Girls High School Basketball Roundup, December 1

The early season, all-star, jamboree phase of the girls high school basketball season is over. Now begins the grind, with a lot more non-conference games coming in December and more jamboree-style ball around the Christmas season. But, mostly, the grind now begins, and we begin thinking about the state tournament in March. Here are 35 teams that we will be watching over the next month and (we think) beyond.

1. Hopkins Royals 3-1, #1 in Class AAAA, #1 overall. The Royals remain the #1 team in Minnesota despite Saturday’s loss to Dowling Catholic (Iowa) 46-45 in the Minnesota Stars jamboree at White Bear Lake high school. I wasn’t able to get to the game, and I can’t tell from any of the game reports whether Erma Walker played for Hopkins. She left Friday’s game against Stevens Point (WI) with an apparent ankle injury. (Not sure if it’s the same ankle she hurt late last season.) Walker’s injury status both for the Dowling loss and for upcoming games is of course a very big deal. But Hopkins doesn’t play #2-rated Minnetonka until Jan. 20, not to say that DeLaSalle (Dec. 5) and at Maple Grove (Jan. 6) might not be trap games, too.

Along with Waker, 5-5 junior point guard Jaliyah Diggs makes Hopkins go. She leads Hopkins full-court trapping defense, and she scores when she must. When Hopkins doesn’t need her to score, then she leaves that to Ava Cupito and to Walker, but for the season, as near as I can tell, Cupito is scoring about 19 ppg, Diggs about 16 ppg, and Walker 15, and Walker is surely averaging at least 5 or 6 offensive boards per game.

2. Minnetonka Skippers 4-0, #2 in Class AAAA. Tonka has beaten 3 rated teams, so they are a more-than-worthy #2. They play essentially the same schedule as Hopkins with some of the same trap games plus, of course, 2 games vs. Hopkins on Jan. 20 and Feb. 12. Tonka features 4 top 10 players–Izzy Austin, 5-8 freshman combo guard #4 in her class; Jazmin Daing, 6-2 junior combo guard #6; Ari Peterson, 6-1 sophomore shooting guard #2; and Lanelle Wright, 5-8 senior point guard #6 and headed to Grand Canyon U.  LaSedra Williams, 6-1 senior forward is #29 and is headed to Northern Iowa.

3. Providence Lions 2-1, #1 in Class AA. People like to say that Providence is down, but the Lions continue to play a Class 4A schedule. Thus the 78-74 loss to Hopkins to open the season and a win over a top 10 Class 4A opponent in Eastview, 92-91. Key upcoming games include a Dec. 29-30 trip to Wisconsin where they’ll play Wauwatosa East and Arrowhead. Both finished #2 in their respective rankings last year (Div. 2 and Div. 1 respectively). Arrowhead has Wisconsin’s #2 player (on Prep Hoops, some have her #1) Natalie Kussow, and she is going to be a Minnesota Gopher, while Wauwatosa has #5 Mikaela Litza, who is going to DePaul, plus 3 other top 50 seniors. Games against Lakeville North and Minnehaha also loom.

4. Benilde St. Margaret Red Knights 3-0, #1 in Class AAA. Benilde continues to stockpile talent. 5-8 freshman point guard Kiera Willis may already be Benilde’s best player, but it’s also hard not to like the junior class of Alivia Bell, Sydney Friedly and Pressley Watkins, all rated in the top 22 in their class. Senior Mirabel Wismer and sophomore Zaida Jenkins make 6 players averaging at least 8 ppg or more. They are of course the favorite to win a 4th straight Class AAA title, and yet it is obvious that they will be a lot better next year.

5. Rosemount Irish 3-0, #3 in Class AAAA. Nobody really thinks Rosemount will still be #5 in March, but they beat Wayzata 61-56 head, and those same people had Wayzata up there in the #2 spot ahead of Minnetonka until Wayzata lost that game to Rosemount. Junior guard Amisha Ramlall, a Gopher recruit, leads the way, and her sisters Ashna and Arshia, also start and contribute. Their next big tests will be Eastview and then Crosby-Ironton at Rosemount on Dec. 19 and 22.

6. Lakeville North Panthers 1-1, #4 in Class AAAA. Most people don’t have North rated quite this high, but they impress the heck out of me, despite their 14-point loss to Tonka (Tonka also beat C-I by 17 and Minnehaha by 15). Their sophomore class is just totally awesome, led by 6-4 post Sahara Wilson, but continuing with 5-9 guard Lauryn Robison, 5-11 guard Parker Vossen and 6-3 wing Madeline Bell. Right now, Robison is scoring 20 ppg, Wilson 12, Bell 10 and Vossen 5. Like Benilde, North is only going to get better as the year progresses, but the time to really look out for the Panthers is the following 2 seasons.

7. Wayzata Trojans 1-1, #5 in Class AAAA. With the return of do-everything Kate Amelotte, a 6-0 senior ,and #8 in her class, from injury, Wayzata’s expectations were sky-high. Rosemount brought them somewhat back down to earth. But nothing is ever easy at Wayzata, what with Hopkins always standing between the Trojans and any kind of title–conference or section. It would be foolish to expect Wayzata to beat Hopkins, but it’s going to happen someday. Why not 2026? Hope springs eternal. Amelotte lezds the way with 14 ppg. juniors Maren Day and Annika Keiser and soph Mallory McBeth are all scoring 10. Their next 3 opponents–Orono, Minnehaha and Chan–are all rated.

8. Orono Spartans 2-1, #2 in Class AAA. Orono is kind of a poor man’s Wayzata. Wayzata is a western suburban powerhouse who, nevertheless, is stymied by Hopkins year in and year out. Orono is a western suburban powerhouse, but they’ve been stymied in recent years at least by Benilde. Same conference, same section. Now they’ve got just one more crack at it with senior guard and Creighton recruit Mya Moore in the lead. Minnetonka has beaten 4 ranked teams; only Orono stayed within double digits and they stayed within 79-76. Mya scored 26; against DeLaSalle she scored 32. But, Benilde looms.

9. Maple Grove Crimson 2-1, #6 in Class AAAA. Like Wayzata, defending state runner-up Maple Grove started with an unexpected loss to Rochester Mayo 77-69, but coach Mark Cook appears to have righted the ship with wins over a pair of ranked opponents. They join the Lake Conference this year, and that will be a bit of a rough ride, but just a bit. Section 5AAAA remains the Crimson’s oyster.

10. Eastview Lightning 2-2, #7 in Class AAAA. Eastview is just 2-2 but both losses are to ranked opponents Providence and Maple Grove. And, they beat their best competitor for this last top 10 spot. That is Rochester Mayo, whom they defeated 59-54. (In a round-robin, Eastview, Maple Grove and Mayo all went 1-1 against the other 2. Mayo actually had the best point total at +3.) Eastview is a rare senior-oriented team, led by Clara Goodman (18 ppg), Lexie Matthews and Jayda Wilson-Oden (15 ppg).

11. Rochester Mayo Spartans 2-1, #8 in Class AAAA. Mayo surprised Maple Grove, then lost to Eastview. They are led by 2 dynamic sophomores, guard Amelia Mills and forward Maggie Dyer. The Breakdown has them rated #1 in Section 1AAAA. I can’t quite bring myself to ranking them ahead of Lakeville North, winner of 4 straight and 8 of 10 section titles. Mayo hasn’t been to state since 2015.

12. Marshall Tigers 0-0, #3 in Class AAA. Marshall returns senior guards Taleigha Bigler and Reese Drake. Equally to the point, the Tigers also return one of the state’s best coaches in Dan Westby, fresh off his 10th state volleyball title and also the reigning Minnesota girls basketball coach of the year. Westby “is an amazing coach,” said one of his opponents, and I don’t know anybody who would differ.

13. Cretin-Derham Hall 1-2, #4 in Class AAA. Cretin took a pair of losses at the Minnesota Stars jamboree at White Bear Lake, more of less as expected. They were paired with Hopkins in opposing out-of-state entries Dowling Catholic (Iowa) and Stevens Point (Wisconsin). It seemed like a bit of a stretch. and indeed Dowling handled Cretin 59-40. But the Raiders pushed Stevens Point down to the wire before losing that one 59-56. They opened with a surprise win at Hill-Murray 74-69.

14. Minnehaha RedHawks 2-1, #2 in Class AA. The RedHawks are led by senior guard Sinae Hill, though Hill has in fact missed the past 2 games DelaSalle and Minnetonka. We haven’t seen any reports about her, and we don’t know when she’ll be back. In her absence, 5-8 sophomore Gigi Coleman and 5-9 junior Briana Foster have stepped up with 17 and 15 ppg, respectively. Also starting are 9th grade post Addison Harris, and 8th grade wings Georgia Watkins and Shea Watkins. It won’t be in 2026, but this group will win a state title before they’re done. As it is they’re 2-1 against all-rated opponents.

15. St. Michael-Albertville 2-2, #9 in Class AAAA. Lost a shocker to Waconia, but bounced back to rout Lakeville South. Senior forward Cail Jahnke (Colorado) is the real deal.

16. Crosby-Ironton Rangers 0-1, #3 in Class AA. Gopher recruit Tori Oehrlein is the real deal, too. Lost to Minnetonka at the Breakdown Tip-Off. No shame in that. The meet Maple Grove and Hopkins in December.

17. DeLaSalle Islanders 0-3, #5 in Class AAA. The Islanders play anybody and everybody. An 0-3 start is not an indicator of trouble. They will be there in the end. They are led by 5-6 sophomore Anaya Shaffa (13 ppg), 5-9 junior Laila Moses (11 ppg), 5-9 junior Samira Taylor (9 ppg) and 6-0 senior post Onyx Idoko (11 ppg). Maddie Blaylark missed last year with an ACL. She is on the current roster but has not yet played. Her availability will be a factor in their success going forward. They play at Hopkins on this Friday night, Dec. 5.

18. Elk River Elks 2-0, #10 in Class AAAA. The Elks surprised Monticello 58-44, causing expectations to ratchet up a bit. Joanna Talso scored 20 against Monti, while Elsie Ostmoe scored 16 against Buffalo.

19. Hill-Murray Pioneers 2-1, #6 in Class AAA. Hill Murray defeated Eden Prairie and Delano but lost to Cretin at home 74-69. They are led by Mya Wilson, the #1-rated junior in the state, and her sister Ashlee Wilson, perhaps the top 8th grader in the state.

20. Waconia Wildcats 4-0, #11 in Class AAAA. Not much was expected of Waconia, just 8-18 a year ago, until they started by winning 4 straight, including a surprise 71-66 win over St. Michael-Albertville. They have also beaten Farmington, Owatonna and Two Rivers, all good teams. Emma Hanson is scoring 13 ppg, Audrey Brown 12 and Emersyn Colby 11.

21. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 3-0, #1 in Class A. People who know things tell me that the Knights are the best team in Class A. The fact that they have junior point guard and North Dakota State recruit Morgan Mathiowetz would seem to support that.

22. Chaska Hawks 1-2, #12 in Class AAAA. The losses are to ranked Lakeville North and Maple Grove. They’re led by senior point guard Addi Schneider.

23. Monticello Magic 1-2, #13 in Class AAAA. Moved up to AAAA after going undefeated in AAA in the last regular season. It was as if they were a little shell-shocked, and they started poorly in a rout vs. Benilde and an unexpected loss to Elk River. They righted the ship in an 84-81 win over a good Chanhassen team. Guard Sam Voll is scoring 23 ppg, forwards Abby and Addison Ruda about 14. The schedule continues very tough with Becker, Brainerd, Delano and Alexandria before the end of the month.

24. Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers 0-1, #5 in Class AA. Led by one of the top 8th graders in the nation in Chloe Johnson. Lost to AAA Orono just 69-67 to open their season. Plays a killer schedule–Hopkins, Lakeville North, Maple Grove, Goodhue and Marshall in December.

Key Games This Week

Monday Dec. 1 Floodwood 4-0 @ Cromwell 1-1                                                                                                                                  Tuesday Dec. 2 Becker 1-0 @ Elk River 2-0                                                                                                                                Wednesday Dec. 3  Waconia 4-0 @ Prior Lake 0-1                                                                                                                            Thursday Dec. 4 Maple Grove 2-1 @ Lakeville North 1-1                                                                                                                    Friday Dec. 5 DeLaSalle 0-3 @ Hopkins 2-1                                                                                                                                      Saturday Dec. 6 Byron 2-0 @ Caledonia 1-1

By Class Plus Some Honorable Mentions