Royals Breeze Past STMA in 1st Round of State Girls Basketball Tourney

No. 1 seed Hopkins sailed through the class AAAA quarterfinal of the state girls basketball tournament with a 77-58 victory over St. Michael-Albertville.

Hopkins got jumped out to an early lead—scoring 40 points to STMA’s 22 in the first period. The Knights’ second-period total was within a point of the Royals’ 37 points—including five free throws in the final two minutes—but the damage had already been done by then.

Hopkins took advantage of STMA’s inability to hold on to the ball, scoring 24 points off Knights turnovers.

McDonald’s All American Nia Coffey continued her strong season with a game-leading 22 points. The senior hit seven of 14 from the courts, including three of five three-point attempts, and sank five of seven free-throw attempts. Meanwhile, senior Taylor Anderson tallied 12 points and sophomore TT Starks scored 11 points.

In the next round of the tournament, the Royals will take on No. 4 seed Osseo at 6 p.m. Thursday.