First, the results.
#1 seed Hopkins rode roughshod over Lakeville North 68-46 as Paige Bueckers scored 29 points on just 12 shots.
#4 Centennial defeated #5 Maple Grove 74-64 in the best game of the day in AAAA. Centennial shot 56% from the field, Maple Grove 50%.
#2 Stillwater clobbered Shakopee 73-48, opening the 2nd half on a 14-0 run to expand a 37-25 halftime lead to 51-25.
#3 Eastview ground down a cold-shooting Forest Lake team with a variety of zone defenses 48-38.
Top Performers
Post—Maya Nnaji, Hopkins, freshman, scored 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, with 10 of those points coming in the 1st half. She added 9 rebounds.
Forward—Sara Lavell, Centennial, senior, scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 3s. Both coaches said they were surprised to see the 6-2 Lavell step outside, but that her 3 1st half 3s were decisive.
Wing—Jordyn Lamker, Maple Grove, sophomore, scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added 6 boards and 3 assists.
Point Guard—Bueckers, Hopkins, junior, not only scored 29. She held North's leading scorer, Lauren Jensen, to 9 points, just 3 of them in the 1st half.
Shooting Guard—Taylor McAuley, Centennial, senior, scored 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
More Top Performers
Post—Sara Stapleton, Centennial, senior, scored 11 points with 6 boards and 2 blocks. Her return from injury has made Centennial a whole new team this past month.
Forward—Grace Cote, Stillwater, junior, scored 16 points on 4-of-5 3s.
Wing—Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins, senior, scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Point Guard—Alexis Pratt, Stillwater, sophomore, scored 12 points with 8 assists.
Shooting Guard—Macy Guebert, Eastview, scored 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
The Outlook
Nothing much happened to change the outlook in Class AAAA. Hopkins played its usual devastating defense, holding one of Minnesota’s best shooters to 9 points, just a third of her usual output. Centennial has more weapons—and bigger, in 6-4 Sara Stapleton and 6-2 Sara Lavell, who combined for 30 points which is about 30 more points than Lakeville North’s bigs, because North basically doesn’t have any bigs. Still, most observers agree that nobody will stay within 20 of Hopkins.
In the other semi, #2 Stillwater showed a lot of offensive weapons, shooting 46%, while Eastview did not, shooting 39%. That doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but consider that Stillwster made 27 FG. Eastview made 14. Eastview is the better defensive team and its mix of zone defenses frustrated the heck out of Forest Lake. Stillwater does not figure to be quite as frustrated. Stillwater should win by 7.
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