Girls basketball defeats Eagles on senior night

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  • Viria Livingston, senior, laughs as Aezha Reed, junior, reads her speech about the seniors.

  • Evelyn Knox, Wayne State College, Basketball- First year on Varsity: Freshman year, 2012. Favorite memory: Committing to Wayne, and winning two State championships, 2013 and 2015.

  • Coach Cosgriff yells out a play to his team.

  • Hopkins Cheerleaders cheer on the Royals .

  • Nia Hollie, junior, looks to pass the ball to a teammate.

  • Deanna Winston, junior, guards her opponent.

  • Bianca Williams, senior expresses disgust at a foul called against the Royals.

  • Deanna Winston, junior, composes herself after a hard foul

  • The Hopkins bench encourages their team.

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Judaisha Jackson, Staff Reporter

I’m sure [Eden Prairie] works their tails off, but I honestly believe that we work even harder, just because of that loss last year.

— Deanna Winston, junior.

The girls basketball team defeated the Eden Prairie Eagles, on Friday Feb. 20, 63-78. The Royals improved to 22-1, while the Eagles dropped to 15-9.

Deanna Winston, junior point guard, notes their defense was a huge part of the victory.

“We worked on defense a lot this past week, and it really payed off,” Winston said. “We had a terrible shooting night, but offense doesn’t win championships.”

Winston scored 7 points and had a game-high of 5 steals.

The Royals collected 17 steals and limited the Eagles to just 4. The Royals also earned 33 rebounds, their second highest amount of the season thus far.

Winston added that the unprecedented loss to the Eagles in the section semifinals last year added extra motivation to beat them.

“I’m sure they work their tails off, but I honestly believe that we work even harder, just because of that loss last year,” Winston said.

In addition, Te’aire Starks, senior, Ashley Bates and Nia Hollie, juniors, all scored in the double digits for the Royals.

Not only was this the last home game of the season for the Royals, but it was also senior night. Before the game, juniors gave speeches about the senior players to celebrate them.

This Tuesday, Feb. 24, the Royals will take on the Wayzata Trojans. The Trojans are fresh off a loss to Bloomington Kennedy. If the Royals are able to defeat Wayzata, they will be crowned Lake Conference champions and most likely awarded the top seed for sections.