Bloomington Kennedy didn’t need to rely on its core. The Eagles got plenty of support elsewhere in a 66-48 Class 4A quarterfinal victory over Anoka on Wednesday afternoon at Target Center.

Eighth-grader Jasmyn Martin was perfect (5-for-5 shooting) in the first half, and freshman Kiara Russell was sharp from three-point land (four total) in both halves.

“The [seniors and juniors] let me know that I can help the team,” Martin said. “I think our role was really important. We needed to get up and we sparked things.”

The Eagles, who held a 32-21 lead at halftime, called their play to that point uncharacteristic but that the first six minutes of the second half they were worse. The  unseeded Tornadoes managed to stick with the No. 2 seed for 24 minutes and trailed by only two with 12 minutes to play.

Then Russell hit a three-pointer, triggering a 32-16 Kennedy run that made it hard to tell the game had once been close. Kennedy’s core found more rhythm, as Jade Martin (14 points) and Kenisha Bell (13 points) closed the door on the Tornadoes. The younger Martin finished with 13 points and Russell had 10.

“They stepped up ‘cause we weren’t really on,” Bell said. “If someone steps up, it makes us step up.”

Anoka, which closed to within one point during the game, was led by Claire Lundberg’s game-high 16 points.

JASON GONZALEZ

1. Jade Martin (Kennedy) - Scoring Kennedy's team high 14 points, Martin went 6-18 with 2 free throws. She pulled down 3 boards to go with 2 steals. She was a ball hawk on defense and created turnovers that lead to some easy baskets for the Eagles.

2. Kenisha Bell (Kennedy) - Bell had a great all-around game scoring 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Her ball handling drew some cheers from the crowd and she was also key on the defensive side of the floor blocking shots from Anoka's 6'0 post players.

3. Claire Lundberg (Anoka) - Junior Claire Lundberg scored 14 of her team high 16 points in the first half including 13 of the teams first 14 points. She shot 5-10 from the field, 2-5 from 3, and 4-4 at the line. She also grabbed 5 rebounds and had 2 blocks for the Tornados. Anoka will look to be back next year with their deep Junior class.

- Pete Heldstab, MN Girls Basketball Hub