Lakeville North Girls Back at State, Face No. 1 Hopkins

's girls basketball team is hoping to pull off what the Lakeville South boys hockey team accomplished last week at state: to shock the world.

At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the Section 1AAAA champion Lakeville North girls basketball team (21-8) will play Hopkins (27-1), the defending state champions who are also the No. 1 team in the state. While it's a tough draw, they have inspiration to lead them on a bid for the upset.

Last week, the Cougar hockey team was given about as much chance to beat No. 1 Duluth East in the state quarterfinals as a snowman had to survive through June.

Lakeville North, which won the state title just three seasons ago, and finished third last year, returns for its fourth overall and third consecutive tournament appearance.

Junior Taylor Stewart, who has over 800 career points and 300 career assists, averages 13.1 points per game. Senior McKenzie Hoelmenn, averaging 6.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, will attend Northern Illinois next year.

Meanhile, the defending champions from Hopkins return for their second consecutive and seventh overall appearance. In addition to last year, they also won titles in 2004 and 2006. The Hopkins’ defense forces opponents into 27.4 turnovers per game and the Royals also average 17.1 steals per game. Junior Nia Coffey leads the Royals in both points (16.4) and rebounds (9.4) per game. Coffey’s older sister, senior Sydney, will play for Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, next season and senior Gracia Hutson will play for the University of Vermont.

will be covering the game right here live. Come and get minute-to-minute updates and chat with other fans about the matchup. Our coverage will start at 9:50 a.m., ten minutes before tip-off.