Girls basketball tournament: Eastview’s rally falls short in 4A semifinal loss to Hopkins
Eastview played well for large segments of Thursday’s Class 4A semifinal at Williams Arena. But the beginning and end of the game? Well, those two segments belonged to the Royals.
A scintillating start and strong finish powered the third-seeded Royals to a 68-48 victory.
“I just thought the kids fought hard,” Hopkins coach Tara Starks said. “I told them before the game, I knew Eastview was going to fight, and fight hard, and we just couldn’t let them want it more than we did.”
Hopkins will meet top-seeded Maple Grove in the state final at 8 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena. The Royals have now qualified for the state title game in 13 of the past 15 seasons.
Thursday’s semifinal was tied 8-8 early, only to have Hopkins go on a 14-0 run to seize control. Eastview trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half. Lightning coach Molly Kasper said Eastview used Hopkins’ fast pace and physicality against the Royals in Eastview’s regular-season victory in the game between the two teams.
Thursday played out a little differently.
“We just bobbled some stuff here and there, which we hadn’t been accustomed to,” Kasper said. “And then felt like we couldn’t be as physical back, which can be a little bit frustrating, and also hard to keep the same pace.”
But the Lightning didn’t fold. Instead, they found their footing and rallied. A layup from Jayda Wilson-Oden brought Eastview to within 11 points at the break. Eastview then scored six of the first eight second-half points to get within seven.
“I knew they’d respond because they do it together. We focus on our controllables so much — coachability, attitude, preparation and effort. We say it all the time, we cannot control our playing time, we cannot control the refs, we cannot control the other team. That really challenged us tonight, even myself,” Kasper said.
“They do it for each other. … Lot of love in our locker room, and we continue to just say, ‘You have to keep your head up. Because we would rather represent our team and Eastview than any other program at this place.'”
Then the offense dried up at an ill-opportune time and, as Eastview scored just four points over a six-and-a-half-minute span that saw the Hopkins lead balloon back to 15. The Royals were led by 16 points from Erma Walker and 15 from London Harris, while Jaliyah Diggs tallied 12 assists.
“Tough battle for us,” Starks said. “I’m happy that we stayed focused, stayed composed and we just continued to grind it out.”
Eastview will play for third place in its first state tournament appearance since 2019, which was the final year of an eight-year run of consecutive trips. This is the group that got the Lightning back.
“It took a lot of rebuilding,” said Eastview star Myah Maull, who had 15 points and four steals. “It literally took every person to do what they were supposed to do, no matter if it was for 30 seconds or the whole game. Every person wanted it for each other, just as much as they wanted it for themselves.”
Related Articles
- High School Sports | Boys basketball section roundup: Harding earns first trip to state; CDH ends Tartan’s perfect season
- High School Sports | Girls basketball tournament: Maple Grove pulls away from Lakeville North late in 4A semifinal
- High School Sports | Girls basketball tournament: Cretin-Derham Hall shows future is bright in semifinal loss to Marshall
- High School Sports | Girls basketball tournament roundup: Goodhue’s defense powers top seed to quarterfinal win
- High School Sports | Girls basketball tournament roundup: Mack scores 34 in Minnehaha’s quarterfinal win, Greenway logs triple-double in Providence Academy victory
Topics
-
Class 4A girls basketball: Lincoln Christian reaches championship game
The Oklahoma high school basketball Class 4A girls state tournament continued Friday at State Fair Arena. Here's a look at what happened in the semifinals.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 15 -
Class 4A boys basketball: Weatherford tops North Rock Creek to make championship game
The Oklahoma high school basketball Class 4A boys state tournament continued Friday at State Fair Arena. Here's a look at what happened in the semifinals.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 14 -
Boys basketball tournament roundup: Wayzata, Shakopee to meet in Class 4A semis
Holding a mere two-point lead with five minutes to play, Wayzata closed the game on a 9-2 run to avoid a major upset and beat Moorhead 61-52 on Tuesday in the Class 4A quarterfinals at Target ...Yahoo Sports - 6d -
Girls high school basketball: Hopkins pulls away in second half, beats Maple Grove for 4A title
With the game in doubt, Hopkins used a balanced offensive attack for a championship-clinching run. Erma Walker scored 28 points to lead four players in double figures and the Royals beat Maple ...Yahoo Sports - Mar. 16 -
Class 3A girls basketball: Washington advances to championship game
The Oklahoma high school basketball Class 3A girls state tournament continued Friday at State Fair Arena. Here's a look at what happened in the semifinals.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 15 -
Rogersville girls basketball's Class 4 semifinal appearance only made it hungrier for more
Those on the Rogersville girls basketball team dreamt of reaching a semifinal for years. Their semifinal loss on Friday night only made them hungrier.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Why Oak Ridge's stunning loss to Bartlett in TSSAA basketball state tournament was so emotional
Bartlett defeated Oak Ridge 52-50 in the TSSAA girls basketball state tournament Class 4A quarterfinals on Thursday.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 14 -
Colorado 4A Final 4 basketball: Delta stuns No. 2 Timnath to ends Cubs season in semifinals
No. 2 Timnath's special season ran into a singular star performance, as No. 6 Delta upset the Cubs in the Colorado 4A basketball Final 4.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 14 -
Boys basketball: BOLD falls to Henning in consolation semifinals
Mar. 21—ST. PAUL — The BOLD boys basketball team saw the 2024-25 season end with a 61-59 loss to Henning in the state Class A consolation semifinals. The Warriors kept it close the entire way, ...Yahoo Sports - 3d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Bob Huggins, former Cincinnati and WVU head coach, among McNeese candidates, per report
In June 2023, Bob Huggins resigned his position as West Virginia Mountaineers head coach.Yahoo Sports - 25m -
Kiki Iriafen commands spotlight after USC loses star JuJu Watkins to injury
JuJu Watkins is one of the most well-known and decorated players in women's college basketball, a first-team All-American and national player of the year candidate, but anyone who has watched this ...Yahoo Sports - 26m -
Indiana plays Los Angeles, aims for 6th straight win
Yahoo Sports - 29m -
Brooklyn takes on Toronto, aims to break 4-game skid
Yahoo Sports - 29m -
Murray, Nuggets to host Antetokounmpo and the Bucks
Yahoo Sports - 29m
More in Sports
-
JuJu Watkins injures knee: USC star reportedly out with torn ACL after contact in Women's March Madness game
Watkins will reportedly have season-ending surgeryCBS Sports - 15m -
Bob Huggins, former Cincinnati and WVU head coach, among McNeese candidates, per report
In June 2023, Bob Huggins resigned his position as West Virginia Mountaineers head coach.Yahoo Sports - 25m -
Kiki Iriafen commands spotlight after USC loses star JuJu Watkins to injury
JuJu Watkins is one of the most well-known and decorated players in women's college basketball, a first-team All-American and national player of the year candidate, but anyone who has watched this ...Yahoo Sports - 26m -
Philadelphia takes on Washington, aims to break 5-game skid
Yahoo Sports - 29m -
Phoenix puts home win streak on the line against Boston
Yahoo Sports - 29m