Maya Nnaji will be there.
The women's NCAA Final Four? In her backyard? With her former high school teammate, Paige Bueckers, here playing on a national stage? How could Nnaji miss it? A Hopkins star, coming off another state title, a top-10 national recruit headed to Arizona, Nnaji can't wait for Sunday night's title game to begin.
"It's inspiration,'' she said.
Olivia Olson will be there, upper deck, with her dad.
Olson led her Benilde-St. Margaret's team into the state tournament as a sophomore. Already she's ranked, by ESPN, third in the country in the 2024 recruiting class.
If Nnaji's love for the game was bolstered by her love of watching Maya Moore helping the Lynx win four WNBA titles, Olson can see that happening with someone like Bueckers.
"It's cool for younger girls,'' she said. "To look up to the professional players, to see Paige coming back home and playing in the Final Four. It's just, really cool, to have someone to look up to. Little girls can be like, 'I can be like that, too.'"
Given the number of Minnesota girls who continue to make their mark on Division I college basketball — two Minnesota freshmen taking Utah to the second round, Lauren Jensen leading Creighton to the regional final, South Dakota relying on a roster loaded with Minnesotans to get to the Sweet 16 — the fact that Sunday night's championship game will take place on the Target Center floor seems only appropriate.
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