MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Eastview (Apple Valley, Minn.) Lightning have officially been named to the 13th Annual MaxPreps Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 12th year honoring girls basketball.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For basketball, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 40,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Lightning ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Hopkins 68-63 on Saturday, Mar. 17 in the
MSHSL Class 4A state championship contest marked the completion of an incredible 32-0 season — and earned Eastview an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
After going up 56-50 with a 9-1 run late in the contest, Eastview didn't trail again and eventually claimed its second girls state basketball title with the five-point triumph over Hopkins, who had to settle for its third straight runner-up finish. Hopkins did make it close. But, after pulling within 64-63 with 34-seconds left, the Royal did not score again. Macy Guebert and Emma Carpenter, meanwhile, sank a pair of free throws each to seal the win for the Lightning.
Royal standout Paige Bueckers did get off to a fast start, scoring 18 of Hopkins' first 22 points to boost the runners-up to a 22-10 advantage midway through the first half. After trailing by as many as 13 points in the opening half, Eastview slowly whittled away at the deficit before scoring the final six points of the half to pull within 33-30 at intermission. Megan Walstad's 3-pointer early in the second half knotted the game at 35-35 and the struggle to the finish was on for both clubs.
Walstad led the champions with 20 points, eight rebounds, a couple of assists, a steal and two blocked shots, while Mariah Alipate chipped in 15 points, nine boards and a couple of assists in the championship contest. Cassidy Carson ripped the cords for 11 points and was credited with three rebounds and a blocked shot. Guebert ended up with nine points, a rebound, four assists and a pair of blocked shots, Andrea Abrams had seven points, a couple of rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot and Carpenter poured in six points, pulled down four boards, dished out six assists and blocked a shot for the Lightning.
Eastview opened state tournament play with a 78-44 quarterfinal victory over Prior Lake to kick the door in to the Final Four. The Lightning then bumped Lakeville North from state championship contention with a 57-47 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Hopkins. Molly Kasper's club opened the season with a 61-44 win over White Bear Lake and did not lose a game all season. Eastview outscored its competition 61.4-41.4 per outing for the year and held 13 opponents below 40 points, while scoring 65 or more points 11 times themselves. The Lightning scored a season-high 78 points in its state quarterfinal triumph over Prior Lake.
Having won 33 straight contests going back to its 2017 state tournament consolation championship win over Lakeville North, Eastview set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only are the Lightning ranked No. 1 in
MaxPreps' Minnesota Class 4A Rankings, Eastview is the top squad in all of
Minnesota. Kasper's club is ranked No. 36 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings and played its way into the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Writers' Poll at No. 23!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Eastview Lightning an invitation to the 13th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us at the performing arts center for an athletic assembly as we celebrate with the girls basketball team, coaching staff, students and fans on Friday, May 18 at 2:45 p.m.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
