Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff saw the looks of a downtrodden team in Royals’ locker room at halftime and decided to light a fire under his squad’s belly by jogging a not-so-distant memory.
The Royals, fearing a replay of last year’s back-to-back losses to Eastview and Lakeville North, battled back to erase a 13-point halftime deficit and defeated St. Michael Albertville 82-72 in a matchup between ranked Class 4A teams at Hopkins High School on Tuesday.
“Last year, we had played Eastview in a very similar game and lost to them,” Cosgriff said. “Then, we came out and laid an egg against Lakeville North. I just said to them, ‘This is Lakeville North all over the place. Show me what you can do here. You have to go out and compete one possession at a time. You have to make stops and execute offensively.’ They went out and competed in the second half. I was very proud of them in the second half. First half, we laid an egg.”
It was St. Michael-Albertville’s game to lose going into the second half. The Knights hit three consecutive three-pointers -- two coming from sophomore guard Rae Johnson -- and a buzzer-beating layup -- also from Johnson -- to enter halftime with a 43-30 lead.
“When coach reminded us of last year, and what happened with Eastview, and then Lakeville North, it kind of just fueled us,” Hollie said. “We have a chance to do something really big this year, and it really fueled us to play better in the second half.”
If Cosgriff’s evocation was the fuel, then Nia Hollie was the spark. The junior guard ignited the Royals, who went on an 18-6 run to start the second half. Hopkins took its first lead 27 minutes into the contest on Hollie’s two made free throws and never looked back.
Hollie scored 18 of her game-high 23 points in the second half. Ashley Bates finished with 18 points and TT Starks had 16 for the Royals, No. 2 in the latest coaches poll.
Hopkins' offense was stoked by its second-half defense. The Royals began pressing the smaller Knights and forced several errant passes. Sixth-ranked St. Michael-Albertville turned over the ball on 17 of its 24 possessions and reached the free-throw line three times in the second half.
“We really know our talents and what we can do on defense, what we are capable of,” Hollie said.
Johnson finished with a team-high 15 points and Kitri Zezza had 14 for St. Michael-Albertville.
“I think (the Knights) got really hot in the first half,” Starks said. “I don’t think it was them executing as much (in the second). They shot the ball really well in the first half. Second half, we just wanted to protect our home court.
“I think the coaches at halftime really put a fire in our belly,” Starks added. “We really didn’t want a repeat of last year.”
