Best of the Hall of Fame Winter Classic, Part 1--The Girls

You might have heard of the Hall of Fame Winter Classic sponsored by the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall or Fame. Or not. The event was kind of snakebit. Over 4 years, out of a total of 48 scheduled games, they had played only 5 due to snowstorms and COVID. But, there's good news. They got in all 12 games last Saturday at Anoka Ramsey Community College, 6 girls, 6 boys, 6 varsity, 6 JV, with 8 of the 12 participating teams being ranked at the time. 

Among the girls, the varsity results were:

#1 Hopkins 74 Roseville 53

#6 Minnetonka 56 #8 Benilde-St. Margaret's 52 in the best of the 3 girls games

#7 Goodhue 86 Pine City 58

Minnetonka-Benilde was the 1st game up. Tonka shot it rather poorly, 24% in the 1st half, 38% in the 2nd, 30% for the day. Aaliyah Crump, selected as the game MVP, shot 8-of-24 and scored 23 points and added 8 rebounds for the winners. Benilde shot it a little better at 38% for the game. Olivia Olson shot 9-of-16 and scored 21 points to go with 9 rebounds. It was 26-all at the half and it stayed close. A Crump 3 inside of a minute-and-a-half finally put Minnetonka in the driver's seat. Benilde turned it over 21 times, and Minnetonka had 13 extra FG attempts and a 23-11 edge in points off turnovers. 

Goodhue then put on a clinic against a good Pine City team. I specifically mention that Pine City is a good team because the final score--Goodhue 86 Pine City 58--might not suggest as much. The Dragons have 3 6-1 girls, who shot 15-of-34 among them and all of whom scored in double figures (Kloey Lind 15, Sophia Lahti 14 and Karly Jusczak 13). But they could not match up with Goodhue's quickness. Tori Miller and Elizabeth Gadient combined to shoot 16-of-24 for 36 points, while Gadient added 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. They turned Pine City over 25 times, 21 of them on Goodhue steals, and had a 32-8 edge in points off turnovers. They also had a 22-2 scoring advantage off the bench.

Finally, Roseville stayed with #1 Hopkins for awhile as the Royals shot just 39% to Roseville's 35%. But Hopkins had a 17-3 edge on the offensive boards and a 15-2 edge in 2nd chance points. Kelly Boyle scored 27 for Hopkins on 9-of-18 3-pointers, while Taylor Woodson dominated in every phase of the game with 20 points (9-of-13 FG), 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Kendall Barnes scored 19 for Roseville, thanks mainly to 14 trips to the FT line. 

Top Performers

C--Sidney Reed, Minnetonka, 6-1, junior, 9 points (4-of-9 FG), 11 rebounds

F--Taylor Woodson, Hopkins, 6-0, senior, 20 points (9-of-13 FG), 9 rebounds, 3 steals

PG--Elizabeth Gadient, Goodhue, 5-11. junior, 16 points (7-of-10 FG), 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals

SG--Kelly Boyle, Hopkins, 5-7, senior (9-of-19 FG/9-of-18 3s), 4 assists

SG (tie)--Aaliyah Crump, Minnetonka, 6-1, sophomore, 23 points, 8 rebounds

SG (tie)--Olivia Olson, Benilde, 6-1, junior, 21 points, 9 rebounds

6th--Ava Wallaker, Goodhue, 5-8, freshman, the only player to come off the bench in the 3 girls games and score in double figures at 10 with 3 assists and 4 steals

2nd Team

C--Sunaja Agara, Hopkins, 6-0, senior, 9 points 5 rebounds

F--Kloey Lind, Pine City, 6-1, senior, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

F--Tori Miller, Goodhue, 5-11, senior, 22 points (9-of-14 FG)

PG--Kendall Barnes, Roseville, 5-7, junior, 19 points, 8 rebounds

SG--Kendall McGee, Benilde, sophomore, 19 points, 5 rebounds

6th (tie)--Analya Solonoa, Roseville, 5-8, 8th grade, 9 points (3-of-6 FG) and 2 rebounds in just 11 minutes off the bench

6th (tie)--Sydney Friedly, Benilde, 8th grade, 5 points (2-of-5 FG), 3 assists and 2 steals in 22 minutes off the bench