Outside of the Chaska girls' basketball team and its supporters, there were likely few who believed it was possible.
The Hawks had put together a terrific season, to be sure. Undefeated, with talent up and down the lineup and veterans to lean on when things got snug. The team, after enduring a two-week pause caused by a COVID-19 exposure late in the regular season, reached the Class 4A state tournament semifinals, a sure indicator that Chaska was no run-of-the-mill bunch.
But their opponent was not just another team. This was Hopkins, which hadn't lost a game since 2018, amassing 78 consecutive victories. One more and the state record for consecutive wins would be the Royals' alone. Their lineup — a who's who of top girls' basketball talent — appeared unbeatable.
They were not. Not on April 7, at least.
Playing efficiently and boldly at Target Center, the plucky Hawks matched Hopkins stride for stride, shot for shot, pass for pass. They never backed down, becoming one of the few teams to go right at Hopkins, something the Royals weren't accustomed to.
Chaska took a seven-point halftime lead, bumped it up to 13 early in the second half and held on for a 67-62 victory. Junior forward Mallory Heyer had 24 points. Sophomore point guard Kennedy Sanders, cool under pressure, had 21 and senior leader Kaylee Van Eps added 13.
Most important, the Hawks, the Star Tribune All-Metro Girls' Team of the Year, had faced down a mystique. Hopkins wasn't invincible after all.
"The whole year, we had been doing so well, but we were on the opposite end. We were like underdogs," Van Eps said. "That gave us a ton of motivation because this was our chance to show people what we're made of."
