The main entrée for this Saturday was the nighttime clash back over at the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic at Hopkins High School between defending Class AAAA Champion Eastview and perennial powerhouse (and host) Hopkins. The Lightning; ranked number one in the state defending its crown was looking to stave off a tough challenge from the number two-ranked Royals in what many considered to be a (very) early state tournament title preview. And this one wound up living up to the hype.
The opening minutes of this contest saw Hopkins controlling things with their fast-paced up-tempo style. Early scores by junior guard Ashley Bates and flashy senior guard TT Starks had the Royals up 4-2 by the 17:08 mark and a score in the paint by strong junior guard Nia Hollie made it a 6-4 game by the 16:33 mark. The Lightning would stay right in the thick of things, though, and their slower, deliberate style provided a stark contrast to that of their opponents. A lay-up at the 16:09 mark by super senior guard Madison Guebert tied things up at 6-all and a score in the paint by junior guard Erika Schlosser at the 15:04 mark made it 8-all. It was at this point that Hopkins was able to make the first major move as consecutive scores by Bates - a "3" from the left wing at the 14:21 mark along with a lay-up at the 13:43 mark - gave the Royals a 13-8 advantage. Eastview would manage to close the gap again down to two points trailing 14-12 after an offensive rebound and putback by strong senior forward Samantha Trammel at the 12:20 mark but a "3" from the right wing by junior reserve guard Evelyn Knox at the 11:18 mark and a drive and finish by Starks at the 10:30 mark had Hopkins in good shape up 19-13.
The Royals still enjoyed a seven point advantage at 22-15 when Starks made a hard drive and finish off the glass with 9:28 left but Eastview would chip away at the deficit. Free throws by senior reserve forward Hana Metoxen; back from that nasty ACL injury and Guebert had the Lightning back to within three trailing 22-19 with 7:18 left and a Guebert jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc with 6:36 mark completed a nice 6-0 Eastview push that suddenly reduced the Royal lead to 22-21. While the Royals managed to hang on to the lead for the rest of the first half, the chance to open up a sizable lead on the defending state champs had been whisked away and, in retrospect, I think this was a critical juncture in this game. Still, Hopkins managed to hold four- and five-point leads coming down the stretch. Free throws by both Hollie and Starks had the Royals up 30-25 with 3:00 left and a "3" from Knox with 1:07 left from the left top area maintained a five-point advantage at 33-28. Guebert did manage to knock down a "3" from the left corner with :40 left that had Eastview within two points again trailing 33-31 but Hopkins' Bates was able to fire the last cannon of this epic battle between two heavyweights when she scored after a drive along the left baseline with :07 left for a 35-31 Royal advantage at the halftime break.
Hopkins would get off to a solid start in the second half as lanky junior post Liz Bulver connected with a lay-up at the 17:48 mark and Hollie knocked down a pretty turnaround jumper at the 16:35 mark that put the Royals up by eight at 39-31 and could have had Eastview in a bad spot. But one thing we found out about the Lightning last season; particularly in the state championship game, is that this is a very resilient team that knows how to dig deep down when things look bleak and find a way to overcome formidable odds. Even down by eight points on a strong opponents home floor in front of a raucous crowd did not faze this squad. Rather, they relish these types of situations; especially Guebert who has an incredible ability to take over games. Trailing 41-33, Trammel was able to muscle into the paint for a score and got fouled in the process and her free throw trimmed the Hopkins lead down to 41-36. Then Guebert unleashed a "3" from the left corner at the 14:20 mark to bring the Lightning within two trailing 41-39. Another score in the paint by Trammel at the 13:07 mark tied the game at 41-all and then a Guebert jumper from near the free throw line at the 12:40 mark put Eastview out in front for the first time in this contest and Royals Head Coach Brian Cosgriff had seen enough to know that a timeout was warranted.
Hopkins would soon tie the score at 43-all on two charity stripe shots by Starks but the Lightning would soon take charge as three consecutive scores by Guebert - a "3" from the left wing at the 11:46 mark; a drive and finish at the 11:01 mark and two free throws at the 10:07 mark - put Eastview up 50-43. A 7-2 push by the Royals cut that advantage down to 52-50 with 8:36 left but the Lightning answered that with a 7-0 run of their own; highlighted by a Schlosser jumper along the right baseline with 7:52 left and a "3" by sophomore guard Rachel Ranke from the left top are with 6:36 left and a Schlosser lay-up with 6:05 left made it 59-50 Eastview and hope seemed to be dwindling for the home team.
But just when you thought that the Royals were going to be left for dead, they came back swinging. Two Hollie treys - with 5:52 and 5:35 left - sliced the Eastview lead down to 59-56 and a Hollie drive and finish in transition with 5:06 left cut the Lightning lead down to a scant point at 59-58 and now it was Eastview Head Coach Melissa Guebert's turn to call for a halt to the action. But Hopkins seemed to have caught a second wind by this point. Bates knocked down two free throws with 4:29 left and a lay-up in transition with 4:08 left by Starks by the Royals back out in front 62-61 and that lead expanded to 64-61 with 3:28 left on a drive and finish by Bates. Now, the Lightning had to respond again - and they did. And, not surprisingly, it would be Guebert leading the way. Two free throws with 3:08 and a drive and finish with 2:01 left that got her fouled and sent her to the line where she knocked down the charity stripe shot put Eastview back out in front 66-65. This was turning into the nail-biter that everyone had hoped for and both teams were looking for any opening on offense over the next couple of possessions - and finding little they could capitalize one. A Guebert free throw with :40.6 left upped Eastview's lead to 67-65 but now Cosgriff called a timeout to try and set something up to force overtime. The play worked to perfection and Bates connected with a lay-up with :18 seconds left to knot the game at 67-all. Neither squad was successful in their last-gasp bids to try and get a win before the end of regulation so on to overtime we went.
In the overtime period, the Lightning were very deliberate on offense; looking for the best possible opportunity to strike. That opportunity came with 1:57 left in the overtime period as junior reserve forward Emma Sinn was able to slither into the paint for a score that got her fouled. Although she couldn't convert on the obligatory freebie, this gave Eastview a precious 69-67 advantage with time becoming a factor. A Hollie free throw with 1:21 left narrowed the lead to a scant point at 69-68 but the clincher for Eastview may have come on their ensuing possession as Trammel was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss that now had the Lightning up 71-68. Hopkins, being very careful on their next possession, finally saw Starks make a move that got her fouled with 1:04 left and her two free throws once again brought the Royals to within one trailing 71-70. Eastview's Trammel was fouled in a transition opportunity with :59.3 left but she was unable to get the obligatory charity stripe shot to go down and now Hopkins had their chance. But a rushed Hopkins team uncharacteristically turned the ball over with :53.9 left that killed their best chance. Ranke was immediately fouled and was able to get one free throw to go down that upped the Lightning lead to 72-70. Still, more than enough time for Hopkins to do something on offense but another failed possession resulted in an Eastview rebound that saw Ranke get fouled again with :19.8 left. Ranke was able to get one free throw to go down for a 73-70 lead but the Lightning were not out of the woods yet. Cosgriff called another timeout to set up a play that would (hopefully) result in a trey - and force a second overtime. With :15.7 left, Hopkins had that chance but again, another uncharacteristic turnover killed the Royals chances. Guebert was soon fouled and she made both free throws and the Eastview Lightning had prevailed in a barn-burner 75-70. Not surprisingly, Guebert was named POY of the game with her 35 points.
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