The seeds were sown at the end of the regular season when the Hopkins girls’ basketball team lost to Lake Conference rival Minnetonka 74-71.

“That was on our brains in all of our practices,” said senior point guard Julia Wiemers. “It’s what motivated us.”

The Royals exacted some revenge Wednesday night, beating the Skippers 72-51 in the Section 6, Class 4A championship game.

Top-seeded Hopkins (27-2) came out determined to put Minnetonka away early. Behind an active half-court defense and an aggressive offense that attacked the basket at every opportunity, the Royals had an answer to everything Minnetonka tried to throw at them.

Minnetonka tried to move the ball around the perimeter, but Hopkins clogged the passing lanes. The Skippers tried to get the ball inside but had numerous shots blocked and even more altered. Hopkins found cutting lanes to the basket through the Minnetonka zone defense. This time, Hopkins had too much of everything for Minnetonka (21-7).

“That’s what makes them so good,” Minnetonka coach Bart Inniger said. “You can’t take everything away from them.”

After a relatively even first 10 minutes, Hopkins closed the first half on a 21-8 run to take a 40-21 lead. Minnetonka regrouped after halftime and managed to cut the deficit to 45-35, but with Wiemers running a tight ship, Hopkins was never truly threatened. Wiemers tied her season high with 14 points, and guard Sydney Coffey also had 14 points to lead Hopkins.

Afterward, Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff admitted to being pleased and relieved.

“I’ve been pretty worthless in my teaching job over the last two days,” he said. “This is a huge relief. Right now, it’s all about surviving and advancing.”