What It Takes to Win a Class AAAA Title
Another high school basketball season has come and gone. It seems like just yesterday that we saw Hopkins hammer Kasson-Mantorville 78-30 and Elk River topped Lakeville North 61-47 at the Breakdown Tip-Off. Things were different in March, as Elk River…
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Continue ReadingAnother high school basketball season has come and gone. It seems like just yesterday that we saw Hopkins hammer Kasson-Mantorville 78-30 and Elk River topped Lakeville North 61-47 at the Breakdown Tip-Off. Things were different in March, as Elk River edged North 57-56 then Hopkins 64-60 at Williams Arena to win its 1st state Class AAAA championship.
The same thing (sort of) happened a year ago when Minnetonka surprised Hopkins 61-52 to win the title.
What It Takes
Based on these 2 games—the 2016 and 2017 state Class AAAA championship games—there are 2 things that we can be sure of. The Royals haven’t won the title now since 2015. But, first, if you want to win a state Class AAAA title, you still gotta go through Hopkins to get there. Second, if you think you’re the one who can do that, well, then you better have 5 seniors ready to go at a very high level and who have played together basically forever. That’s what Minnetonka had going for it last year. That’s what Elk River had going for it this year. To wit:
• Elk River has Sidney Wentland, 5-10, power forward, 10 ppg during the regular season, 13 at the state tournament, 8 rebounds per game at the state tournament. Always a tiger on defense, she hit 4-of-5 3-pointers vs. Hopkins. Minnetonka had “Lizzie Dog” Odegard, 6-2, senior post, who averaged 12 points and 8 boards during the year, but had 17 points and 23 boards vs. Hopkins to win our tournament MVP award.
• The Elks have 5-10 senior forward Danielle Lachmiller who scored just 5 ppg during the regular season but played like a senior with 17 points and 6 boards including a pair of big 3s. Tonka had Courtney Frederickson who did what she had been doing all year with 13 points and 11 boards vs. Hopkins. These 2 teams were deep enough that neither made the all-tournament team, however.
• The Elks have Kelsie Cox at the 3-spot. She’s a 5-10 senior who guards people like Paige Bueckers and Temi Carda. She scored 10 ppg during the regular season but didn’t focus on scoring at state and scored 6 vs. Hopkins. Tonka had Grace Allen who contributed 6 points and 3 boards.
• Elk River has Gabi Haack, 5-9, point guard, Gatorade Player of the Year, StarTrib Metro Player of the Year at the 1. She averaged 26 ppg during the regular season, and scored 25 points last night vs. Hopkins to earn Northstar Girls Hoops tournament MVP award. Tonka had Hannah Hedstrom, an experienced veteran at the 1. She focused on protecting the ball against Hopkins famous pressure and scored just 3 points in the final. Hedstrom is headed at Lehigh, Haack will be at Bradley next year.
• The Elks have 5-7 senior Ava Kramer at the 2. She’s a feisty rin-attacker who did not score last night after scoring 13 ppg during the season, and 13 and 10 at state. Tonka had Chrissy Carr who scored 10 points with 12 boards vs. Hopkins. OK, she wasn’t a senior but had as much big-game experience as any of them.
• Minnetonka also had some depth, 3 players off the bench played 33 minutes and contributed 12 points for Tonka. Elk River played 1 sub for 1 minute in the 1st half.
And that—Tonka last year and Elk this—is what it takes to beat Hopkins, which again will be what anybody with state championship hopes will have to do again next year. And, keep in mind, what we’re saying is that Hopkins 2 losses are not due to Hopkins weakness. They’re due to the unshakable strength of the winners. Hopkins is not going to beat itself, and did not beat itself either year.
Rather, Elk River beat Hopkins by shooting 56 percent from the floor and 9-of-14 (64 percent) from long range. Hopkins won the turnover battle 16-8 and the battle on the offensive boards 11-6. Against mere mortals, that spells a Hopkins win. Elk River shot well enough to overcome Hopkins strengths.
So here are the individual numbers that stand out.
• Wentland 4-of-5 3s, 8 defensive boards and 2 blocked shots, the second coming at 2:10 of the 2nd half
• Haack 8-of-9 shooting and 2 steals, the 2nd coming at 0:33
• Hopkins Angie Hammond 7 offensive boards, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot
• Kelsie Cox defensive effort on Paige Bueckers, who made 6-of-17 (35 percent) shots after making 24-of-33 (73 percent) in her 1st 2 state tournament games
A Game of Runs, Of Course
It’s a game of runs. Doh. Hopkins led 10-2 as Angie Hammond scored 3 times off the glass, in transition and on a pick & roll with Bueckers. Elk came back to lead 19-17 as Haack and Lachmiller each scored 5 points. Hopkins tied it at 22, but Elk pulled out 32-24, then 35-30 at the half. Haack already had 16 points.
Elk stretched the lead to 10 at 44-34 but with lots of time, 14:15, to go and, indeed, Hopkins caught up at 52 on a Bueckers bucket. Hopkins went up 54-52, their only lead since 17-16, on another Hammond put-back. Cox and Wentland each scored twice down the stretch. But, Elk River was not home free until a Bueckers 3 went halfway down and all the way around before popping out at :03.
Hopkins gets everybody back next year except guards DeeDee Winston (11 points) and Hannah Kleist (0 points). Elk River gets Lydia Haack, 5-3 freshman who played that 1 minute, back.