The atmosphere in the Osseo gym was tense as Minnetonka faced Minneapolis South in girls' basketball Saturday afternoon. Skippers fans yelled encouragement at the players throughout the game.
The No. 3-seeded Skippers lost to the Tigers by 16 points in last year's Class 4A, Section 6 semifinals. Back at Osseo a year later playing the same school, the Skippers managed to beat the Tigers 81-78.
Minnetonka (21-6) took a 12-3 lead in the first few minutes, but the Tigers (26-2), led by senior guard Sattoria Rule, rallied to get within three at the half.
Despite close play the entire game, the Skippers managed to hold on to their lead. Senior guard Ali McArthur led five Skippers in double figures with 26 points.
"In the last month, Ali's stepped up and played big," Minnetonka coach Bart Inniger said.
After last year's loss, the Skippers were determined to win this time around.
"We talked in the last two days. We felt we had the better team collectively," Inniger said. "We felt like if we played our type of game we wouldn't have any problems scoring."
McArthur felt the same way. "We said, 'OK, we're going to win.' This time it absolutely was not going to happen again."
Rule led all scorers with 38 points. Senior guard Diamond Lane added 26.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded Hopkins (26-2) also avenged last year's semifinal loss to Wayzata (14-13), posting a 62-47 victory. During the win, Royals senior guard Brianna Williams scored her 1,000th career point.
"It's good to know it came in my senior year, not being able to play much last year," Williams said.
Williams missed part of her junior season because of a knee injury. Royals coach Brian Cosgriff emphasized Williams' team spirit after the game.
"I know it's more important to her to get the win," Cosgriff said. "She didn't even know about it."
No. 1-ranked Hopkins will play No. 10 Minnetonka on Wednesday night in the section final. The Skippers upset the Royals 74-71 in both teams' regular-season finale. Hopkins won the first meeting between the two schools 84-52.
