Hopkins tops Wayzata in OT, wins spot in girls basketball state tournament

Hopkins continued its section dominance with a 70-68 victory in overtime Thursday over second-seeded Wayzata in the Class 4A, Section 6 girls basketball championship game at the Royals Activities Center.

The top-seeded Royals advance to the state tournament for the ninth straight season and 12th in the past 13.

Taylor Woodson made the winning basket with 29 seconds left in overtime. Woodson scored a game-high 21 points.

"I don't even remember the play," Woodson said about the winning basket. "I'm just so happy that we got through this game. I'm so happy we get to continue to be together each day and play in state."

The Trojans (23-5) scored eight straight points early in the second half to build a 44-36 lead with 14:16 left. Play went back and forth until the Royals took the momentum with 6:52 left.

"We just took it one play at a time. We didn't look too far ahead," Royals junior Liv McGill said. "We were really focused on winning that play and not worrying about anything else."

The Royals (26-2) outscored the Trojans 16-2 over a 6:12 span to take a six-point lead with 40 seconds left. The Royals defense pressured the Trojans into turnover after turnover.

"We don't lose on our home court," Royals coach Tara Starks said. "The hunger of wanting to get there and to protect our home court kicked in. They stayed locked in and continued to encourage each other. They continued to fight."

The Trojans stayed alive with three-point made shots by Brynn Senden with 23 seconds left and Sophie Hawkinson with five seconds left to force overtime.

McGill finished with 18 points, Kelly Boyle had 12 and Nunu Agara had 11.

Abby Krzewinski led Wayzata in scoring with 16 points. Shannon Fornshell scored 15, Kate Amelotte 14 and Senden 12.