Minnetonka forward Courtney Fredrickson (24) drives to the basket against Hopkins' Nia Hollie in the Class 4A championship game Saturday at Williams Arena. Photo: Matt Blewett, special to Star Tribune | matt@mattebphoto.com
The basket had seemed to elude her all night, but Minnetonka’s Courtney Fredrickson has never been one to back down. So when the senior forward found the ball in her hands in the corner, her team leading by two points and desperately trying to hold off a Hopkins charge, she let it fly.
It caught nothing but net. Fredrickson threw her fist in the air as her shot bumped Minnetonka’s precarious lead back to five points. This victory, Fredrickson thought, was going to happen.
It did, as the Skippers held off Lake Conference-rival and defending champion Hopkins to win their first Class 4A title, 61-52. Minnetonka won its first state championship in just its second state tournament appearance.
“I’ll was so nervous all game, but I always knew my teammates had my back,” said Fredrickson, who scored 13 points and added 10 rebounds, one of three Skippers to finish with a double-double. “Even when things aren’t going my way, my teammates were still telling me to shoot.”
While both teams expected a rough and rugged game, no one expected the game to be dominated by whistles the way this one was. The two teams were called for a combined 51 fouls.
“How many free throws were there?” asked Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff. Told that Minnetonka took 38 and his team 27, he answered “That’s too many for a high school game. There was no flow.”
Cosgriff was careful, however, not to blame the officials for Hopkins’ loss. Instead, he pointed to Minnetonka’s 64-33 advantage on the boards.
“We got out rebounded and we didn’t make free throws,” he said. “In a nutshell.”
As it had throughout the tournament, Minnetonka leaned on its defense to go on a game-defining first-half run. Trailing 15-10, the Skippers outscored the Royals 20-4 over a five-minute stretch and took a 34-26 halftime lead.
If it hadn’t been for Hopkins Ashley Bates, the deficit could have been worse. While star forward Nia Hollie was struggling with her shooting, Bates was a one-person scoring machine. She had 19 points before halftime, making 6-of-11 shots from the floor and, nearly as importantly, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw-line.
But the rest of the Royals were having no success in the paint and that’s where Minnetonka made its stand. Center Lizzie Odegard was relentless, snatching 23 rebounds and scoring 17 points, all while fighting off Hopkins interior players.
“I’m amazed at how she can create space for someone who is just 6-feet tall,” Minnetonka coach Leah Dasovich said. “She plays like she’s 6-5.”
Hopkins rallied at the start of the second half, briefly tying the game 36-36, but the Royals never took the lead. Minnetonka wore down the Hopkins defense and the fouls began to add up. With just over six minutes left, Bates fouled out, taking with her 28 points and a nearly unstoppable ability to score when needed.
“I think she’s the most underrated player in the state,” Fredrickson said.”
The Minnetonka players agreed that they expected the game it to be a grind and they were ready to weather everything thrown at them.
“We’ve been in just about every basketball situation there is,” Odegard said. “It was important that we just stayed calm and that’s what we did.”
First report
There were no secrets, no last-minute discoveries or clandestine strategy sessions that could have any significant effect. Hopkins and Minnetonka were too well-acquainted for that. The Lake Conference rivals had played each other so many times that the Class 4A championship was basketball at its most basic – the team that executed better would win the game.
Well, that and the team that survived an oppressive onslaught of whistles.
In a game marred by more than 50 fouls, it was Minnetonka that emerged – just barely. The Skippers denied No. 1 seed Hopkins its second consecutive Class 4A state championship with a ragged but intense 61-52 victory. It’s the first state championship for Minnetonka in the program’s second trip to the state tournament.
Minnetonka’s first half was nearly a carbon copy of the Skippers’ first two state tournament games. Like an engine getting warmed up, the Skippers took a few minutes to get their defense up to speed, then turned on heat, pressuring the ball and overplaying passing lanes.
Hopkins led 15-10 on an Ashley Bates jumper with 9:36 left in the half. Minnetonka then embarked on a 20-4 run, forcing Hopkins to take tough shots and not letting the Royals near the offensive boards. If it hadn’t been for Bates’ repeatedly bulling her way into the lane and drawing fouls, Hopkins may not have scored for the rest of the half. Bates had 19 points before halftime, making six of 11 shots from the floor and, nearly as importantly, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw-line.
The rest of the Royals, especially senior guard Nia Hollie, struggled to find any kind of offensive rhythm. Hollie was a frigid one for 10 from the field as Minnetonka contested her every move.
The rest of the Royals were no better, making just single shot from the field.
Not coincidentally, Minnetonka’s depth started paying offensive dividends right about the same time the defense got down to business. Center Lizzie Odegard asserted herself inside, scoring eight of her 10 first-half points in the Skippers’ run.
Minnetonka wasn’t exactly hot from the floor – both teams were hindered by an excessive amount of whistles that bogged the game down – but the Skippers led 34-26 at halftime.
Hollie’s woes continued early in the second half, but, as she had all game, Bates was her safety net. Hollie missed her first four shots but Bates was there to clean up the mess, making two put-backs to cut the Tonka lead to 34-30.
The Skippers maintained their slim lead for most of the second half despite Hopkins’ repeated headlong forays to the basket. Bates was doing damage, but she was also racking up fouls. She scored nine points in the second half, but fouled out with almost six minutes left, finishing with 28 points.
All the while Minnetonka’s depth was effective offensively. The Skippers had more answers than Hopkins could solve, whether it was Odegard inside, Chrissy Carr outside or Courtney Fredrickson creating, they held firm, making just enough free throws to keep the Hopkins at bay.
