Minnetonka's third matchup with Eden Prairie was a two-act play with one grand finale.

Act One led off with senior guard Caroline Shelquist providing thrills from three-point range, which set up Act Two as the Courtney Fredrickson show, after the junior forward took over on offense. 

And it culminated with the Skippers advancing to their third consecutive section championship.

Behind the performances of its two stars, Minnetonka defeated Eden Prairie 73-58 in a Class 4A, Section 6 semifinal game Saturday afternoon at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School.  

Shelquist knocked down four three pointers in the first half to give the Skippers a 31-26 advantage at halftime. Then Fredrickson exploded for 20 of her game-high 23 points in the second half as second-seeded Minnetonka dropped the curtain on the third-seeded Eagles.

"If we're organized enough offensively, (Shelquist) keeps us in games when they're close," Minnetonka coach Leah Dasovich said. "Fortunately we have other offensive threats so they can't just key in on her. But in the first half, she was what we needed."

Dasovich said she thinks Shelquist is one of the best shooters in the state when coming off a screen.

Fredrickson agreed and described her teammate as a fantastic shooter.

"Sometimes I even forget to go and rebound because every single time she shoots it, you think, 'It's in, it's in,’" Fredrickson said.

Shelquist, who finished with five three-pointers and 15 points against Eden Prairie, is now averaging 11 points per game and is also a big reason why Fredrickson is averaging 16.4 ppg.

Shelquist's outside game opens up the lane for Fredrickson, who's free to drive or hit jumpers.

Dasovich said the offensive dynamic between Shelquist and Fredrickson, and the rest of the Skippers' shooters, was much better in the second half and gave Minnetonka the spark to avenge a 60-49 loss to the Eagles in last season's Section 6 championship.

Fredrickson said the 2014 section title and this season's 65-62 defeat to the Eagles at home in the regular season were definitely on the Skippers’ minds, and weighed specifically heavy on Shelquist.

"I just feel like last year, (Shelquist) didn't shoot very well (against Eden Prairie). So this game was a big revenge piece for her, and I'm very proud her," Fredrickson said.

With one familiar foe out of the way, Minnetonka now turns the spotlight on another rival: Lake Conference champion Hopkins. The Skippers meet the top-seeded Royals in the section championship on March 11.

Minnetonka is 0-2 against No. 1-4A Hopkins this season, losing 70-55 on the road in late January and falling 69-48 in the regular-season finale just eight days ago.

Both Dasovich and Fredrickson said they view the familiarity as half-full.

"We could complain all we want about our section and about how tough our section is and all these Lake teams and top 10 teams,” Dasovich said. "But the reality is that you have to beat the best to be the best, and I don't want an easy way to the state tournament. If we're gonna get it, we're gonna earn it.”

Junior Courtney Fredrickson scored a game-high 23 points as second-seeded Minnetonka defeated third-seeded Eden Prairie 73-58 in the Class 4A, Section 6 semifinals at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School Saturday afternoon.

Senior Caroline Shelquist posted 15 points on five three-pointers, helping the Skippers (22-5), No. 4 in the final Class 4A rankings from Minnesota Basketball News, beat Lake Conference foe No. 8-4A Eden Prairie (18-10) for the second time this season. The teams split the regular-season series as Minnetonka edged the Eagles 55-51 on Dec. 19, while Eden Prairie won 65-62 on Feb. 5.

The Eagles got 18 points from senior Emma Boehm and 15 from freshman Christianna Carr in the semifinal loss.

Junior Laura Hamilton chipped in 13 points for Minnetonka, which advances to face No. 1 seed Hopkins in the section championship at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School on March 11 at 7 p.m.

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