Senior Kate Thompson led three Trojans in double figures with 24 points as the Wazyata girls basketball team finished its regular season with a 66-55 victory over the Minnetonka Skippers.
The Trojans found themselves trailing 31-22 at halftime, but they outscored the Skippers 44-24 in the second half to rally for their 14th victory of the season.
Freshman Marissa Grossfeld matched a career-high with 19 points. Senior Alexa Clausen also scored in double figures with 14 points.
The Trojans finish their regular season with a record of 14-10 overall and 5-3 in the Classic Lake Conference.
The Trojans will now wait to see where they will be seeded in the section 6AAAA tournament. It’s likely that the Trojans will be seeded fourth behind Minneapolis South, Hopkins, and Robbinsdale Armstrong.
Section quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday, March 4.
The Wayzata girls basketball team had four players score in double figures on Tuesday night as they improved to 12-7 on the season with a 62-48 victory over Minneapolis North.
Senior Kate Thompson scored 20 points to lead all scorers. Senior Teresa Thour added 13 points, while senior Christina Keup and freshman Marissa Grossfeld added 12 and 11 points respectively. Senior Alexa Clausen was the only other Trojans player to get in the scoring column – she had six.
A strong defensive effort in the first half allowed the Trojans to jump out to a 29-16 halftime lead. The team has now won four straight and seven of their last nine games.
The Trojans will play their final non-conference game of the regular season on Friday, Feb. 13 when they travel to Richfield.
The Wayzata girls basketball team made 20-24 free throws on Friday night against Minnetonka, including 11-12 in the final 1:30 of the game, to seal up a 63-56 Classic Lake Conference victory over the Skippers.
The win moves the Trojans to 3-1 in conference play and into a first place tie with Hopkins and Armstrong.
Things did not start out well for the Trojans as they found themselves in an early 16-6 hole after the Skippers made seven of their first 10 shots from the field.
The Skippers led 26-13 late in the first half when the Trojans fought their way back into the game with an 11-2 run to end the first half.
Senior Alexa Clausen made a deep three pointer and senior Kate Thompson took the ball the length of the court for a buzzer beating lay-up to end the first half with the Trojans trailing by just four.
It didn’t take long for the Trojans to reclaim the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Clausen started the half with her second three pointer of the game and freshman Marissa Grossfeld followed with back to back jump shots to give the Trojans a 31-30 lead.
The two teams traded leads back and forth for a majority of the second half until the Trojans took the lead for good with 5:27 remaining on a three pointer by junior Kristi Kuhn.
The Trojans led by just one at 52-51, but clutch free throw shooting down the stretch made the difference. Thompson and fellow seniors Teresa Thour and Missi Crees combined to go 11-12 at the free line over the game’s final ninety seconds.
Thour finished the game with 10 points on a perfect 10-10 performance at the free throw line. Thompson led all scorers with 21 points on 8-17 shooting from the field. Kuhn also finished in double figures with 11 points on 5-11 from the field. Grossfeld and Clausen chipped in with eight and seven points respectively.
The Skippers were led by sophomore Katy Winge and senior Ali Bongard, who each scored 18 points on efficient shooting nights. Winge went 8-14 from the field, while Bongard went 8-11.
With just six games remaining in the regular season, the Trojans are now 11-7 overall. They have two non-conference games next week against Minneapolis North and Richfield before they resume the second half of the Classic Lake Conference schedule.
The Trojans will host Minneapolis North on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7:15 p.m.
The Wayzata girls basketball team outscored the Edina Hornets 36-29 in the second half to earn an important 53-51 victory in Classic Lake Conference play.
Senior Kate Thompson scored 21 points to lead all scorers, while senior Alexa Clausen added 13. Senior forward Christina Keup chipped in with nine points in the victory.
The win, coupled with the fact that the Armstrong Falcons defeated the Hopkins Royals tonight 75-56, means that the Trojans, Falcons and Royals are tied atop the conference in the loss column with one loss apiece.
The Trojans are now 10-7 overall and 2-1 in Classic Lake Conference play. The Falcons are also 2-1 in conference play, while the Royals are 3-1.
The Trojans will look to win their third straight conference game on Friday when they host Minnetonka for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.
The Wayzata girls basketball team jumped out to a 33-19 halftime lead on Friday night and never looked back as the Trojans handed the fourth ranked Armstrong Falcons just their third loss of the season, 51-38.
Senior guard Kate Thompson led the way for the Trojans with 19 points, while senior guard Alexa Clausen added 10. The win moves the Trojans’ record to 9-7 overall and 1-1 in the Classic Lake Conference.
The team will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 3 when it travels to Edina for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.
Kate Thompson has scored in double figures in every Wayzata girls basketball game so far this season, and she wasn’t about to let the Buffalo Bison bring her streak to a halt. Thompson scored a game-high 18 points, including 11 in the second half as the Trojans won their eighth game of the season, 57-40 over the Bison on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
The Trojans led by just four, 26-22 at halftime, but used a superb defensive effort in the second half to cruise to the 17-point victory. The Trojans held the Bison without a field goal for the first 10:32 of the second half and forced them to shoot just 4-25 from the field in the second half.
“When it feels like it’s going to be a difficult night to make baskets, you hope that you can get it done on the defensive end,” Wayzata head coach Kris Jones said. “We asked our girls to give a little more energy in the second half. We made them put the ball on the floor a little bit and at that point I don’t think they were that comfortable.”
The Trojans started the second half on an 8-0 run to turn their 26-22 halftime lead into a more commanding 34-22 lead. Senior Alexa Clausen hit a pair of three pointers and Thompson added a jumper in the lane to give the Trojans the 12-point lead.
“When Alexa is hot from the outside, it’s almost an automatic win for us,” Thompson said. “When we get those three pointers, it gives us a nice cushion.”
The Trojans led 47-38 with four minutes left in the game when Thompson and senior Teresa Thour put the game away at the free throw line. The two combined to go 8-8 at the line down the stretch to deny the Bison any hope for a comeback.
Free throw shooting proved to be critical as the Trojans went 17-19 as a team, while the Bison missed several opportunities to close the gap by going just 14-26 at the line.
While Thompson was the lone Trojans player to score in double figures, eight other players contributed in the scoring column including freshman post players Marissa Grossfeld and Kayla Timmerman.
Grossfeld and Timmerman come off the bench to spell senior forward Christina Keup. Keup scored eight points on the night, while Grossfeld and Timmerman added six and four respectively.
“Our ninth grade posts have grown up a little bit and learned a lot,” Jones said. “It really gives us three different looks in the post and has given us some more production off our bench.”
Bench production will be key for the Trojans during the second half of the season, as opposing teams focus their defensive efforts on stopping Thompson. Thompson, a 6’3” player with guard skills, is averaging 19.2 points per game. She is headed for the University of Michigan next year on a scholarship.
“I love the coaching staff at Michigan. Coach (Kevin) Borseth is very animated, but he’s an awesome coach with a great reputation,” Thompson said. “There are a couple of Minnesota girls who already go there so it will be fun to play with them and lastly it’s just a great school.”
Thompson and the Trojans will now take their 8-6 record into Classic Lake Conference play. The Trojans will get a good idea of where are they are at as a team when they face seven-time defending conference champion Hopkins on Friday, Jan. 23.
“When you play Hopkins you know they are going to be talented, athletic and well coached,” Jones said. “You get your team ready by allowing them to fear nothing.”
“Hopkins is a very talented team with a couple of Division I players,” Thompson said. “I think we just need to play our game and make sure that Hopkins doesn’t get out to a big lead early on.”
Box Score
Wayzata: Kate Thompson 18, Christina Keup 8, Alexa Clausen 6, Marissa Grossfeld 6, Kristi Kuhn 6, Teresa Thour 4, Kayla Timmerman 4, Jordan Risberg 3, Rudy Ruffin 2
Team Stats: Field Goals: 17-42 (40%), Three Pointers: 6-17 (35%), Free Throws: 17-19 (89%)
Buffalo: Deanne Bechtold 10, Molly Muntifering 8, Miranda Speckel 6, Taylor Johnson 6, Hanna Rohl 5, Kristin Jeske 3, Ashley Patri 2
Team Stats: Field Goals: 12-48 (25%), Three Pointers: 2-14 (14%), Free Throws: 14-26 (54%)
By Matt Thomas, Wazyata.com Sports Reporter
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