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Hopkins throttles Lake Conference foe Edina to remain perfect

By Adam Holt, SportsEngine, 12/14/17, 10:00AM CST

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The Royals went on a 17-1 run to begin the second half.

Junior guard Dlayla Chakolis (33) flipped a behind-the-back pass to Paige Bueckers for a fastbreak layup in the closing minutes of Hopkins' 71-40 victory at Edina. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Junior guard Dlayla Chakolis (33) flipped a behind-the-back pass to Paige Bueckers for a fastbreak layup in the closing minutes of Hopkins' 71-40 victory at Edina. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Overall, the Thursday’s game turned into a common sight — a methodical demolition by undefeated Hopkins.

But in what was otherwise a workmanlike effort by the Royals in a 71-40 win at Edina, Dlayla Chakolis found some time to add some flash to the game, with one nice fastbreak pass. The junior dished a no-look, behind-the-back pass to teammate Paige Bueckers, who was trailing the play, and finished the layup as part of a big Hopkins run in the second half.

The fun thing about Chakolis leading the fastbreak — which she did multiple times in the game — was she spent most of the rest of her time working down low on offense or in the lane on defense.

“I feel like that makes me very versatile,” Chakolis said. “I like to play all different positions. Playing post is just one of the things that will help me when I go to the next level.”

Chakolis led all scorers in the game with 29 points, 22 coming in the first half alone. Between a team effort in rebounding and Chakolis’ own penchant for finishing consistently down low, she found it easy to rack up points, even as a 5-foot-8 player working in the low post.

“We call her our Charles Barkley; she’s the original North-side tough guy,” Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff said. “She’s just a battler. She’s a pit bull. She’s a great kid, works her tail off. She’s going to get the most out of her body, that’s for sure.”

While teammate Bueckers, one of the most coveted recruits of the Class of 2020, gets plenty of attention, her unselfish play helps open things up for teammates. And if a team doesn’t respect the rest of the Royals enough, it opens up chances for them, which turns into results for a player like Chakolis.

“She’s special. I’ve been telling recruiters that forever,” Cosgriff said. “You take a look at her and you go, ‘Ah, no.’ But the end result, she’s a winner and she puts up the numbers.”

Hustle and toughness seem to define what’s a pretty well-rounded game for Chakolis, who’s listed as a guard. So long as she’s putting in the work, she knows the results will come.

“My teammates always look to get me the ball,” she said. “As long as I’m hustling and rebounding, it’s always good for me.”

Between Chakolis, Bueckers and the rest of the guard rotation, including Raena Suggs and Kayhla Adams, among others, the Royals, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, have plenty of do-it-all players. Combine that with plenty of height and length, as well as some solid team chemistry on both sides of the ball, and it’s easy to see why Hopkins played (7-0, 2-0)  in the last two state finals — and has eyes on winning it this time around.

Bueckers finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Suggs added 13 points for Hopkins.

Edina was led by Lauren Oyalo, who finished with 11 points. Teammates Macy Nilsen and Olivia Coughlin each scored nine, and Coughlin added five rebounds.

Despite Hopkins’ dominance over Lake Conference rival Edina (4-3, 0-2), Cosgriff said Hopkins has a long way to go. The Royals didn’t shoot the ball particularly well against the No. 14-4A Hornets, and he still wants to see fewer turnovers, better defense and improved rebounding. So long as everyone’s on board with making that improvement, the Royals will likely be favored to win the Class 4A title.

“My expectation of myself is, I want to get faster, I want to get better on defense, and I want to get stronger,” Chakolis said. “As a team, we’ve just got to do everything we did tonight and work hard in practice — and study the film.”

Dlayla Chakolis made a move around Edina's Jane Korsh on her way to two points. Chakolis was a dominating presence under the basket for the Royals. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Dlayla Chakolis made a move around Edina's Jane Korsh on her way to two points. Chakolis was a dominating presence under the basket for the Royals, scoring 29 points. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

First Report

Edina hung with Hopkins for about 14 minutes. From there, it was all Hopkins as the Royals, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, cruised to a 71-40 Lake Conference win at Edina Thursday, thanks to a big second-half run.

It was 14-14 early in the first half, and within a six-point game with around six minutes to go in the period before the Royals pulled away.

The Royals’ Dlayala Chakolis was near unstoppable in the first half, scoring 22 of her game-high 29 points over the first 18 minutes. Chakolis also had the highlight of the night on a fastbreak, dropping a no-look behind-the-back pass to teammate Paige Bueckers for a layup.

Hopkins started the second half with a 17-1 run, pushing the lead above 30 points, up from an 18-point margin at halftime.

Bueckers finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Raena Suggs added 13 points for Hopkins (7-0, 2-0).

Lauren Oyalo led No. 14-4A Edina (4-3, 0-2) with 11 points, while Macy Nilsen and Olivia Coughlin scored nine each. Coughlin added five rebounds.

Photo Gallery

Edina junior Macy Nilsen (10) looked for a path around Hopkins defender Kayhla Adams. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Edina junior Macy Nilsen (10) looked for a path around Hopkins defender Kayhla Adams. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

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