Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff said he felt “nervous as heck” about drawing Rochester Mayo in the state tournament quarterfinals.

“It was probably the toughest first-round game we could get,” he said. “I knew they would be prepared.”

Few teams can adequately prepare for top-ranked Hopkins, which rolled to a 62-35 victory at the Target Center. The Spartans finished with three times as many turnovers (39) as they did field goals made (13).

The Royals (28-1) stormed to a 45-20 halftime lead and never let the Spartans (23-6) breathe. The Spartans didn’t score a second-half point until almost six minutes after halftime.

“We stepped on their throats like we’re supposed to,” Hopkins junior guard Ashley Bates said.
Bates posted team bests in points (10) and steals (four) in the first 20 minutes.

“Ashley has flown under the radar,” Cosgriff said. “She’s always been real productive. She finishes real well. She flies around defensively and rebounds the heck out of the ball for her size.”

Rochester Mayo, which entered the state tournament with 19 victories in the past 20 games, held opponents to 39.4 points per game. 

But a quicker, tougher Hopkins team, Spartans coach Rich Decker said, “plays at a different caliber than 99 percent of the teams in the state.”