Perhaps one the best girls’ basketball seasons in Hopkins High School history came to an end Friday night in a 45-37 loss to Otsego in the MHSAA district tournament finals at Hamilton.
The Lady Vikings completed their campaign with a 19-5 record overall and they were O-K Silver Conference co-champions.
Hopkins started the season slowly with a 3-3 overall record, but caught fire after a Jan. 6 defeat at the hands of Silver co-champ Grandville Calvin Christian. First-year coach Kennedy Helderop’s group went 16-2 in its last 18 games and its only other loss was in overtime to Plainwell.
Though the Vikings last won the O-K Silver crown in 2023, this could be argued as their best season going back to the 1975 squad that was state Class C runner-up.
All-O-K Silver Conference performers, center Cora Hall and guard Reegan Helderop played their last prep basketball games, but some quality freshmen and other underclassmen are waiting in the wings.
