2020 State Class AAAA Girls Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal Preview

   2020 STATE CLASS AAAA GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
                        (Games played Wednesday, March 11 at Williams Arena, Minneapolis)

10:00:  Cambridge-Isanti vs. Hopkins (Seed 1)
12:00:  Stillwater (Seed 5) vs. Park Center (Seed 4)
 2:00:   Eden Prairie vs. Farmington (Seed 2)
 4:00:   Lakeville North vs. St. Michael-Albertville (Seed 3)

Examining the field:  Opening up the 2020 state girls basketball tournament is one of the great dynasties in Minnesota girls basketball history, the top seeded and defending Class AAAA champion Hopkins Royals.  The Royals won their 60th straight game by defeating the Wayzata Trojans in the Section 6 final.  It will also give fans a final opportunity to see Paige Bueckers in action before she plays for Geno Auriemma next season at UConn.  But the Royals are much more than Bueckers.  There's also sophomore Maya Nnaji, Taylor Woodson, KK Adams and Amaya Battle.  Hopkins will battle the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets in the quarterfinals.  The Bluejackets were seeded fourth in in Section 7, beating the top seeded Andover Huskies in the semifinals.  It could be a long, somber bus ride up Highway 65 for Cambridge-Isanti fans.  Take the day off from work or go to prepspotlight.tv to see a team that could close the page for another state title. 

The second quarterfinal game pits the fifth seeded Stillwater Ponies, on a quest to a rematch of last year's Class AAAA final against the fourth seeded Park Center Pirates.  Who knows.  Sara Scalia, who played in last year's tournament and now a Golden Gopher could be in the seats watching her sister Amber in action as well as Alex Pratt and Grace Cote.  It will be a tough ride for the Ponies as they take on a Pirate team that has one of the state's top juniors Adalia McKenzie.  She could be the first Park Center girls basketball player to go Division I since Mikayla Hayes played for Florida.  It should be an intriguing matchup with the winner to face Hopkins. 

In the lower bracket, the Eden Prairie Eagles make their fourth trip to state and their first since 2014 as they face the second seeded Farmington Tigers.  It's the first trip to Minneapolis for the Tigers who have been playing in the South Suburban Conference shadow of the two Lakeville schools and Eastview.  Farmington has another outstanding junior to watch in 6'4" center Sophie Hart who committed to Minnesota.  Will Lindsey Whalen be present to watch the future Gopher in action?  The Tigers could be one contender for a championship berth. 

The final quarterfinal game pits the Lakeville North Panthers against the third seeded St. Michael-Albertville Knights.  It's the 10th trip to state for the Panthers, 10 years after winning the state Class AAAA title.  Lakeville North was the second seed in Section 3, defeating the top seeded Rosemount Irish in the section final.  The Knights are also in their 10th state tournament appearance, their first as a Lake Conference school.  STMA lost to Hopkins twice in the regular season.  Could there be a third meeting between the two Lake rivals? 

Next.  The Class AAA preview.