Osseo 56, Eden Prairie 44

DeLaSalle used to be a fixture at the Breakdown Tip Off. They’re not here this year, but former Islander coach Faith Johnson Patterson is back in her new post at Eden Prairie. And in her second game at EP, the Eagles gave #12AAAA Osseo everything it could handle before Kiara Russell finally took over for the Orioles.

The Eagles roared back from a nine-point second half deficit to within 41-40 at 7:30 but Russell scored six layups, five of them in transition to lead Osseo to a 56-44 win that was closer than the final score. 

“Kiara can take over a ballgame and turn it around,” Osseo coach Jen Moen said. “She is tough to defend when she gets going.”

It was a sloppy first half as Russell and EP point guard Esa Levine shot 2-for-22 with seven turnovers between them. But, after shooting 25 percent in the first half, Osseo took it to the rim and shot 42 percent in the second.

“We talked about doing it with our defense (in the second half), and getting on track, getting some easy ones that way.” The Eagles, meanwhile, compounded their problems, adding 18 more turnovers in the second half to 13 in the first. 

Russell finished with 27 for Osseo, and Azaria Reed with 10 and 11 rebounds. Jordan Schinas and Zoe Hardwick each scored 12 for Eden Prairie, but the Eagles shot just 25 percent in each half.

— Marc Hugunin

Score by half
Osseo 25-31--56
Eden Prairie 22-22--44
Individual scoring
Osseo -- Russell 27, Reed 10, Holmola 9, Jones 6, Porte 4.
Eden Prairie -- Schinas 12, Hardwick 12, Levine 5, Kofoot 5, Hughes 4, Miller 2, Obiazor 2, Henry 2.

Marshall 61, Kasson-Mantorville 56

Kasson-Mantorville and Marshall avoided one another in last year’s Class AAA state championship, as the Komets finished 4th and the Tigers as runners-up. They didn’t avoid each other in this year’s Breakdown Tip Off, and this matchup between the #4AAA and #5AAA teams promised to be one of the day’s best games. It did not disappoint.

After falling behind 4-0, Marshall took a 15-10 lead and led most of the day. But the KoMets tied it up at 41 on a Maddie Worden dribble drive at 10:00, and again at 46 on a Peyton Seuss three off a pass from Bailey Berge. Finally KM took its only leads since the opening minutes on a Worden free throw and a dribble drive by Berge.

But Marshall quickly took back the lead on a three and a throw by Emily Buysse. KM got within one at 57-56 on another Worden bucket at 1:10, but then the KoMets didn’t score again. Lexi Saugstad hit 7-of-8 throws inside of 5:00.

Saugstad led all scorers with 18, Buysse added 14 and sophomore guard Maddie Marks added 12. Kristin Scott scored 15 with a game-high 11 boards for KM. Worden scored 12 and Seuss 11. KM outshot Marshall 50 percent to 38 percent, but the Tigers hit seven threes to just two for the KoMets  and the free throws were 16-12 Marshall.

“We turned it over too much in the first half,” Marshall coach Dan Westby said. “Second half we did a little bit better job of taking care of the ball. But they’re a good team, they’re a tough matchup. We don’t  have a lot of size, and they’ve got a very athletic kid inside.”

“We’re a long ways away” from where we want to be, Westby added. “We’ve been practicing for three weeks, and we feel like we haven’t put anything in yet. We’ve just focused on defense and we’ve got a long way to go. But our kids are working hard. Lexi Saugstad did a nice job of leading us and getting us organized. She’s a kid we want the ball in her hands at the end.”

— Marc Hugunin

Score by half
Marshall 25-36--61
Kasson-Mantorville 22-34--56
Marshall -- Saugstad 18, Buysse 14, Marks 12, Louwagie 7, Mulso 4, Schwartz 3, Meier 2, Diew 1.
Kasson-Mantorville -- Scott 15, M. Worden 12, Suess 11, Wigham 9, Grant 3, Berge 2, L. Worden 2, Glawe 2.

Park Center 66, St. Michael-Albertville 60

It was a classic “game of runs.” No lead was safe. Park Center ripped off the first run, 23-12 over nine minutes togo ahead 29-19. St. Michael came right back within 32-30 at the half, then took a 40-37 lead at 14:46 of the second on a pair of threes by Kitri Zezza.

“St. Michael is a great team, well-coached, they made great adjustments,” Park Center coach Chris VanderHyde said. “When they went on those runs it was because of the adjustments he made, and his kids did a great job of executing.”

The Pirates roared back with a 22-9 run as six different players scored, including some of the younger players like Feyisayo Ayobamidele, Jada Buford, Meghan DuBois and Azsha Michael. The usual suspects got involved, too, like Mikayla Hayes with two buckets, a throw, a block and an offensive board, and Danielle Schaub with a three and an assist after a defensive board and a coast to coast rush that made it 59-49.

“We’re an unselfish group,” VanderHyde said, “we know who to get the ball to when it’s time to get the ball to somebody. Mikayla inside, and Ann the way she was shooting it.”

But St. Michael still wasn’t done, getting back within 59-58 as Zezza angain led the way with a pair of buckets and an o-board. But Mikayla Hayes stopped the bleeding for Park Center, and the Knights never got closer than three.

Hayes, Schaub, Simonet and Ayobamidele all scored in double figures for Park Center, though Zezza and Sydney Tracy led all scorers with 18 and Rae Johnson chipped in 15. Tracy was the top rebounder with 9 while Zezza chipped in with 6 assists and 4 steals. 

— Marc Hugunin

Score by half
Park Center 32-34--66
St. Michael-Albertville 30-30--60
Park Center: Hayes 15 Schaub 14 Simonet 12 Ayobamidele 10 Buford 8 Michael 5 Blakemore 2
St. Michael-Albertville: Tracy 18 Zezza 18 R. Johnson 15 Alexander 3 Heil 2 Sovis 2 A. Johnson 1 Carlson 1 ​

Hopkins 78, Elk River 63

Hopkins eight-grader Paige Bueckers came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers — on just seven attempts — and drop 22 points to help the Royals win a marquee matchup with Elk River. Hopkins entered as the top-ranked team in Class AAAA, while Elk River was ranked #3.

On the strength of Bueckers’ sweet stroke, Hopkins finished 9-11 on threes, while also controlling the boards by a 36-25 margin. Michigan State recruit Nia Hollie added 11 points and 6 boards.

Elk River senior Abi Scheid dominated inside while posting 21-10, but the Elks converted just 13 of 25 free throws. Junior point guard Gabi Haack tallied 14 points, 7 boards and 3 assists.

— Brett Boese

Score by half:
Hopkins 38-40 — 78
Elk River 27-35 — 63
Individual scoring
Hopkins: Hollie 11, Winston 6, Wubben 5, Bates 14, Bueckers 22, Suggs 2, McNeely 10, Knox 8.
Elk River: Cox 2, Wentland 9, Haack 14, Kramer 3, Langbehn 5, Lachmiller 4, Pautz 4, Scheid 21.

Be part of the discussion... #BreakdownTipOff

Click here to view photos from all the games at the Dec. 5 Breakdown Tip Off Classic at Hopkins Lindbergh Center. The photos are organized by game and will be posted within a day or two of completion of the event (check back Tuesday night, Dec. 8).