OK, I'll admit it. I picked all 4 of the girls state high school champions for 2019. You can look it up in the Breakdown Guidebook for 2018-2019. Hopkins, I said. And DeLaSalle. And Minnehaha. And, even the one and only tournament that was ever in any doubt in Class A. Minneota, I said. And, so, it was Minneota.
But, my point is not how smart I am. My point is how easy it was. Hopkins. DeLaSalle. Minnehaha. Easy peasy. Minneota? They were one of two or three teams the could have won. Kevin Anderson picked the same four teams. Easy.
In the case of Hopkins, I mean, seriously. They ended up 32-0 with a scoring margin of 83-49. They beat my #2, #6, #7 and #8 teams in Class AAAA in the playoffs by an average of 73-50. They joined the conversation, at least, as to whether they might be the best girls team ever in the state of Minnesota. They had Paige Bueckers, who is widely regarded as the greatest player ever in the state of Minnesota. But, there's no need to talk about such superlatives right now, other than that, yes, Hopkins was #1, because almost everybody's back and their 2020 team will probably end up being the greatest team ever and a second state title will put an end to any debate as to Bueckers' stature.
In the case of DeLaSalle, was there ever any doubt? Well, they started 1-3 and 4-4, but after that it was 20-1 with a 65-51 scoring margin in the post-season. The Islanders featured a 10-deep rotation of girls who scored 5 ppg or more. Injuries? There were injuries. No problem. And, there were just 3 seniors on the roster, and only 2 of them played, and only one of them played in the post-season. So, they are as much of a sure thing in their class in 2020 as Hopkins is in theirs.
Then there's Minnehaha. Was there ever any doubt? OK, here, yes, there was doubt. They lost guard Terra Rhoades to graduation and, frankly, she supplied a lot of the heart for the RedHawks in 2018. They started 3-5, though it's true that 4 of the 5 losses were to Class AAA opponents. But the got it together behind guards Mia Curtis and Taytum Rhoades and finished 22-1, with a 66-56 average edge in the state tournament. Roseau took 3rd place and Kacie Borowicz won the Ms. Basketball Award after scoring 40 points in her final high school game.
Finally, Minneota. The Vikings had to grind it out, and so that's what they did. After scoring 69 ppg during the season, they won with just 53 ppg at state by giving up just 42 to finish 30-1. This was the one tournament, that if they played it 10 times, somebody probably wouldn't win 7 of them.
Let me put that another way. If they play Class AAAA 10 times, Hopkins wins 10 times. If they play AAA 10 times, DeLaSalle wins 9. (Holy Angels, not the runners-up from Becker, wins one. Or maybe it's 8 and 2.) If they play AA 10 times, Minnehaha wins 8. (Sauk Centre, who lost to Albany in a Section 6AA semi-final, is the other team that coulda/woulda won this tournament 2 out of 10 if it had gotten here.) If they play Class A 10 times, Minneota wins 5, Heritage Christian wins 3 and Goodhue wins 2.
Final Top 10
1. Hopkins 32-0
2. Wayzata 26-3
3. Stillwater 28-3
4. Centennial 27-5
5. Farmington 24-5
6. Eastview 25-7
7. Maple Grove 24-8
8. St. Michael-Albertville 25-4
9. DeLaSalle 24-5
10. Forest Lake 26-6
All-State
Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, Jr., G
Sara Scalia, Stillwater, Sr., G
Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North, Jr., G
Kacie Borowicz, Roseau, Sr., G
Kallie Theisen, Wayzata, Sr., F
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