Wayzata Girls’ Basketball faced a tough defeat against a more physical Hopkins Royals team with a final score of 77-65 on Tuesday at Wayzata High School.
The game started with both teams on equal footing, with the score tied at 22-22 about midway through the first half after Allie Berns stole the ball and scored a layup.
However, Wayzata encountered challenges in managing turnovers, committing 14 in the first half, primarily attributed to the relentless ball pressure exerted by the Royals who were more aggressive than the Trojans throughout the game.
Hopkins defensive intensity frustrated Wayzata much of the night, both when in a man-to-man defense and in zone.
A bit of a tougher shooting night for the Trojans also made things more difficult, with a number of misses from inside the lane impacting Wayzata’s ability to score easy buckets.
The Trojans were never really able to get back on track after Hopkins went on a 25-10 run midway through the first half.
Sophie Hawkinson led the Trojans with 22 points tonight. Maren Day and Allie Burns each had 10 points, Kate Amelotte scored 8 points, Katie Kelzenberg had 7, Sam Johnson had 5, Annika Kieser had 2, and Sarah Hyde rounded out the scoring with 1 point.
Leaders for Hopkins included Tatum Woodson who score 20 points, and Liv McGill and Lauren Hillsheim who each had 12.
#4 ranked Wayzata now (13-4) will look to bounce back when they travel to #9 Andover (11-2) on Saturday. #3 Hopkins moves to (14-2) and will travel to #2 St. Michael Albertville (15-2) on Thursday.
