“We rebounded well and we took care of the ball down the stretch,” said Chaska coach Tara Seifert. “Every game is a learning experience, but we’re finding ways to finish games.” 

The finish may not have been as nice as the start, however, with the road team firing on all cylinders in the game’s opening minutes. Just 5 minutes in, Chaska, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, built a 15-6 lead with all five starters scoring a basket. 

“We knew tonight we had to come out strong, pass it right away, find the open player, and we definitely did that tonight,” said Mallory Heyer, a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward for Chaska.

Heyer totaled 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Chaska, while freshman Kennedy Sanders, a point guard, helped orchestrate the offense with nine points and 10 rebounds. 

“(Kennedy) finds a way to get to the rim at times, but she does a nice job of running the sets,” Seifert said. 

The duo of Heyer and Sanders led Chaska down the stretch. Heyer said Chaska’s maturity doesn’t reflect how young they are.  

“We’ve had some close games this year, against really great competition early in the season,” she said. “And I think that has definitely helped us prepare for games like this.”

Heyer added that her Hawks kept their composure in the game’s final minutes. There wasn’t a better example of that composure than when Chaska led 55-48.

With 2 minutes, 30 seconds to go, Chaska found itself with the ball and looking to milk the clock. That the Hawks did, holding possession for over a minute before Kaylee Van Eps found a lane, finishing with a layup that ultimately sealed the win. Van Eps scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds. 

It looked like Robbinsdale Cooper (16-7. 6-3) might go away as the second half began, allowing Chaska to coast to victory. Thanks, in part, to playing good defense and forcing turnovers, the home squad was able to make it interesting, however. 

Andrea Tribble tallied 14 points to pace Robbinsdale Cooper, another kettle of Hawks, while Autumn Johnson found success down low for stretches in the second half to finish with 10 points. Robbinsdale Cooper, however, was badly outrebounded, losing that battle 39-15. 

Chaska couldn’t ask for a better time to be playing its best ball, as it hasn’t lost since Jan. 11.

“We’re trying to play our best at the end of the season, our goal is to win the conference and be ready for that first section game,” Seifert said.