Thirty-two teams full of talented players filled Williams Arena and Maturi Pavilion for four days for the 2026 girls basketball state tournament, but one starting lineups’ worth of five players stood above the rest.

Sydney Friedly

Benilde-St. Margaret’s junior guard

A well-rounded Red Knights team knows when to feed the hot hand, and in their Class 3A championship win over top-seeded Stewartville, 75-63, that hot hand belonged to Friedly, the No. 2 seed’s junior shooting guard.

Friedly finished with 24 points, five assists and five rebounds, shooting 5-for-11 from three-point range.

Friedly had 13 points, three blocks and six assists in the semifinals against Marshall, and 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in the quarterfinals against Rock Ridge.

“In any given game, anyone [on our team] could score 20, or could be the highest scorer,” Friedly said after the semifinals. “So it’s kind of just realizing who has the hottest hand and getting them the ball. Maybe it’s not ‘selfish’ play, but if it’s like, I have a hot hand right now, I’m going to make a shot and that’s kind of how we play.”

Morgan Mathiowetz

Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s junior guard

Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 5-foot-8 All-Minnesota point guard hit 3,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds this season and, now, she and the Knights are Class 1A state champions for the first time in school history.

Mathiowetz scored 41 points in a quarterfinal victory over Mayer Lutheran, then 31 points to avenge a regular-season loss to Central Minnesota Christian in the semifinals. Finally, to unseat top-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl, Mathiowetz posted 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the No. 2 Knights, who pulled ahead early and never trailed.

She made for a dangerous 1-2 punch with sophomore shooting guard Olivia Schieffert, who finished with 25 in the Knights’ championship victory.

One of the state’s best shooters, Mathiowetz went 14-for-29 from three-point range across three tournament games. Her older sister, Madison, plays collegiately for South Dakota State, and Morgan will join the other side of the Summit League rivalry at North Dakota State.

“It just means absolutely everything,” Mathiowetz said. “When you work so hard at that for so long, and you come and show up to practice every single day and work hard, it’s so rewarding at the end knowing that you get to take home the title.”

Maddyn Greenway

Providence Academy senior guard

What more can be said about the Lions’ legendary 5-foot-8 Greenway, who will be remembered as one of Minnesota’s greatest basketball players.

Greenway’s record five consecutive state championships was icing on the cake after she became Minnesota’s all-time career scoring leader with 5,621 points this season.

She didn’t disappoint in the state tournament with 116 points in three games, including 53 points in the quarterfinal win vs. Norwood Young America.

The experience of winning consecutive titles and breaking individual records was made even more memorable accomplishing it alongside special teammates, Greenway said. The best of all playing with her younger sister, Beckett, for the last three years.

“Obviously, it’s pretty special to be able to play with your sister,” Greenway said. “My mom was taking pictures this whole morning of us just randomly. It means so much … We definitely fight and have our moments, but in the end it’s sister love. I’d kill for her.”

Amisha Ramlall

Rosemount junior guard

The Irish didn’t leave it up to luck to give themselves an opportunity Saturday to knock off defending champion Hopkins to win their first Class 4A state title.

They left it up to their best player. Ramlall scored or assisted on every basket during a 10-2 run that sealed the victory in the final five minutes. She led the team with 20 points (including 15 in the second half) and eight assists.

“Being denied obviously opens up a lot for my teammates,” Amisha said. “And my teammates are very good basketball players, so if you take away one person, obviously you open up another... That’s nothing really new for us.”

The Gophers recruit had to make the biggest shot of her career so far Thursday in front of her future coach when Dawn Plitzuweit watched Rosemount’s nail-biting 65-64 semifinal win against Rochester Mayo. Ramlall went 1-for-2 from the line, her made free throw the final difference.

Ramlall, who averaged 20 points in three state tourney games, sunk the first of two free throws with 8.2 seconds left for the one-point advantage. Where was Plitzuweit? Sitting just the right side of the basket. Talk about performing under pressure.

Erma Walker

Hopkins junior forward

Walker gave herself a tough act to follow after delivering one of the most dominant performances in recent state championship history as a sophomore.

A year later, Hopkins fans at the Barn were still talking about Walker’s 28 points to win the 2025 title against Maple Grove. The Royals didn’t have the same big night from their star forward or the outcome they wanted in Saturday’s loss to Rosemount.

Still, the physically-imposing 6-foot junior averaged nearly a double-double — 16 points and 9.7 rebounds — in three state tournament games. She finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 60-45 semifinal rematch against the Crimson.

In Saturday’s final, Hopkins fell short but leaned on Walker and Jaliyah Diggs, who combined for 34 points. Walker shot 7-for-10 for 14 points, plus nine boards.

“Erma works extremely hard,” Hopkins coach Tara Starks said after Walker’s 18 point, seven rebound performance against Blaine, going 7-for-9 from the floor. “Her physicality, her hard work, and her putting in the time working on her craft makes it a difficult matchup for anyone.”