The Tip-Off jamboree has become the quasi-official, well, Tip-Off to the high school basketball season, though this fall it is true that there were several dozen games on Thursday night. The Tip-Off then consisted of 2 games on Friday night and 16 games at Southwest Christian high school yesterday (Saturday, November 22). The highlight of the day’s activity was Hopkins’ narrow win over Providence Academy, 78-74. Both are defending state champions; both are rated #1 in their respective classes. And twice in the past 3 years, the mythical overall girls state championship was decided by virtue of a Hopkins-Providence game. Providence won both such games, 87-80 in 2023, and 66-59 last year, and so in both cases Providence was that rare non-Class 4A team to be recognized (well, at least here on Sunny’s Northstar Hoops blog) as the mythical overall championship team.
Well, my friends who know a lot more about girls basketball than I do assured me that that would not happen this year. Hopkins was not going to lose to Providence this year. Providence, they pointed out, has only 3 contributing players returning from a year ago. They’re still rated #1 in Class AA–if they should go on to win the state title, it would be their 5th in a row. But, they’re not going to beat Hopkins.
And, they were right. But, barely. Hopkins took an early 29-12 lead, led 47-32 at the half, and took their biggest lead at 58-39 at about the 15 minute mark of the 2nd half. Which is when Providence began their comeback. They got within single digits at 69-60 at 6:39, then within 69-68 at 3:16. They never got closer, they never caught up. But it was a one-possession game with 40 seconds remaining when the Lions finally ran out of time.
As much as it was Hopkins vs. Providence, it was also Jaliyah Diggs vs. Maddyn Greenway. Greenway is of course Providence’s supesrtar. Later this year, she may well become Minnesota’s all-time leading girls career scorer. She has led the Lions to 4 straight state titles. She is the odds-on favorite to be Minnesota’s Ms. Basketball 2026. But, first, she had to run the gauntlet last night against the hyper-competitive 5-foot-5 junior Jaliyah Diggs of Hopkins. Diggs began last season as back-up to the highly recruited fellow junior Alivia Bell. She finished the season as the starting point guard for the state champion Royals, while Bell transferreed to Benilde. Challenge met. She is not one to duck a challenge. And, now, she challenged Greenway with perhaps the most physical and the most effective opposition that Greenway has seen from a Minnesota high school opponent in years. The final tally was Diggs 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 3 turnovers. Greenway finished with 35 points, 7-of-21 shooting, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 9 turnovers, and I’m sure something in the vicinity of a half-dozen black-and-blue marks. One of them came at about 4:20 of the 2nd half when Diggs and Greenway tied up near the Hopkins free throw line, Diggs on her back, Greenway on top. As the pile was untangled, the ball flew upward, hitting Greenway flush in the face. There was no call and no review. But, message sent.
In the end, Hopkins Emma Walker, Inari Nesbitt and Diggs all fouled out, an artifact of Hopkins super-physical defense, and Hopkins was hanging on. But the strategy worked in the end to the tune of a 78-74 win for the Royals, and the early lead for the mythical overall state championship.
And, make no mistake. Hopkins will be there in Class 4A come March. Not to mention March of 2027 and 2028. They start 4 juniors and a sophomore, the latter being the 5-2 guard Lanaia Durant, who finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds. But, at crunch time, with 3 starters out, they had sophomore Amari Johnson and Ava Smith on the court with 6-1 8th grade forward Marianna Davis. All of them will play college ball one day if they want.
In the 1st half, it was all Hopkins, all the time, as not only Diggs but almost consistent double-teams harrassed Greenway, who sjot 3-for-10 with 5 turnovers. It was 5 minutes into the 2nd half that Providence found some rhythm. Trailing 58-39, Providence went on a 29-11 run to get back into the game. Greenway scored 12 of the 29 points, but the main point is that her supporting cast found its rhythm, and Emma Millerbernd wcord 9 points and Lexia Nicolai 6 during that stretch.
Finally, Hopkins’ lead having dwindled to 69-68 with 23-and-a-half minutes still remaining, Diggs, Davis, Durant and Smith all scored and kept the Royals on top. The box score was something like this.
Hopkins
Jaliyah Diggs 5-5 junior 23 points, 9-of-17 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists. 3 turnovers
Ava Cupito 5-10 junior 13, 6-of-15, 5 reb-2 asts
Lanaia Durant 5-5 sophomore 11, 3-of-14, 4 reb
Emma Walker 6-0 junior 11, 3-of-9, 3 reb
Marianna Davis 6-1 soph (off the bench) 9, 3-of-3 shooting
Inari Nesbitt 6-0 junior 5, 2-of-8, 6 reb
Ava Smith 5-9 soph 6, 3-of-5
Providence
Maddyn Greenway 5-8 senior 35, 7-of-21 FG, 18-of-23 FT, 5 assists-3 steals-9 turnovers
Emma Millerbernd 5-9 junior 15 7-of-12, 3 reb
Beckett Greenway 5-8 fresh 12, 4-of-10, 4 reb-3 stls-6 TO
Lexie Nicolai 6-0 junior (off the bench) 10, 5-of-9, 2 reb
But the MVP of the 2025 girls Breakdown Tip-Off is Jaliyah Diggs.