It provided Hopkins a 14-point halftime cushion and was key to the Royals’ 66-43 victory Wednesday over Lakeville North in the Class 4A quarterfinals of the girls’ basketball state tournament in Williams Arena.

“We’ve got a packed team,” said McGill, who finished with a game-high 20 points, including four three-pointers. “Anybody can score, can score 30 on a given night. I just try to bring whatever the team needs. If it’s scoring, that’s what I bring. We needed a spark. Today, it happened to be offense.”

Lakeville North’s tight matchup man-to-man defense kept Hopkins from running away early. The Panthers trailed 15-14 before Hopkins’ fateful run, and they felt good about their effort despite the 23-point loss.

“You just can’t play scared against them,” sophomore guard Gabby Betton said. “If you do that, it’s an automatic loss. I thought we played them tough.”

Hopkins coach Tara Starks said she was happy to get the first game of the tournament out of the way after a season focused on getting retribution for a year ago, when the team’s 78-game winning streak ended in the semifinals.

“It’s real nerve-racking as you get closer to sections,” Starks said. “It’s the reality of being one-and-done. I want them to know that any team can come out and have a great game. If you don’t come out and be your best you, that can cost you your goal, your dream, everything you wanted.”