Made my way over to Osseo High School yesterday evening to take in the Section 6AAAA Championship Game between two Lake Conference rivals - Minnetonka and Hopkins - the #2 and #1 seeds, respectively, that were both expected to meet in this section showdown. Hopkins had won both regular season meetings and they were definitely favored in this setting tonight as well but Hopkins Head Coach Brian Cosgriff takes nothing for granted in these situations and always has his team as prepared as they can possibly be.
Both squads were fired up early on in this one as each team forced jump balls in the first minute of play. But it didn't take the Royals long to find their shooting groove as they bolted to an 8-0 lead by the 14:58 mark fueled by a lay-up by senior sensation Nia Coffey; a drive along the right baseline and finish by fellow senior Mikaala Shackelford; and a score in the paint by 6'4" senior post Erin O'Toole. Sensing her team was entering the danger zone, Minnetonka Head Coach Leah Dasovich called for a timeout to try and halt the Hopkins Express which did seem to work although it took some time. She inserted willowy sophomore reserve sharpshooter Caroline Shelquist who promptly nailed one of her patented "3's" from the right corner at the 14:01 mark. Down 14-3 after an offensive rebound and putback by Hopkins reserve sophomore TT Starks, Shelquist drained another "3" at the 12:42 mark; this one from the right corner that got the Skppers back to within single digits at 14-6. Still another "3" by Shelquist from the right top area at the 11:33 mark and another "3" by junior guard Anne Hamilton drew the Skippers to within seven points at 21-14 and it at least gave them a wisp of hope with 9:50 left to go in the first half.
But Cosgriff and his coaching staff had seen enough of this three-point shooting display by the Skippers and the Royals clamped down with their pressure defense that limited perimeter opportunites for Minnetonka and took them out of any real rhythm on offense. Still, the Skippers managed to hang tough down the stretch of the rest of the first half. A score in the paint by junior reserve Piper Jensen drew Minnetonka to within five at 23-18 with 6:43 left. However, a lay-up in transition by Shackelford with 4:55 left plus an offensive rebound and putback by Erin O'Toole with 3:28 left made it a 27-18 game and charity stripe shots by Shackelford and Coffey had the lead back up to double digits with under a minute left. Conspicuously silent from a scoring standpoint in the first half for the Skippers was senior Joanna Hedstrom and she didn't make her presence felt until there were eight ticks left before halftime when she nailed a short jumper in the lane that at least got the deficit back into single digits going into the locker room at 30-21. Now Minnetonka simply had to find a way to make a run to stay within striking distance.
But Cosgriff and his Hopkins Royals would have no part of a cat and mouse game with the Skippers as they embarked on a game-changing 19-2 run that busted things wide open and extinguished any hope that Minnetonka may have had about staying close. Two quick scores - one by Erin O'Toole in the paint at the 17:22 mark and a lay-up by senior point guard Taylor Anderson at the 17:05 mark had Dasovich calling a quick timeout to try and stem the tide but it was to no avail. Hopkins had opportunites in both transition and in the half court that had no answer from the Skippers. The only fly in the ointment for the Royals was that Erin O'Toole picked up her fourth foul at the 14:09 mark but in her absence Cosgriff inserted Erin's younger sister, junior Molly, who filled in admirably for the Royals at the post position. Hamilton had two opportunites at the charity stripe to try and stop the bleeding for the Skippers at the 14:12 and 14:09 marks - and missed on all attempts. The only points for Minnetonka came from Joanna Hedstrom on a drive and finish in the lane at the 12:35 mark - only her second FG of the game and her first since that jumper right before halftime.
Things would not get any better for Minnetonka coming down the stretch, either. Scores in the paint by Molly O'Toole at the 9:19 and 8:16 marks pushed the Hopkins lead to 57-29. With 7:53 left Hopkins was already in the double-bonus and Cosgriff put Erin O'Toole back in even with four fouls tagged on her as the Royals zoomed in for the final kill. A score in the paint by Erin with 5:30 left plus one charity stripe shot with 4:55 left made it a 60-31 game. With 3:10 left, Dasovich saw the handwriting on the wall and took out her starters and inserted the reserves. Cosgriff did the same shortly thereafter and it at least provided these non-starters a chance to get their names in the scoring book. Hopkins junior Katrina Reeves scored in the paint with 2:30 left freshman Evelyn Knox connected with a jumper from the left wing for the Royals with 1:44 left. Minnetonka had one last hurrah as freshman Grace Allen scored on a lay-up with :18 left. Hopkins, however, punched their ticket for yet another trip to Target Center with a rousing 65-35 triumph that left no doubt as to who's the top dog in not only the Lake Conference, but in Section 6AAAA as well.
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