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St. Michael-Albertville rides big second half to put away Minnetonka

By Ryan Williamson, SportsEngine, 01/14/20, 3:00PM CST

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Mackenzie Kramer, who had a game-high 20 points, helped guide the Knights to a victory over the Skippers.

St. Michael-Albertville senior Mackenzie Kramer (1) looked for a shot in the second half of the Knights' 70-38 victory over Minnetonka. Kramer scored 20 points. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

St. Michael-Albertville senior Mackenzie Kramer (1) looked for a shot in the second half of the Knights' 70-38 victory over Minnetonka. Kramer scored 20 points. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

As a member of the Mississippi 8 Conference, St. Michael-Albertville had seen its share of Lake Conference opponents — such as Hopkins, Wayzata and Minnetonka — in nonconference play.

This year, however, the Knights joined the Lake, which means getting a much heavier dose.

Knowing the caliber of the programs that play in the Lake, St. Michael-Albertville coaches and players have worked to up their game. So far, the results are noticeable as the Knights (10-3, 3-0) continued their perfect start in league play by defeating Minnetonka in a 70-38 romp at home on Tuesday night.

For the past few years, the Knights have shown themselves to be contenders at the state level while being head and shoulders above the rest of the Mississippi 8, as St. Michael-Albertville hadn’t lost a conference game going back to 2013.

“We got too comfortable,” Knights coach Kent Hamre said. “The Mississippi 8 is a great conference but we outgrew it.”

Sophomore Emma Miller had her path momentarily blocked by Minnetonka's Tori McKinney (14) as she drove to the basket. Miller scored 12 points. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Sophomore Emma Miller had her path momentarily blocked by Minnetonka's Tori McKinney (14) as she drove to the basket. Miller scored 12 points. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

First Report

After galloping to a 27-9 lead in the first half, it appeared as if St. Michael-Albertville would claim an easy victory over Lake Conference foe Minnetonka.

Minnetonka managed to cut the lead to single digits before halftime, but the Knights’ offense proved to be too much in the second half, resulting in St. Michael-Albertville defeating the Skippers 70-38 at home on Tuesday evening.

The Knights (10-3, 3-0) stayed unbeaten in conference play behind their array of sharp shooters, led senior guard Mackenzie Kramer, a Lehigh commit who dropped three three-pointers to help her to a team-high 20 points.

St. Michael-Albertville, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, also got significant contributions from senior Lily Tennyson, who scored 14 points, including a trio of three-pointers in the second half. Sophomore Emma Miller added 12 points.

Minnetonka (9-5, 1-2) fell behind early but cut the lead to seven points at the break as junior Piper Terry knocked down a three-pointer as the first half expired. She led the Skippers in the first half with seven points but failed to score in the second half.

Two other Skippers – juniors Molly Oehme and Sophie Haydon – recorded seven points.

Minnetonka's Piper Terry tried to get past Knights defender Vanessa Alexander in the second half. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Minnetonka's Piper Terry tried to get past Knights defender Vanessa Alexander in the second half. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

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