The Chaska Hawks Girls Basketball team shook off a heartbreaking loss to eventual State Champion Hopkins to defeat Anoka and Brainerd in dominating fashion, winning the Minnesota State Class AAAA Consolation Championship on Friday, March 14. The Hawks were led by junior Addi Schneider, who earned all-tournament honors after averaging 28.7 points per game.
When every season begins, the ultimate team goal is to qualify for the state tournament and end the season with a win. After a postseason run that will go down in Chaska history, the Hawks girls hoopsters were one of three Class AAAA teams to end their season with a win, capturing the state consolation championship.
The Hawks opened the state tournament against the Hopkins Royals, easily the most dominant program in Minnesota girls basketball this century. The Hawks gave the Royals a battle for the ages, losing a heartbreaker 70-64 in a game that went down to the final seconds. The Chaska girls came right back the next day to beat Anoka 75-63 and followed it up the day after with a 72-57 win over Brainerd in the consolation championship game.
The Hawks were led by junior guard Addi Schneider, who was simply unstoppable on the week, scoring 86 points in three games and leading all Class AAAA scorers in the tournament. Schneider earned all-tournament honors for her effort and etched her name in the Chaska record books with one of the all-time best state tournament performances by a Hawk.
GAME RECAPS
Hopkins 70, Chaska 64 (Wednesday, March 12)
Chaska came into the state tournament with the sixth seed despite winning Section 2AAAA—top to bottom, the toughest section in the state by far. This gave them a matchup with Hopkins, the most dominant program in the state, with 11 straight trips to the state tournament and eight state championships overall.
Earlier this season, Hopkins beat Chaska by 21 points. But the Hawks, having just defeated two of Hopkins’s conference rivals, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, wanted to prove they would not be intimidated by the Royals’ pedigree. After all, Chaska was the last team to keep Hopkins from making a state championship game, beating them in the state semifinals in 2021 on the way to the Hawks’ lone state championship.
Schneider, the junior team captain, echoed that sentiment on behalf of her teammates.
“We had a lot of momentum from beating Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, which gave us confidence that we belonged here,” she said. “Going into the game we knew we just had to match their physicality and not get flustered with their pressure. We knew if we stayed composed, we would be in this game.”
Chaska faced Hopkins’s trademark intense pressure defense early and often, but unlike most teams, the Hawks found a way to move the ball around and get open shots. Hopkins led by four early, but Schneider’s quick eight points in the first six minutes tied the game up.
The Hawks defense, which has been outstanding all postseason, stepped up and kept Hopkins’s scorers at bay much of the first half. Macy Anderson, Ella Keenan and Natalie Heyer added baskets to keep the Hawks in step with the Royals halfway through the first frame.
Every time Hopkins made a run, Chaska would respond. The Royals took a seven-point lead with three minutes to go in the half, but Schneider responded with two three-point baskets and a nifty assist to Alexis Schaefer to take a brief lead with just seconds left. Hopkins tied it from the line after a controversial foul call and it was 30-30 at the half.
As exciting as the first half was, the second half would be even better. Chaska took a five-point lead after three driving baskets by Schaefer. After a brief Hopkins run, baskets by Schneider, Keenan and Heyer brought the lead back to five.
Chaska stayed arms-length ahead of Hopkins throughout the early part of the second half. Baskets by their two freshmen, Heyer and Jenna Nelson, and a three-pointer by Schneider, gave Chaska their biggest lead at 54-48 with just under ten minutes to go in the game.
Playing a team with Hopkins’s reputation, teams sometimes fall prey to some head-scratching officiating decisions. It would be no different for Chaska the remainder of this game, as the Hawks would fall into foul trouble, putting the Royals in the bonus with over 8 minutes to go. Hopkins was able to chip away at the lead from the free throw line, eventually taking a 55-54 lead.
Chaska took another brief lead before Hopkins went on another 7-0 run to go up 62-56. The Hawks then lost Keenan to an injury on a collision in which the Hopkins player was the aggressor, yet not called for a foul.
As has been the case all postseason, Chaska did not give up. Schneider scored once again and Schaefer, who had 14 points in an outstanding performance, scored twice more, pulling the Hawks to within two, 64-62. Hopkins, the benefactor of a couple of foul calls, took a 66-62 lead from the free throw line before Schneider’s basket brought Chaska back to within two with two minutes left.
In the final minute, a strong defensive play by senior Hanah Thul on a Hopkins jump shot gave the Hawks the ball back with less than 30 seconds left. Schaefer was able to find some space for a three-point attempt that would have given the Hawks a lead, but just missed.
Hopkins would once again benefit from a foul call after Chaska thought they had forced a turnover. The Royals hit both free throws, then forced a turnover of their own, scoring another basket to clinch the win. In a very physical game for both teams, Chaska was whistled for 18 fouls to just 10 for Hopkins, which resulted in the Royals receiving 13 more free throws.
The Royals would eventually go on to two lopsided victories over Eastview and Maple Grove to wrap up their ninth state championship.
The Hawks went on to the consolation bracket after giving the Royals their toughest game of the 2025 postseason and providing the single best game of the entire Minnesota state basketball tournament.
Chaska 75, Anoka 63 (Thursday, March 13)
Bouncing back from a heartbreaking loss isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but head coach Samantha Canter quickly reminded her team after the Hopkins game that there was still business to take care of.
“After the game, I told the team that the beauty of being in the state tournament means our season isn’t done—we still get to play,” she said. “Our goal changed from winning state to winning the consolation bracket. Also, we had the mindset of, ‘Let’s prove that we should have been seeded in the top five to begin with.’”
Chaska, playing without senior captain Ella Keenan, who injured her wrist in the Hopkins game, trailed Anoka 1-0 to start the game. They did not trail again. Led by Addi Schneider’s career-high 32 points, the Hawks blew away the Tornadoes by a score of 75-63.
Schneider scored 18 in the first half to keep pace with Anoka star Madin Freking, whose 22 points at the half and 38 points in the game were both high marks for any player in the entire AAAA state tournament.
The Hawks quickly extended their 34-29 halftime lead to double-digits in the second half, even as the game got a bit chippy, with both teams getting whistled for a wealth of fouls in the frame.
Junior Addie Perkins and freshman Jenna Nelson each hit three-point baskets, while senior Hanah Thul notched two baskets of her own, as the Hawks built on their lead.
Down the stretch, Chaska found several complements for Schneider’s scoring frenzy, including senior Alexis Schaefer, who finished with 11, and freshman Natalie Heyer, who scored 10—including a three-point basket with 1:30 left in the game that put the Hawks up 14, effectively sealing their victory.
A late basket by senior Reagan Niebuhr and two free throws by senior Macy Anderson closed out the scoring for the Hawks, who were able to find late-game minutes for their valuable upperclassmen reserves, seniors Mallory Allen and Kaedynn DeBruine and juniors Morgan Donahue, Cara Moger and Ayla Schmitz.
Schneider, the AAAA tournament’s leading scorer with an average of 28.7 points-per-game, credited her teammates for helping her find the hot hand.
“My team was doing a great job of finding me on kickouts and I was able to knock down those shots. I feel like when I start hitting shots, I get more confidence to keep attacking and shooting. I think we all feed off each other’s shots as well. When one of us is hitting shots, we all are,” she said.
Chaska 72, Brainerd 57 (Friday, March 14)
Playing in the consolation championship game meant that the Hawks had a chance to be one of three AAAA teams (the State Champion, the third place game winner, and the consolation champion) to end their season with a win.
“Our team had the mentality of, ‘Leave it all on the floor.’ There is nothing better than having your last game of the season be a win,” said head coach Samantha Canter.
The Hawks’ shooting hit a bit of a cold streak early on, allowing the Warriors, playing in their first state tournament in 28 years, to keep things close in the first half. With a minute to go in the first frame, Chaska only led by three points, but closed on a 6-0 run.
Senior captain Hanah Thul scored on a layup in the paint, Schneider scored on a crafty breakaway bucket and Schaefer scored on a tough offensive rebound putback at the halftime buzzer, as the Hawks went into the locker room with a nine-point lead.
The second half was all Chaska. Schneider started the frame with a long three-pointer and an athletic runner in the lane on her way to 16 points in the second half, giving her a game high 28 points.
Senior Macy Anderson hit a three-pointer, as did freshman Jenna Nelson. Freshman Natalie Heyer scored on an offensive rebound. Schneider scored on a coast-to-coast left-handed layup. Nelson caused a turnover and scored on a layup. Suddenly the Hawks led the Warriors by 21 with under nine minutes to go.
The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way. Junior Ayla Schmitz scored on two transition baskets, Schaefer scored on an impressive driving layup, Thul added another bucket down low and Schneider capped off her scoring with a three-pointer.
With three minutes to go, the Hawks were able to find minutes for their upper-classmen reserves. DeBruine scored on a jump shot and junior Sophia Kruger scored at the free throw line to close out the scoring for the Hawks. Moger, Allen and Donahue all found additional state tournament experience, as well.
The Hawks 72-57 victory capped off a memorable postseason run with a Class AAAA consolation championship. After the game, Coach Canter was quick to praise the entire team, as well as her top two scorers.
“Overall, the team played very well together which was great to see. Addi had a wonderful tournament as she made the all-Tournament team. Lex (Schaefer) also played very well, especially the last game with her in the post,” Canter said.
“We just soaked it all in, remembering that very few teams make it to State,” said junior captain Schneider. “We worked really hard all season to get here. Playing on that big of a stage was such a cool experience and seeing the whole community come together and support us was incredible.”
Both Canter and Schneider had high praise for this year’s seniors—Ella Keenan, Alexis Schaefer, Hanah Thul, Macy Anderson, Reagan Niebuhr, Mallory Allen and Kaedynn DeBruine. It was a class that will go down in Chaska annals after leading their incredible state tourney run.
“I’m going to miss this group of seniors so much,” Schneider said. “They all work super hard and are constantly pushing everyone to be better every day. They all brought so much energy to this team and all really cared about each other which helped make this team so tight.”
Canter agreed that this senior class was something special.
“Oh boy, I will miss this crew a lot,” she said. “They are all such good people. Their leadership on and off the court, they made coaching them easy. They all have amazing attitudes and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the next chapter of their lives.”
Additional Pictures:
(Photo credit: Kelly Lindsay)
