Action abounds in girls basketball Metro Top 10, but change is elusive

Clashes of ranked teams followed form, leaving the top of the rankings unaffected.

By Ron Haggstrom Star Tribune

January 15, 2024 — 8:26am

The top teams in the Lake Conference squared off and didn't change a thing in the girls basketball Metro Top 10.

No. 1 Minnetonka (13-0) beat No. 3 St. Michael-Albertville (13-1) and No. 2 Hopkins (12-2) slipped past No. 6 Eden Prairie (13-2), leading to no movement among the top seven teams.

Class 4A defending state champion St. Michael-Albertville played without its leading scorer, senior guard Ja'Kahla Craft, and lost 63-54 to Minnetonka. Craft, who is committed to Seton Hall and averaging 25.8 points per game, dislocated her right pinkie finger four nights earlier in a 74-62 triumph over No. 5 Maple Grove (10-2). Coach Kent Hamre's team must face a demanding schedule for the next couple of weeks with Craft sidelined.

Sophomore guard Maddyn Greenway continues to score well for No. 4 Providence Academy (12-2), getting 49 points in a 94-72 victory over Edina, her fifth 40-point game of the season.

Andover (10-2) climbs into the Top 10 at No. 10 after Chaska suffered a pair of losses.

Keep an eye on Class 3A defending state champion Benilde-St. Margaret's (7-5) now that Michigan recruit Olivia Olson has returned to the lineup. The Red Knights beat Chaska 66-58 and New Prague 78-39, then won a rematch of the state title game against Stewartville 74-48 on Saturday. Olson, a senior guard, suffered a broken left hand in the season opener.

This week's marquee matchup

Eden Prairie at Wayzata, 7 p.m. Tuesday

No. 7 Wayzata (11-3) gets a chance to climb in the rankings in a matchup with the Eagles, slotted right above. The Trojans edged Eden Prairie in both games a year ago, 54-52 and 63-52 in overtime. Expect more of the same in this one.