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Hopkins, DeLaSalle draw top seeds for state tournament

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 03/09/19, 12:00PM CST

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Paige Bueckers leads the Royals into the Class 4A tournament while the Islanders are No. 1 in 3A, Play begins Wednesday at Williams Arena and Maturi Pavilion at the University of Minnesota.


Highly recruited Paige Bueckers leads the Royals, who defeated conference and section stalwart Wayzata three times this season. Photo: Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Hopkins, DeLaSalle, Roseau and Minneota grabbed the top seeds in their respective classes for the girls' basketball state tournament that runs Wednesday through next Saturday.

The pairings were released Saturday by the Minnesota State High School League after coaches held conference-call meetings to seed the teams.

Here's a look at each class:

CLASS 4A

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Hopkins, undefeated and boasting of the best junior girls’ basketball player in the nation, picked up the No. 1 seed in Class 4A.

Hopkins, making its fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament and eighth in the last nine years, finished a dominant season in which 28 of their 29 victories were decided by 10 points or more.

The Royals are led by junior guard Paige Bueckers, who is considered the country’s top high school player in the Class of 2020. But what makes Hopkins so formidable is its relentless pressure defense and superior athleticism, which breaks down an opponent's structure and forces opposing players out of their comfort zone.

Hopkins has played in each of the last three Class 4A championship games, losing all three, a fact that has made the talented Royals a hungrier team this season.

“We’ve had a different vibe all year,” Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff said.

Stillwater, riding a 21-game winning streak into the tournament, was seeded No. 2 and defending Class 4A champion Eastview picked up the No. 3 seed.

The South Suburban Conference showed its depth by sending three teams – Eastview, Lakeville North and Shakopee – to the state tournament.

Here are the brackets for Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Williams Arena:

Hopkins (No. 1, 29-0) vs. Lakeville North, 10 a.m.

Centennial (4, 25-4) vs. Maple Grove (5, 23-6), noon

Stillwater (2, 26-2) vs. Shakopee (20-9), 2 p.m.

Eastview (3, 24-5) vs. Forest Lake (24-5), 4 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Cooper, the 2018 Class 3A champion, earned the chance to defend its title after a nail-biting 52-51 victory over Waconia in the Section 6 final Thursday. The Hawks didn’t get the No. 1 seed in Class 3A, however. That went to DeLaSalle, which will be back in the state tournament for the third consecutive season. Cooper was seeded No. 2. Becker No. 3 and Holy Angels No. 4.

Here are the Wednesday’s quarterfinals at the Maturi Pavilion:

DeLaSalle (No. 1, 21-5) vs. Hibbing, 10 a.m.

Holy Angels (4, 21-7) vs. Fergus Falls (5, 23-4), noon

Cooper (2, 20-8) vs. Austin (20-8), 2 p.m.

Becker (3, 25-4) vs. Marshall (21-7), 4 p.m.

Class 2A

The possibility third consecutive championship game matchup between Roseau and Sauk Centre was eliminated when the defending champion Mainstreeters lost in the Section 6 semifinals to Albany, which went on to win the section title.

Roseau, the 2017 state champs, earned the No. 1 seed while Holy Family, making just its second state tournament appearance, was seeded No. 2. Minnehaha Academy, which qualified for the tournament for the 6th consecutive season and 11th time in the last 12, picked up the No. 3 seed.

Here’s the complete bracket for Wednesday’s quarterfinals:

At Williams Arena: Roseau (No. 1, 28-2) vs. Redwood Valley (19-8), 6 p.m.; Caledonia (4, 24-4) vs. Proctor (5, 24-6), 8 p.m.

At Maturi Pavilion: Holy Family (2, 23-5) vs. Albany (18-10), 6 p.m.; Minnehaha Academy (3, 22-6) vs. St. Peter (16-10), 8 p.m.

CLASS 1A

Minneota, which has been ranked No. 1 in Class 1A for much of the season, was no surprise as the No. 1 seed, continuing the school’s run of top-level girls’ sports teams. Minneota won the Class 1A volleyball championship in November.

Goodhue, which won back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017, is the No. 2 seed. Menagha, making its second consecutive appearance, is seeded No. 3 and Ada-Borup, the 2015 champs, was seeded No. 4.

Here are Thursday’s quarterfinal matchups, all of which will be played at Maturi Pavilion:

Minneota (No. 1, 27-1) vs. Red Lake (21-7), 11 a.m.

Ada-Borup (4, 26-2) vs. Heritage Christian (5, 26-2), 1 p.m.

Goodhue (2, 24-6) vs. Mountain-Iron Buhl (25-5), 3 p.m.

Menagha (3, 29-1) vs. BOLD (22-5), 5 p.m.

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