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Eastview knocks off Hopkins at St. Olaf College, extends undefeated streak

By Nick Gerhardt, SportsEngine, 12/27/17, 12:00PM CST

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With their win over the Royals, the Lightning improved to 9-0 on the season.


Eastview forward Megan Walstad with a shot over Hopkins guard Dlayla Chakolis Friday night in their St. Olaf Holiday Hoops Classic matchup. Eastview beat Hopkins to hand the Royals their first lost of the season. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

Two Class 4A behemoths squared off Friday night at the St. Olaf Holiday Hoops Classic in Northfield and after a first half that saw both teams take their best shots, Eastview was left standing with a 66-56 victory over Hopkins.

Behind solid three-point shooting and an overall terrific shooting night, the Lightning, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, knocked off the No. 1-4A Royals.

Eastview coach Molly Kasper didn’t put too much stock into the meeting of the two top-ranked teams but did like that her squad got a win against another high quality opponent.

“That’s what’s good is the high-caliber wins,” Kasper said of her first coaching victory against Hopkins and the school's first over the Royals since 2013.

Eastview (9-0, 3-0) shot 50 percent from the field, including 10-for-20 on three-point shots. Megan Walstad led the way with 15 points for the Lightning, while Emma Carpenter finished with 14 and Andrea Abrams added 13.

Abrams hit three three-pointers in the second half to help keep Eastview in front.

“Last year, when she was a starter, she ended up shooting 60 percent on threes,” Kasper said of Abrams. “This year we’re just trying to get her back on that roll. When she’s open, she’s going to knock it down. She’s building her confidence back up.”

Abrams looked confident against Hopkins and she’s hoping her confidence and the team’s continues.

“I just wanted to come into the game confident because that’s something we’ve been struggling with as a team and individually,” Abrams said. “As long as we have confidence we can dominate.”

The Lightning had to withstand an early run from Hopkins (10-1, 2-0) in the first half. The Royals jumped out to an 18-10 lead and turned many of Eastview’s 13 first-half turnovers into points on the other end.

Paige Bueckers led Hopkins with 30 points and Dlayla Chokolis finished with 12.

For Royals coach Brian Cosgriff, the problem wasn’t on offense.

“We’re struggling defensively," he said. "We’re in a really, really tough section for the state tournament and if we don’t get better we’ll be watching this year.”

The Lightning did give Hopkins trouble on the offensive end, though. Midway through the second half Eastview went into a zone defense and the Royals went without a field goal for nearly five minutes.

The Lightning rallied from that eight-point deficit to close the first half out on an 11-4 run for a 29-26 lead. Eastview kept things going in the second half. Abrams knocked down two of her three-pointers early. Macy Guebert added another and Walstad hit one of her own to give Eastview a 43-36 lead with 11 minutes, 43 seconds to play.

The Lightning cut down on their turnovers in the second half as well and finished with just five in the half.

Cutting down on turnovers and making the extra pass in the halfcourt made the difference for Kasper and Eastview.

“When you take one-pass shots or isolations on any wing, we’re not as successful, most teams aren’t -- unless they’re in the NBA,” Kasper said.

The Lightning will face Hastings Saturday at 4:45 p.m. to wrap up the tournament wile Hopkins will play Beaver Dam, a Wisconsin team, at 1:15 p.m.


Andrea Abrams with one of her two, key second half three-pointers in a Lighting victory over Hopkins. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

First Report

Two Class 4A titans squared off Friday night at the St. Olaf Holiday Hoops Classic in Northfield, and after a first half that saw both teams take their best shots, Eastview was left standing after a 66-56 victory over Hopkins (10-1, 2-0).

Hopkins, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, built a 18-10 lead, but the No. 2-4A Lightning rallied back with an 11-4 run and took a 29-26 lead into halftime.

The Lightning (9-0, 3-0) had 13 turnovers in the first half, which included turning the ball over on four consecutive possessions.

Last year’s meeting took overtime to decide a winner with the Royals coming out with a 65-60 victory, and with how close Friday’s meeting played out, it looked like an extra session might be needed to decide it.

Instead, Eastview’s three-point shooting kept the lead intact. Andrea Abrams, who scored 13 points, knocked down two in the second half and Macy Guebert knocked another one down. Megan Walstad added a three-pointer with 11 minutes, 43 seconds left to push the lead to 43-36.

Guebert finished with 12 points and Walstad had a team-high 15 points.

Hopkins' Paige Bueckers led all scorers with 30 points. Her teammate, Dlaya Chakolis, added 12.

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