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.

THE WHITE BEAR LAKE AREA BEARS WENT UP AGAINST THE OSSEO ORIOLES IN THE QUARTERFINALS OF THE MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE STATE TOURNAMENT

The Osseo Orioles went up against the Bears from White Bear Lake Area High School in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota State High School League state tournament at the Target Center. Going into the game Osseo had a record of 24-5. White Bear Lake record was 23-6. East teams colors were black and orange.

Osseo started in a zone defense. Osseo looked to push the ball down the court and score easy baskets in transition. The bears looked to slow them down on defense.

The Bears were not afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. Osseo was right with them in shooting the ball. Both teams crashed the boards after each shot. Neither team was afraid to shoot it.

The Bears didn't back down. They hung around the first half. They kept shooting the ball where every they could. Both teams shot poorly during the first ten minutes of the game.

The Bears called a timeout with 9:03 left in the first half. The score was Osseo 18 and White Bear Lake 6.

Janay Morton and Phyllis Webb were all over the place on the floor for Osseo. They both were able to hit shots from anywhere on the floor.

At halftime the score was Osseo 39 and White Bear Lake 22.

The second half scoring got off to a good note as these teams traded baskets from the start of the half. The Bears tried to make it a game but it was obvious they were out manned and simply were not able to find their range.

The Orioles kept pounding the ball down the middle of the lane. They were able to score at will. While White Bear Lake had trouble scoring. Osseo was too quick for White Bear to handle.

Web continued to shoot the ball well late in the game. The Bears were not able to slow her down.

In a game that got out of hand quickly and was a mismatch from the start.

The Osseo Orioles beat the White Bear Lake Bears by the final of 68-41.

The leading scorer for White Bear Lake was Alxis Foley with 21 points. White Bear Lake shot 15-47 from the field. That included going 4-8 from behind the three-point line. They were 7-19 from the free-throw line.

The leading scorers for Osseo were Phyllis Web with 22 points and Olivia Antilla with 20. Osseo shot 25-50 from the field. That included going 6-11 from behind the three-point line. They were 12-17 from the free-throw line.

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.