RICHFIELD TOOK ON HUTCHINSON IN A CLASS AAA STATE GIRLS SEMIFINAL BASKETBALL GAME

The Richfield Spartans who came into the state semifinal game with a record of 26-4 took on the Tigers of Hutchinson who had a record of 26-3 going into the game. The game took place at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

It was off to the races early in this one as both teams looked to race up and down the court as each team looked to score easy baskets in transition.

Richfield looked to get the ball into the hands of Jessica January. January was a quick 5'7 guard with great court awareness. She knew where her teammates were on the floor and distributed the ball well.

Hutchinson tried to keep an up tempo pace. Hutchinson started out in man-to-man defense. They didn't want to give up any easy baskets.

At the first media timeout with 11:58 left in the first half the score was Richfield 10 and Hutchinson 6.

Richfield went to a zone defense after the timeout. Hutchinson made Richfield pass the ball around the three-point line as they were able to take away the middle of the floor.

At the second media timeout with 8:39 left in the first half the score was Richfield 14 and Hutchinson 10.

January was all over the floor. Her teammates were able to get here the ball from everywhere on the floor.

At the third media timeout with 5:11 left in the first half the score was Richfield 20 and Hutchinson 13.

Both teams looked to push the ball in transition. Richfield was able to hit shots in transition. The Tigers didn't back down. They kept on looking for their shots late in the half.

Richfield was able to pick off some of the Hutchinson passes and they were able to turn them into points on the offensive end.

The Hutchinson offense went stagnant late in the half as they were not able to hit shots.

At halftime the score was Richfield 26 and Hutchinson 13. The bench was a non-factor for each team as neither bench scored any points.

Hutchinson started the second half in a zone defense. They were successful in the zone defense throughout the first half.

At 14:36 left in the second half there was a media timeout. The score was Richfield 29 and Hutchinson 15.

Hutchinson came alive after the timeout as they stepped up and hit a few mid-range jump shots. Hutchinson went to a zone defense. They wanted to slow down the Richfield offense.

At the 10:39 left in the second half there was a media timeout. The score was Richfield 29 and Hutchinson 20. Hutchinson looked to chip away at the deficit. They made Richfield earn every shot that they put up.

Hutchinson got the ball into the hands of Alissa Retterath. Retterath was aggressive and shot the ball from mostly inside the paint.

Hutchinson was not able to bounce back. Richfield was able to come away with the 45-28 victory over Hutchinson.

The leading scorer for Hutchinson was Alissa Retterath with 13 points. Hutchinson shot 10-34 from the field that included going 3-11 from behind the three-point line. They were 5-10 from the free-throw line. They brought down a total of 32 rebounds including 25 on the defensive end.

The leading scorer for Richfield was Jassica January with 23 points. Richfield shot 17-47 from the field that included going 0-5 from behind the three-point line. They were 11-19 from the free-throw line. They brought down 29 rebounds including 20 on the defensive end.