Alexandria never trailed in a 57-39 victory over Hill-Murray in a Class 3A girls basketball state tournament quarterfinal Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion.
It's Alexandria from start to finish against Hill-Murray in quarterfinals
The Cardinals scored on their first five possessions and cruised into the semifinals.
By Joe Gunther, Star Tribune
March 15, 2023 at 10:57PM
The third-seeded Cardinals (25-4) pulled away from the unseeded Pioneers with a 10-0 run to begin the second half. The Cardinals took a 16-point lead off the run.
"Pace was huge," Cardinals coach Wendy Kohler said. "We're at our best when we get out and go. This team has done it all year long."
The young Cardinals jumped to a 10-6 lead by scoring on each of their first five possessions. Sophomore Hadley Thul led Alexandria with 18 points. Fellow sophomores Chloe Scholl and Allie Haabala also scored in double digits, Scholl with 16 points and Haabala 12.
"I think it was huge to start off the game strong and pick up the energy to keep it going through the whole game," Thul said.
The Pioneers (17-12) hung around for a while but never got the deficit back into single digits. Elise Groppoli led the Pioneers with 11 points.
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Joe Gunther, Star Tribune
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
