GREAT PLAINS ALLIANCE THURSDAY NIGHT ACTION

Minnesota Select AAU boys’ basketball club hosted a tournament in St. Cloud through the weekend of June 25-27.

SCHOOLERS DAILY VS. MINNESOTA HEAT WAYZATA

Schoolers Daily and Heat Wayzata squared off in a game. Wayzata looked to push the ball down the floor and score baskets in transition. They were able to pass the ball around the 3-point line as well as attack the basket.

Wayzata used mostly zone defense in the first half. That made Schoolers Daily have to take deep 3-point shots.

The score went back and forth throughout the first half.

Wayzata was able to step up and knock down 3-point baskets. No one for Wayzata was afraid to shoot the ball.

Schoolers Daily called a timeout with 7:45 left in the first half. The score was Wayzata 16, Schoolers Daily 9.

Both teams dove on the floor after loose balls and they both went after rebounds. There were many jump balls.

The score went back and forth late in the first half.  

At halftime the score was Wayzata 29, Schoolers Daily 23.

As the second half got underway Wayzata continued to push the ball down the floor and score baskets in transition.

Wayzata was a little quicker than the Schoolers Daily were. They beat them down the floor and were able to get more rebounds and shots.

Wayzata came up with fast break layups off of steals. Schoolers Daily didn’t back down. They kept attacking the basket and making layups.

Wayzata passed the ball around the 3-point line as they looked to take time off the clock with 10 minutes left in the second half.

Schoolers Daily found their shooting rhythm in the second half. They were hitting shots that they weren’t hitting in the first half.

The score went back and forth late in the second half. Both teams attacked the basket well and played tough defense.

Wayzata was able to hit shots late in the game. Wayzata came away with the 66-58 victory over Schoolers Daily.

These tournaments gives me a chance to see different players and coaches both high school and college coaches. 

THE LAKEVILLE NORTH PANTHERS TOOK ON THE HOPKINS ROYALS IN THE QUARTERFINALS OF THE MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

In the first game of the 2012 Minnesota State High School League girls state basketball tournament Lakville North took on the Hopkins Royals. Lakeville North had a record of 21-8 going into the game. Hopkins Record was 28-1.

The Hopkins boys' basketball team was in the building cheering on their team. Each team brought a fair number of fans with them.

Lakeville North started the game in a zone defense. They looked to spread the Royals offense out. It took a while for each team to get used to playing on the bigger Target Center floor.

Hopkins started out hot as they opened the game on a 7-0 run with 12:55 left in the first half. Lakeville North didn't give up. They kept on shooting the ball and hopeful that a few will drop.

Hopkins looked for baskets in transition. They were able to get a few of them. Hopkins seemed a little bit quicker then Lakeville North.

Lakeville North caught fire midway through the first half. They went on a run and they got within three-points of Hopkins at 9-6 with 9:00 left in the first half.

Both teams did a good job on the defensive end. They were both able to lock up their players and looked to control them by making them go one direction.

Lakeville North called a timeout with 8:12 left in the first half. The score was Hopkins 11 and Lakeville North 6.

Lakeville North came out of the timeout and they held the ball at the top of the key. They wanted Hopkins to get out of the zone defense and wanted them go into a man-to-man defense. They did that and that made it difficult for them to shoot the ball.

Lakeville North did a good job of penetrating the lane. They were able to get lay-ups and jump shots in the lane. They were able to hit their shots from that range.

If a defensive oriented first half. The score at halftime was Hopkins 17 and Lakeville North 12.

As the second half got underway Lakeville North came out on a tear. They were able to tied the game at 17 points with just under 16 minutes left in regulation.

Lakeville North called a timeout with 13:59 left in regulation. The score was Hopkins 22 and Lakeville North 17.

Hopkins guard Nia Coffey was all over the floor. She found her shot early in the second half. The Lakeville North defenders were not able to slow her down when she was on offense.

Lakeville North couldn't get their shots to drop in the second half. The offense went stagnet as shots were hard to come by.

Lakeville North called a timeout with 10:04 left in regulation. The score was Hopkins 37 and Lakeville North 19.

In a first half that saw a tough defensive battle the scoring opened up a little bit in the second half. In the end Hopkins was too much for Lakeville North to handle. Lakeville North played hard throughout the entire game but in the end Hopkins came away with the 51-29 victory over Lakeville North.

The leading scorer for Lakeville North was Stewart with 11 points. Lakeville North shot 10-38 from the field that included going 2-8 from behind the three-point line. They were 7-10 from the free throw line. The Lakeville North bench scored 5 points.

The leading scorers for Hopkins were Nia Coffey with 18 points, and TT Starks with 11 points. Hopkins shot 16-48 from the field. That included going 1-10 from behind the three-point line. Hopkins was 18-24 from the free-throw line. Hopkins bench scored 5 points.

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TOOK ON HOPKINS IN THE MINNETONKA FALL LEAGUE

Hopkins took on Columbia Heights in the Minnetonka fall basketball league. Both teams started out hot, as they both knocked down shots in the early going.

Both teams played strong and went at each other in the early goings. Hopkins came into the game playing a strong man-to-man defense.

Hopkins made a run mid way through the first half. Columbia Heights did not give up though they kept on fighting and playing hard.

Both teams pushed the ball up the court. There were a lot of baskets made in transition. Hopkins was able to make shots in quick order, as they were able to string baskets together.

Hopkins was able to put on a show. They were making the game look easy as they were putting up shots and they were going in.

In a half that was one sided Hopkins had a 63-43 lead over Columbia Heights.

The second half started out with Hopkins on fire they were able to knock down shots that they were putting up with ease.

The Columbia Heights players were getting visibly frustrated during the second half. They knew that there shots were not dropping and they couldn’t go anything about it but keep shooting.

Hopkins continued to make shots in the second half. They didn’t back down. Hopkins was just a much bigger and more physical team than Columbia Heights.

Columbia Heights made a run late in the second half as they tried to catch up to Hopkins. With 1:44 left in regulation the score was Hopkins 106 and Columbia Heights 93.Even with the late second half rally Hopkins was able to and come away with the 111-99 victory over Columbia Heights.