Bueckers excels on both ends

So ample are her offensive talents that Paige Bueckers doesn't often get credit for her abilities on the defensive end.

Bueckers had the chance to show her complete game in the Royals' 68-46 victory over Lakeville North on Wednesday at Williams Arena.

She scored a game-high 29 points. But she was just as good at stopping her opponent, holding Lakeville North guard Lauren Jensen to just nine points, 18 below her per-game average.

"I'm not just a huge offensive-minded person," Bueckers said. "I want to stop the person I'm guarding. Zero [points] is the goal."

Jensen, a Star Tribune All-Metro first-team selection and former AAU teammate of Bueckers, said she expected to have trouble with that matchup.

"I knew it was going to be tough," Jensen said. "She so lengthy, too. She made life difficult today."

Hopkins (30-0) started slowly and trailed Lakeville North 7-6 more than four minutes into the game. That's when Bueckers went to work. She scored eight consecutive points, added an assist for good measure and harassed Jensen into a pair of turnovers. When she was done, Hopkins led 18-10, a margin it built to 12 at halftime, 33-21.

If Lakeville North (18-12) harbored any notions of a comeback after halftime, Hopkins dispelled them with a 12-0 run to start the second half.

"We talked about that at halftime," Bueckers said. "We picked up the energy in the second half. But tomorrow, we've got to pick it up from the start."