Hopkins girls basketball opens season strong under Coach Tara Starks
Head coach Tara Starks continues her winning formula at Hopkins as the Royals open their season with a high powered 78 to 74 victory over Providence Academy. Behind standout performances from Jaliyah Diggs, Ava Cupito, Mariahna Davis, Langia Durant and Emma Walker, the defending Class 4A champions look ready to chase another title.
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When former Minneapolis North girls basketball player and Hopkins assistant coach Tara Starks was named head coach of the Royals in 2020, she was quoted by a media outlet as saying, “I just want to get into the gym.”
Well, ever since getting into the gym, Starks has maintained the program she helped build as an assistant to Brian Kosgriff while putting her own stamp on the team as head coach. Since she’s taken over the Royals, they have two Class 4A state championships and have been currently rated among the nation’s best ever since.
It looks like Starks has Hopkins picking up right where they left off.
The outstanding play of Jaliyah Diggs, Ava Cupito, Mariahna Davis, Langia Durant, and Emma Walker led the Class 4A top-ranked Royals to a 78-74 season-opening victory over the Providence Academy Lions in the Southwest Christian High School Tip Off Classic last weekend.
Diggs led the defending Class 4A state champions with 23 points. Cupito had 13, Davis added 12, Durant chipped in 11, and Walker 10.
Walker and Diggs, both juniors, were brilliant as sophomores during the 2025 title run. Cupito missed the championship because of a knee injury.
The Lions, the top-rated Class 2A team, were led by Maddy Greenway’s 35 points.
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader comments to mcdeezy05@gmail.com.