It’s not unusual for high school players to cite playing at Target Center as a reason for having an off game shooting the ball. The NBA floor is longer than a high school floor, and the arena’s large spaces behind the basket can play havoc with a shooter’s depth perception.

Not so for Hopkins’ Coffey sisters, Nia and Sydney. The daughters of former University of Minnesota and Timberwolves forward Richard Coffey got the chance to play on the Target Center court before the season started. Nia Coffey, a sophomore, said that she enjoyed playing on the bigger deck.

“You do get a little more tired, but I really like playing there,” she said. “We’ve played there before, so I don’t think it bothered our shooting at all.”

Richard Coffey was seen talking to Eden Prairie coach Chris Carr — also a former Wolves player — at halftime of the quarterfinal between White Bear Lake and Maple Grove.

Second-half slump

Second halves of state tournament games have been Maple Grove’s bugaboo.

When the Crimson lost to Wayzata in the Class 4A quarterfinals in 2010, they shot just 25  percent from the floor — eight of 31 — after halftime, relinquishing a 14-point lead.

Thing were no better Wednesday, when the Crimson made only two of 27 field-goal attempts in the second half (7.4 percent), and saw a 27-21 halftime lead turn into a 43-40 loss to White Bear Lake.

“You never think you’re going to miss that many shots,” Maple Grove coach Mark Cook said. “We got the looks we wanted. We just didn’t shoot it very well.”

Playing for keeps

While Benilde-St. Margaret’s victory over Marshall was a nail-biter, Red Knights coach Bob Lyons was thankful for it, saying it would set the team up for the second round.

“It will benefit us to go through this tough game today,” he said after the 52-47 victory. “I think one of the things is really difficult, is handling pressure and now that we’ve seen that. Because we know [Thursday’s opponent DeLaSalle] will probably press as well. We’ll probably be a little more poised  and have a little better understanding of what it takes.”

Pioneers’ team effort

When people bring up the Hill-Murray squad, it’s likely the first two names that come up will be Tessa Cichy and Bethany Doolittle.

But coach Erin Herman said the Pioneers’ pulling away from Red Wing with a strong second half was proof that they are a deep team beyond the two superstars.

“I think what we needed to do what we always do, which is focus on team,” she said. “We can’t just rely on Bethany and Tessa to do everything.”

After the duo combined for 26 of the Pioneers’ first 31 points, Hill-Murray got big production from Corrine McCallum (13 points) and Claire Van Dyk (15), while Morgan Rustad limited Red Wing star Tesha Buck to just two points.