendall McGee Kendall McGee 5'10" | CG Benilde-St. Margaret's | 2025 State MN – freshman guard, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (#2 in 2025)
- Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 5'11" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN – freshman guard, Maple Grove (#3 in 2025)
The Prodigies
- Maddyn Greenway Maddyn Greenway 5'8" | PG Providence Academy | 2026 State MN – 8th grade guard, Providence Academy (top 3 in 2026)
- Lanelle Wright Lanelle Wright 5'8" | PG Minnetonka | 2026 State MN – 8th grade guard, Minnetonka (top 3 in 2026)
- Ava Cupito – 7th grade guard, Minnehaha Academy (top 3 in 2027)
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
- These are sanctioned regular season high school games and are played under the rules of the Minnesota State High School League. No running time. No ending the game with time left on the clock. No one-minute warmups.
- The games will be played at the Lindbergh Center on the campus of Hopkins High School, 2400 Lindbergh Drive in Minnetonka. Hopkins has been enforcing a mask requirement of late so bring one along just in case.
- Play begins on Friday at 5 p.m. with six games, three on the Main court and three on the East court. Saturday’s 16 games (8 per court) start at 9 a.m. and the last one – Hopkins vs Chaska – tips off at 8:30 p.m. There will be non-varsity games taking place, as well.
- The cost on Friday is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors and the tickets are good for all six games. Saturday tickets are $13 and $10 and you can stick around for all 16 games if you are up for it. Tickets are available at the door.
FRIDAY GAMES
Main Court
- 5:30 p.m. – Rosemount vs Minnetonka
- 7:00 p.m. – Wayzata vs Becker
- 8:30 p.m. – Appleton East (WI) vs Hopkins
East Court
- 5:00 p.m. – Centennial vs Edina
- 6:30 p.m. – Park Center vs Farmington
- 8:00 p.m. – Eagan vs Eden Prairie
SATURDAY GAMES
Main Court
- 9:30 a.m. – Como Park vs DeLaSalle
- 11:00 a.m. – Albany vs Minnehaha Academy
- 12:45 p.m. – Stillwater vs St. Michael-Albertville
- 2:15 p.m. – Becker vs Appleton East (WI)
- 3:45 p.m. – Eden Prairie vs Lakeville North
- 5:30 p.m. – Minnetonka vs Maple Grove
- 7:00 p.m. – Providence Academy vs Benilde-SM
- 8:30 p.m. – Chaska vs Hopkins
East Court
- 9:00 a.m. – Champlin Park vs Prior Lake
- 10:30 a.m. – Alexandria vs Hill-Murray
- 12:15 p.m. – Mankato East vs St. Louis Park
- 1:45 p.m. – Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s vs Mt Iron-Buhl
- 3:15 p.m. – Sauk Centre vs Goodhue
- 5:00 p.m. – Pine City vs St. Croix Lutheran
- 6:30 p.m. – Lakeville South vs Chanhassen
- 8:00 p.m. – Andover vs Eastview
For more information visit breakdownsportsusa.com/girlstipoff
Top photo: Chaska Hawks are the defending Class 4A state champions. (Photo courtesy of Breakdown Sports)