Eagles battle to the brink against Minnetonka in section finals

“My kids have more heart than any team I’ve been around.”

Ellen Wiese | Eden Prairie head coach

Ella Hardwick stood at the free-throw line, surrounded by a sea of blue and a deafening roar, before a sold-out gathering at Minnetonka High School on Friday evening.

Just 15.6 seconds remained in the Section 2AAAA championship game between Hardwick’s No. 2 seed Eden Prairie Eagles and top-seed Minnetonka.

The Eagles trailed the Skippers 39-37 in what had been a grudge match all evening, with the winner heading to the girls state basketball tournament at Williams Arena next week.

As Hardwick readied herself for the two most crucial free-throw attempts of the season, she tuned out the sights and sounds surrounding her, including the Eden Prairie student section immediately behind the backboard, fluttering their hands in a show of support.

“I don’t really pay attention to that,” the junior guard said. “I’m just looking at the hoop, thinking to myself, ‘Just breathe, relax. You got this. You’ve done it before, you can do it again.’”

Hardwick drained both of her free throws, tying the game at 39.

“It was great to see,” Eden Prairie head coach Ellen Wiese said. “They called a timeout to ice her. It didn’t faze her. She went off and hit those two.”

The Eagles had to scratch and claw to even the score, keeping themselves in the game by playing disciplined defense in a physical, hard-fought and low-scoring contest.

“Our defense was beautiful,” Wiese said. “We shot 22% in the first half. We never did shoot well the whole game, but that’s why you have defense like that because it keeps you in games.

“We never ‘don’t play’ defense like that. So that’s why we’ve been able to win a lot of games this year.”

Second-half heroics

The Eagles trailed by as much as 11 points in the first half and were down by 10 early in the second half, but kept creeping back on the Skippers throughout the final 18 minutes. 

With 6:15 remaining in regulation and Eden Prairie trailing by three, Hardwick pounced on a rebound off a missed shot by Tonka, got the ball to junior guard Tori Schlagel, whose clutch shot from three-point range tied the game at 32.

“We were so excited,” Schlagel recalled of the moment. “Coming back, we felt the surge, we had momentum to go and win it.”

The Eagles stayed within two points of the Skippers for the final six minutes, as every possession was met with swarming defense and physicality by both teams.

“That was the most physical game I think I played all season,” Hardwick said. “They were definitely very aggressive, which I knew they were going to be. But that’s just part of the game, and you’ve just got to keep playing.”

Hardwick, who scored 10 points on the night, left the game with a bloody nose early in the second half but quickly returned to patrol the defensive boards.

Junior guard Rae Ehrman left briefly as well, skinning her forearm after a fall to the floor.

“You try not to let that get into your head,” Hardwick said. “Because that’s what their plan was the whole time: to get in our heads and mess us up. And you just don’t want to show it out on the court.”

The environment could not have been more electric for a section championship game. The standing-room-only crowd was accompanied by bands from both schools, while student sections from Minnetonka and Eden Prairie tried their best to out-cheer the other at opposite ends of the court.

“That was very, very physical, and this atmosphere is crazy,” said Schlagel, who led Eden Prairie with 13 points. “It felt like you were in a dream with how loud everything was.”

Final moments

After Hardwick’s game-tying free throws, Minnetonka took possession with seconds remaining in regulation. 

Skippers senior guard Tori McKinney was met by Schlagel in the Tonka offensive zone. Schlagel fouled McKinney, who fell to the floor on the play.

The officials cited Schlagel for a flagrant foul, giving Minnetonka two shots as well as possession. 

McKinney made both free throws and the Skippers’ lead was back to two with the ball in their hands.

Ehrman fouled Minnetonka’s Lanelle Wright, who missed her attempt from the line. The Eagles gained possession with 4.9 seconds left to play in regulation.

Schlagel made the inbound pass to Hardwick, who raced up the floor. As Hardwick crossed midcourt, McKinney knocked the ball loose. But when Hardwick regained possession, she was called for traveling. 

Minnetonka took possession with .01 seconds remaining. After a quick inbound pass, the game was over, as the Skippers took the title in a 41-39 victory.

The calls on Schlagel and Hardwick were not popular among the Eden Prairie faithful and left a blemish on an otherwise thrilling title game between two of the state’s Top-10 teams.

“I’m super proud of my kids,” a disappointed Wiese said. “I’m super proud of what they did all season. I’m super proud of what they did here tonight. We completely negated their height with heart.”

Minnetonka has two starters, McKinney and junior Aaliyah Crump, who are both 6-foot-1. Eden Prairie had no one over 5-foot-10.

“My kids have more heart than any team I’ve been around,” Wiese added.

Minnetonka (26-2) finished second in the Star Tribune Top 10 Metro poll and had defeated No. 8 Eden Prairie twice during the regular season.

The Skippers escaped a Feb. 15 matchup with the Eagles, coming away with a 62-60 win at Eden Prairie.

“We played an excellent game. We’ve been working hard as a team all season, and we just really showed it tonight,” Hardwick said. “It was a great game, and I’m just happy to have been part of this experience.”

The Eagles had only one returning starter in Schlagel at the start of the season and finished with a 20-9 record, coming within a whisper of back-to-back state tournament appearances.

“We fought hard; we fought till the end,” Schlagel said. “That is a very good team, and respect to them. I hope they do well at the state tournament, but we will come back stronger next year.

“We all have so much love for each other and this will just motivate us more for next year.”

Schlagel was recently recognized with All-State honors by the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association. Ehrman, Hardwick, and junior guard Vanessa Jordan earned honorable mention honors from the MGBCA.

All four players, along with starting junior guard Camryn Dennin and sophomore guard Jazmyn Hooks – who saw considerable minutes while posting 8 points in the section title game – will return next season for Eden Prairie.

“We’ll be back,” Wiese said after the game. “Better than ever.”