Arguably the best basketball game in the state is going down on Thursday night, and you can watch it right here on startribune.com.
Hopkins vs. Wayzata, girls basketball’s ‘unofficial championship,’ might be Minnesota’s best game
Thursday’s Section 6 showdown is can’t-miss stuff for the seventh year in a row. Get a ticket or watch it on startribune.com.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 4, 2025 at 3:00PM
The state tournament will always be the site of the most important games of the season. The “best” game, though? It might be this one: Hopkins vs. Wayzata in the Section 6 girls final, for the seventh year in a row, with a ticket to the tourney on the line. The rivals go it again at 7 p.m. Thursday.
This section final more than once over the years has been referred to as the unofficial state championship game. Maple Grove, No. 2 in the latest Star Tribune Minnesota Top 25, isn’t hearing that this year, but Wayzata (23-4) and Hopkins (23-5) are ranked 3, 4, respectively.
The Royals completely own this rivalry, winning all six of the previous section finals. All of them in Hopkins. And that’s where the list of twists begins. Trojans-Royals VII will be a unique sequel:
- The section showdown is in Wayzata for the first time. In the Hopkins gym, the student sections are packed in tight on the baselines. At Wayzata, there’s a gulf between the court and the crowds. What will a change in environment mean for this meeting?
- Ugh, injuries. We all hate ‘em. This game has way too many. Wayzata’s top two players are rehabbing torn knee ligaments: senior guard Sophie Hawkinson and junior guard Kate Amelotte. No player in the state was hotter than Hawkinson when she went down Feb. 13 against (yep) Hopkins. On the Royals’ side, two highly skilled scorers, senior Tatum Woodson and sophomore Ava Cupito, also are out. Those are four Division I-commit or -caliber players. Two players who might fill the openings at center-stage Thursday: Maren Day of Wayzata and Lauren Hillesheim of Hopkins.
- Wayzata swept the season series, winning both close ones. There’s that old saying about how hard it is to beat a good team three times in a season, but the Trojans know ending their section-final losing streak is not only possible but perhaps expected.
- Both teams trucked through their section semifinals and are playing well. Wayzata’s only home loss this season came against Maple Grove back on Dec. 12. Hopkins' only loss in the new year is to Wayzata.
If the Trojans win, they will end the Royals' remarkable streak of 10-consecutive trips to the state tournament. Wayzata has been to state just once, in 2010. Hopkins has been state runner-up the past two seasons. Before that, the Royals won two of three state titles won between 2019-2022 (2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak).
A quick look at the last six section final meetings:
- Last year: Wayzata had a lead at half before Hopkins' stars Woodson and Liv McGill took over: Hopkins, 77-62.
- 2023: Wayzata let another lead slip, and a late 16-2 run by Hopkins sent this one to overtime: Royals 70-68.
- 2022 and 2021: Wayzata just wasn’t on the same level in these games: 84-66 in ‘22, 80-58 in ’21.
- 2020 gave us the most buzzworthy rumble: 86-76 Hopkins, with Karl-Anthony Towns and other Timberwolves watching from the bleachers and the fire department limiting the crowd size. It was a starry night: Paige Bueckers went for 33, six better than Mara Braun’s 27.
- 2019: Bueckers had 25 and Hopkins pulled away, 77-60.
Hopkins for a seventh time in row, to punch their tourney ticket for an 11th consecutive season?
Or, finally, Wayzata?
Get a ticket a go, or hit the livestream link and pop some popcorn.
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Related: Is Hopkins-Wayzata one of Minnesota’s best rivalries? Check out what readers told our Cassidy Hettesheimer in this recent story.
For the seventh year in a row, it's Trojans vs. Royals for the girls basketball state tournament bid. Can Wayzata finally top Hopkins? Watch it on startribune.com on Thursday night.
