Minnetonka coach Leah Dasovich and the defending Class 4A state champion Skippers will be tested in their matchup Saturday against perennial powerhouse Eastview. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine
It might be early in the season, but big matchups are looming and none are bigger that the game between Class 4A juggernauts Minnetonka and Eastview at the Breakdown Sports Girls' Tip Off Classic on Saturday at Hopkins High School.
After losing the three previous section championships, the second-seeded Skippers broke through last year with a 61-57 victory over top-seeded Shakopee. Armed with four Division-I recruits, Minnetonka then cruised through the state tournament to reach the championship game, where it defeated No. 1-seeded Hopkins 61-52 to win the program's first state title in only its second appearance.
Juniors Megan Walker, Kayla Mershon and Katey Brattland, return and provide the Skippers, who are ranked No. 10 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, a trio capable of filling for the gradaution of several seniors.
Eastview made its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance last year. The Lightning reached the semifinals, where they lost 85-67 to their longtime nemesis, Hopkins, in the rematch of the Class 4A championship from two years ago, and went on to claim the third-place trophy.
Eastview may be ready to make it six straight trips as the No. 2-4A Lightning offer an established 1-2 punch in Rachel Ranke and Megan Walstad, who helped guide the team last season under first-year head coach Molly Kasper.
Reaching the state tournament has become standard for Eastview while Minnetonka hopes to establish its own tradition after reaching the tournament for the first time in 17 years (1995), and their clash makes for a perfect Top Game of the Week.
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