Class AAAA Quarterfinal Recap - STMA vs Hopkins 3-13-13 10:00 A.M.

The breakfast match-up at Target Center featured upstart and unseeded STMA (St. Michael-Albertville) against #1 seed and two-time defending state champ Hopkins.  On paper, this appeared to be a mismatch but the scrappy Knights had every intention of showing that they belong on the big stage and in the early going they gave the Royals fits.  Maybe it was the 10;00 A.M. start that had Hopkins shaking off some of the early morning cobwebs (as a tennis player, I HATE those 8:00 A.M. starts at tournaments!).  In any event, both teams struggled with shooting in the early going which was one of the reasons STMA was able to stay close.  Gradually, however, the Royals started pulling away.  With the game tied at 4-all, Hopkins embarked on 26-4 run that had them up 30-8 with 4:00 left in the first half that, for all intents and purposes, was the game.  Hopkins began getting easy transition opportunities that both seniors Nia Coffey and Mikaala Shackelford cashed in on.  The Royals suffocating defense also caused a multitude of problems for STMA on offense as the Knights had considerable difficulty driving inside or getting good looks on the perimeter.  As a result, they missed several opportunities on short- and medium-range shots that could have at least closed the gap a bit.  As it was, STMA was staring at a 40-22 deficit at the half.  But the score only told part of the story.  The other startling difference was on the boards where Hopkins simply dominated; getting 31 total first half rebounds (13 offensive and 18 defensive) compared to STMA's 19 rebounds (6 offensive and 13 defensive).  Not surprisingly, Nia Coffey led the way for Hopkins in the first half with 13 first half points followed by fellow senior Taylor Anderson's 8 points.  STMA surprisingly was led by freshman Sydney Tracy's 7 points.  An icy 23.1% FG shooting (including a downright frigid 11.1% 1-9 from behind the arc) doomed the Knights.  

The Hopkins juggernaut kept right on rolling in the second half as they maintained the twenty-point cushion they had built up in the first half.  STMA, however, had no intentions of just folding up the tent and going back home early as they kept right on scrapping and clawing away at every opportunity they could find.  With 5:00 left, the only fly in the ointment for Hopkins was that senior post Erin O'Toole had picked up her fourth foul but that did not scutter the path to ultimate victory for the Royals.  The Knights, despite facing an insurmountable deficit, kept flinging away from behind the arc whenever they got a good look and it finally began paying some dividends for Head Coach Kent Hamre's squad in the latter stretches of the second half.  Senior Jordan Hansen had an exceptional second half for STMA after struggling somewhat from a scoring standpoint in the first half; netting twelve second-half points for a game total of 15.  The only other scorer in double figures for STMA was Tracy as she netted only three second half points.  Hopkins would cruise to a 77-58 win to advance to tomorrow's semifinals where they'll get the winner of the St. Paul Central - Osseo game.  The Royals were led by Coffey's outstanding performance which included 22 points and 9 rebounds.  Also scoring in double figures for the Royals were Anderson and fellow senior TT Starks.