Stillwater junior Amy Thompson, surgical from the three-point line throughout Wednesday's Class 4A girls basketball state tournament quarterfinal against Lakeville North, attacked the rim in the waning moments of a tight game.
In the final seconds, Stillwater sinks Lakeville North in 4A girls basketball quarterfinal
The Ponies' Amy Thompson made a layup with 11 seconds left for the winning points.
March 16, 2023 at 4:35AM
Her driving layup put the Ponies ahead 67-65 with 11 seconds remaining. The trailing Panthers called a timeout, bringing Thompson and her ecstatic teammates back to the bench. She was in no mood for premature celebration, signaling with her hands to calm down.
"It was an exciting moment, but there was still time on the clock," said Thompson, who went 7-for-10 on three-point shots. "We needed to focus and finish it off, because you never know what could happen."
Stillwater coach Tim Peper said, "We had to find a way to get one more stop."
The Panthers took the ball up the court looking for a shot to either tie the game or steal a victory. They got neither. Instead, Stillwater's Elise Dieterle recovered a loose ball and sealed the victory.
The No. 4 seed Ponies (26-5) advance to face No. 1 seed and defending state tournament champion Hopkins (27-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena. Getting past No. 5 seed Lakeville North (22-8) took a full day's work capped by one final big shot.
"That Thompson," Lakeville North coach Shelly Clemons said, "she's tough to stop."
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
