Hopkins girls' basketball coach Brian Cosgriff's message to his team at halftime was clear.
The undefeated Royals, who hadn't trailed at the half all season, faced a 12-point deficit to Wayzata in the Class 4A, Section 6 championship game. Cosgriff kept his message short.
"Let's see what kind of team we are," Cosgriff said he told his team Thursday.
The Royals (29-0) responded. Top-seeded Hopkins mounted a comeback and defeated Wayzata 81-74 at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School to win its sixth section title in seven years.
"We just thought, 'We don't want to lose,' " said freshman guard Paige Bueckers, who led the Royals with 28 points. "We wanted to go to state and finish our journey."
Hopkins was down 37-22 midway through the first half and 41-29 at the start of the second, but took a 46-44 lead with 14 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game.
Leading 75-72 with 1:01 left, the Royals finished a 6-2 run behind two free throws each from DeAnna Winston, Bueckers and Raena Suggs.
"This was a complete team win," Cosgriff said. "It was a good win for Hopkins basketball."
