It’s not often in high school sports that you get a rivalry game that could also be a state championship preview.

But that is exactly what we got Tuesday night, Jan. 20, with the girls basketball matchup of Hopkins vs. Minnetonka.

You can make a great case that Minnesota has the most high school girls basketball talent per capita of any state in the country. The loaded rosters at Hopkins and Minnetonka are an example of that talent, so I couldn’t have been more excited to finally see them face off in person.

Both teams have been ranked by various publications in the top 25 in the nation this year. Both teams also have multiple players with Division I college offers.

But the outcome of this matchup was much more lopsided than I expected.

One of those players with Division I offers is Hopkins junior guard Ava Cupito, who started the game with two three-pointers in the first few minutes. The Royals’ ability to combine her three-point shooting with junior point guard Jaliyah Diggs’ speed and attacking ability is their superpower, in my eyes.

Those two helped Hopkins take a nine-point lead into halftime.

Hopkins then got four more threes in the second half from Cupito, who finished with 20 points. Diggs continued to get buckets inside and finished with a game-high 25 points.

And Erma Walker was dominant down low late in the game to ensure a comeback was not in play for Minnetonka. She had 18 points for the Royals.

Hopkins wins this one decidedly, 88-62, to move to 15-1 on the season.

The Strictly x Strib Varsity Tour is back in action later this week: Friday, Jan. 23, Lakeville South at Lakeville North girls basketball. We hope to see you there!

Strictly x Strib Varsity

The story and video here are part of a new partnership between Strictly Bball and the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Strib Varsity brand. Learn more about this partnership here.