Stretching their advantage to double-digits by halftime, the third-seeded Skippers maintained the pace and rolled to victory against the Tornadoes.

The motive: Extend their first state tournament appearance of the millennium a little longer. The Skippers, last at state in 1999, are 20-1 in their past 21 games.

“It was a huge deal for us to get to state but that wasn’t the end goal at all,” senior guard Hannah Hedstrom said.

Lizzie Odegard led the Skippers (23-4) with 15 points. Hedstrom was one of four additional players to score at least 10 points.

“If they try to stop one weapon, we have another girl that will step up and hit a big shot,” Hedstrom said.

Anoka (22-8) started the game well but fell behind 38-27 at halftime and could not get back into contention.

“They came out so strong in the second half,” said senior guard Naomi Torgerson, who led the Tornadoes with 17 points. “They just wanted it more.”

Hedstrom said: “Anoka always comes out hard but we didn’t think they could maintain that energy the whole game.”

In advancing to the semifinals at 8 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena, the Skippers will face White Bear Lake in a rematch of a Feb. 9 game, an 82-54 Minnetonka romp.

First report

Minnetonka’s first state tournament appearance of the millennium will last a little longer.

The third-seeded Skippers (23-4) dispatched Anoka (22-8) in a 71-41 victory in the Class 4A quarterfinal Tuesday at Target Center.

With the victory, Minnetonka advances to the semifinal at 8 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena. The Skippers will face White Bear Lake, which upset No. 2 seed St. Michael-Albertville in overtime Tuesday. The teams met on Feb. 9, a 82-54 Minnetonka romp.

The Skippers, who last reached state in 1999, are 20-1 in their past 21 games.

Check back later for more on the game.