The grand finale of the 2016 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament was truly a heavyweight battle - the Class AAAA Championship Game that pitted Minnetonka going up against Hopkins. These two bitter Lake Conference rivals split their regular season series and now the rubber match; the big enchilada, was to settle this thing once for all in the state title game.
Neither side could get any decided advantage early on with the score tied 6-6 at the 15:00 mark but the Royals finally did get a small four-point cushion on an offensive rebound and putback in transition by senior reserve forward Dominique McNeely at the 12:55 mark and on free throw by senior forward Nia Hollie at the 11:36 mark. An offensive rebound and putback by senior guard Ashley Bates at the 10:11 mark that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory freebie had Hopkins up 15-10 but the Skippers would manage to make their first decisive move. Trailing by five, Minnetonka shocked the crowd at Williams Arena on this Saturday by embarking on a 15-0 run over nearly four minutes; fueled primarily by scores in the paint by strong senior forward Lizzie Odegard to grab a stunning 25-15 lead with 5:19 left and a short jumper by left senior forward Courtney Fredrickson with 3:21 left stretched the lead to eleven at 28-17. Two free throws by willowy sophomore guard Chrissy Carr maintained the eleven point edge at 30-19 before the Royals finally a bit of solid footing and were able to chisel away at the deficit. Two free throws by Bates with 1:03 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Bates with :35 left cut the Skipper lead down to seven at 31-24 and a Bates lay-up with :07 left got Hopkins a bit closer trailing 32-26. Minnetonka senior guard Hannah Hedstrom got the last points of this unbelievable first half for the Skippers with her jumper off the glass with just :01 left as Minnetonka took a 34-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
Bates saved Hopkins bacon late in the first half with her scores and two more Bates scores in the early part of the second half cut the Minnetonka lead down to 34-30 by the 14:52 mark. A jumper from the free throw line by Fredrickson put the Skippers back up 36-30 at the 14:35 mark but the Royals would go on a slow 6-0 run; fueled by a lay-up in transition by Bates at the 12:09 mark and a Hollie score in the paint at the 10:23 mark that knotted the issue at 36 a piece that had the Hopkins student section at Williams Arena going nuts. The Skippers could have easily folded up like a house of cards right then and there but instead, they calmly responded and ever so slowly righted the ship; going on a 6-0 burst of their own. Two scores by Odegard - who was on her way to a monster night for Minnetonka - and a drive along the right baseline and finish by senior guard Grace Allen had Minnetonka up 42-36 by the 9:15 mark. A Hollie lay-up with 8:57 left and a Bates lay-up in transition that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory freebie narrowed the Skipper lead down to three points at 43-40 with 8:06 left but then the Skippers Fredrickson; not necessarily known for her three-point shooting ability, buried a "3" from the left corner with 7:38 left that had Minnetonka back up by six at 46-40 - and a little more breathing room as well. Hopkins had no intentions of letting their opponent breathe easy though and the Royals managed to pick away at the deficit again. Complicating things for Hopkins, however, was that Bates had picked up her fourth foul by this point and the Royals could ill-afford to lose her. Hollie connected with a tip-in shot off of a lob pass inside and an offensive rebound and putback by senior guard K'Aezha Wubben got Hopkins back to within a single possession trailing 48-45 but with 5:41 left, Royals Head Coach Brian Cosgriff's worst fears were realized when Bates picked up her fifth and final foul of the evening on a questionable call that sent his leading scorer on this night helplessly to the bench. That seemed to have a deflating effect on Hopkins as the Skippers were able to stretch the lead out to seven points at 52-45 with 4:59 left but you knew the Royals were not going to let this one go away without a fight. Two Hollie free throws with 4:50 left and a short jumper by Hollie with 3:36 left had Hopkins right back within striking distance trailing 52-49 and although Minnetonka would get the lead back out to 54-49 with 2:34 left on freebies by both Hedstrom and Fredrickson, the Royals were not finished yet. Hollie would make a powerful drive into the lane for a finish that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory free throw and suddenly it was a 54-52 ballgame with 2:28 left. The Skippers got the ball back but a subsequent turnover now gave Hopkins a chance to tie or reclaim the lead. Eighth-grade reserve guard Paige Bueckers got fouled with 1:55 left and was sent to the charity stripe for a one-and-one situation. But Bueckers couldn't get the front-end attempt to go down and Minnetonka's Odegard was right there for the rebound and with the Skippers carefully working the ball around the court; trying to melt off as much time as possible, Allen found a hint of an opening in the Hopkins defense and made a hard drive for a finish that drew a foul with 1:08 left. Allen couldn't put down the ensuing freebie but Fredrickson was right there for a key offensive rebound; denying a chance for the Royals to get things back to a single possession right away. Now forced to foul, Hopkins sent Carr to the line with :49.9 left and the sophomore responded with two free throws that now had Minnetonka out in front 58-52. On the ensuing Royals possession, Bueckers was unable to connect on three-point shot attempt and Fredrickson was right there for the defensive rebound and she was immediately fouled with :21.8 left. Although Fredrickson was able to only get the front-end of the two-shot situation to go down, Hopkins was now truly in desperation mode trailing 59-52 and the sands of time running out on them. Royal sophomore reserve guard Raena Suggs did get sent to the line with :10.3 left but was unable to connect with either free throw attempt. Minnetonka's Odegard was right there for the rebound and was immediately fouled by Hollie with :08.4 left which was Hollie's fifth and final foul of the night. Odegard sank the two free throws and the Skippers shocked the Twin Cities and the world with their 61-52 victory to claim their first-ever state title.
Hopkins' Cosgriff expressed disappointment afterward in the press conference afterward saying simply, "We got outrebounded and we didn't make free throws." Indeed, the rebounding difference in this game was utterly astonishing as Minnetonka won the battle of the boards by an eye-opening 64-33 margin and the Royals were 14-27 from the charity stripe. "In a game like this you can't do that.....You can't outrebounded 2-to-1 in a possession game....You will lose every time." I asked Cosgriff about the key 15-0 run that the Skippers embarked on near the midway point of the first half. "I thought we gave up too much penetration.....We weren't as strong as we needed to be." Cosgriff also expressed his frustrations on the number of fouls called in the contest as he felt it disrupted the "flow" of the game itself. The common theme of the response I received when I asked the Minnetonka players in the press conference (Hedstrom, Odegard, Fredrickson and Carr) on how they maintained their composure in the second half when Hopkins made a run at them was simply "Staying calm....Staying focused." Fredrickson: "I just think we came out ready to go.....That was a really big thing; getting that lead early....And at halftime we kept saying that we have to make sure that we maintain this....But we knew if we held on we were gonna win this game." Skipper Head Coach Leah Dasovich talked about how special it was to be able to win a state title for the first time; noting that it was likely the first time that two Lake Conference teams played in the state title. She noted that this squad had faced several obstacles along the way and was so impressed with how this group overcame those obstacles to get to this point. "We knew it was going to be 'blow for blow'....It was never going to be widespread on either side.....Defensively I felt that we've done the best job in defending Hopkins in the state this year." She had high praises for Odegard who led Minnetonka on this night with her 17 points and monstrous 23 rebounds. "I am amazed at how she is able to clear space with her 6-foot frame....She plays like she's 6'5"......If the ball goes up and it doesn't go in, she's getting it." I asked Dasovich about what this state title means going forward for this Minnetonka program. "I think this is a phenomenal victory; not only for these girls but for this team....Minnetonka has always been hovering at that level" She talked about some of the players that have gone through the program and have helped lay the foundation. "It helped establish the groundwork for this team." In addition to Odegards heroics on this night, Carr chipped in with 12 points and Fredrickson had 11 points. For Hopkins, Bates' 28 points led the way while Hollie had 18 points in the losing effort.
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