It wasn't pretty and it wasn't convincing, but after the Hopkins girls' basketball team finished off a 61-52 victory over the Wayzata Trojans, the Royals had one thing to say: a win is a win is a win.
The number two ranked team in Class 4A struggled to put a pesky Trojans team away due to streaky shooting and a high number of turnovers, but still managed to record their 15th win of the season.
"There's always a lot of room for improvement," Royals senior guard Caitlin Rowland said. "Our offense wasn't flowing very well tonight, but we were lucky enough to get the win."
The Trojans actually led 22-20 late in the first half after six straight points from junior guard Kate Thompson, but that lead didn't last long. The Royals proceeded to close out the first half on a 12-3 run to take a 32-25 lead into halftime.
Rowland paced the Royals with 14 first-half points on 5-9 shooting from the field.
The Royals never trailed in the second half, but had a couple of nervous moments while protecting the lead.
After the Royals built a 46-38 lead, the Trojans got within four at 46-42 after back-to-back lay-ups by junior Teresa Thour and senior Abby Doran.
The Royals eventually built the lead back to 11 after a three point play by senior forward Stephanie Sension and a lay-up by senior guard Hanna Muegge.
Later, a three-pointer by Trojans senior guard Caitlyn Book and a three-point play by freshman forward Shannon O'Toole cut the Royals lead to five.
But four free throws down the stretch by Muegge iced the game for the Royals, who improved to 15-1 on the season. The loss dropped the Trojans to 9-7.
"Wayzata is a very tough opponent and [head coach Brian Cosgriff] always says before conference games that you have to throw the records out because everybody gets pumped up for the games," Rowland said.
Rowland led all scorers with 18 points, while Sension added 14 for the Royals. Muegge and freshman guard Brianna Williams scored nine and eight points respectively for the Royals.
Thompson was the lone Trojan player in double figures with 14 points on 6-14 shooting from the field. Doran scored nine points, while Book added eight off the bench.
Thompson - the leading scorer in the Classic Lake Conference - made six of eight shots from inside the arch and went 0-6 from three point range.
"We knew she was the leading scorer in the conference and that we had to focus our defense on her to try to shut her down," Rowland said. "So she was a big part of our game plan."
The Royals have now won 10 straight games with their only loss of the season coming back on Dec. 14 against Becker.
Since that loss the Royals have been solid, winning games against some quality opponents like Osseo, Minneapolis South and Edina.
Rowland and Sension - both recipients of Division I scholarships - can usually be counted on to lead the way offensively, but the Royals have plenty of other options.
Muegge and junior forwards Kara Elofson and Jenna Lillemoe all average between eight and nine points respectively to give the Royals plenty of weapons.
The Royals will put their 10-game winning streak on the line this week when they host Cretin-Derham Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 22 before traveling to Minnetonka for a conference game on Friday, Jan. 25.
The Trojans, meanwhile, will look to snap a two-game losing streak when they travel to Armstrong on Jan. 25.
