Class AAAA 1st round action went almost according to hoyle, and almost went all to heck. #1 Hopkins indeed defeated unseeded Cambridge-Isanti, as expected, 85-55.
• But then #5 seed Stillwater hammered #4 Park Center 82-52. That's an upset any way you look at it. It shoulda been a close game. Modesty does not prevent me from saying I had picked Stillwater, but 30 points? No way.
• Then #2 seed Farmington edged Eden Prairie 58-54 and in this case I have to admit I had also picked the upset here. So I got 2 of the 1st 3.
• #3 St. Michael-Albertville and Lakeville North are playing as we speak. St. Michael has the early lead and it will be a big surprise if St. Michael doesn't win. These 2 teams were scheduled to play January 18 at the Hall of Fame Winter Classic, but the game was snowed out and was not rescheduled. Lakeville North declined to play on January 25 because they had too many games right around that.
Hopkins 85 Cambridge 55
Here the big story is Hopkins won easily despite Paige Bueckers taking 4 shots, making 3 for 7 points and adding 7 assists. She played 27 minutes, and she was out there today to make her teammates look good and, well, she sure as heck made Maya Nnaji look good. The 6-2 freshman post had 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting with 7 boards and 3 blocks.
It was 54-24 at the half. Cambridge got a tie in the 2nd half. Cambridge shot a respectable 21-of-53 and got out rebounded 37-27 and had 17 turnovers to 9 for Hopkins. There was nothing where Cambridge got totally hammered, it's just that Hopkins won every aspect by enough that the cumulative effect was a blowout.
Stillwater 82 Park Center 52
Stillwater won the rebounding battle 60-27. It might have been a case of too much drama for Park Center, or maybe it was simply a case of too much size for Stillwater. Park Center forward T'Naye Griffin has been hurt, but she was cleared to play in last week's section final. Coach Barb Metcalf decided not to play her, and she quit the team. Clearly, Park Center did not have their heads entirely into this game.
Alexis Pratt had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Aliza Karlen scored 19 with 15 boards. Sillwater's big guns shot 17-of-34, Park's big guns--Adalia McKenzie and Lauren Frost--shot 13-for-39. 'Nuff sed.
Farmington 58 Eden Prairie 54
Finally a close game, and it was a very good game in the 1st half, which ended with Farmington up 36-31. Farmington's 6-of-10 shooing from 3-point range was the difference.
The 2nd half, on the other hand, was pretty sloppy. Farmington shot just 6-of-18. After leading 50-42 at 6:30, they made just 1-of-3 FG and 6-of-11 FT, and they turned it over 4 times, so EP was able to hang around. Destinee Bursch, who led EP with 19 points, got the Eagles within 55-54 at one minutes with a steal-and-2 but missed a potential tying FT. They had two chances to tie, but never scored again.
The rebounds were 41-24 Farmington, with Sophie Hart getting 16. But the Tigers turned it over 18 times and missed 7 FT. Peyton Blandin was solid offensively, however, with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-for-3 3s, and 3-for-4 FT.
St. Michael 45 Lakeville North 25 (half)
Kenzie Kramer scored 18 1st half points as St. Michael threatened to make the 4th game into the 3rd blowout.
Looking Ahead
It will be Hopkins vs. St. Michael. Trust me.
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