Wayzata 6A Girls Fifth Grade Basketball Team Win Grade State Championship

The  6A girls basketball team did what no other top division team was able to do this year: repeat as state champions. The girls completed their second season last weekend with a 42-2 record and a second consecutive MYAS grade state championship.

In the tournament’s opener the girls faced the Pequot Lakes Lakers. The girls came out of the gates rolling, opening up a 10-0 lead before the Lakers called a timeout. In the end the Trojans were just too much for the Lakers, and they won the game 38-11.

Seven of the nine girls on the team scored for the Trojans led by Mimi Schrader and Kallie Theisen with 10 points each and Grace Robertson, Annabelle Fritz and Ella Schrader with 4 points each.

Next up in the quarterfinals was the eighth ranked Fairview Cardinals. The Cardinals came to play and the first half was an absolute route as they dominated the top ranked Trojans. Fairview opened up a 23–10 lead before the Trojans scored the last hoop of the half to close it to a 23-12 half-time deficit.

How did the Trojans respond to the largest deficit of their careers? This close-knit team did not panic and they did not get down on each other. After the half, they merely turned up the defensive pressure and proceeded to go on a 25 to 0 run over the next 12 minutes. They turned the 11 point deficit into a 14 point lead before settling in with a 37–28 victory.

The semi-finals pitted the Trojans against Osseo-Maple Grove Crimson. After a close start, Wayzata hit their stride midway through the first half and opened up a 12 point half-time lead. The Crimson then made a comeback and closed the deficit to two points with just a couple of minutes to go.

A nice delay offense by the Trojans and some clutch free-throw shooting by Mimi Schrader allowed the Trojans to prevail 25–21, sending them to the championship game against the Forest Lake Rangers.

This was a good game from the start. The Trojans opened up early leads only to watch the Rangers come fighting back. Three minutes into the second half, the Rangers took the lead on a three-pointer, but that was when Wayzata put it into gear.

Two quick hoops by Ella Schrader and then a Paige Van Pelt steal led to a beautiful pass by Grace Robertson to Molly Thompson for another basket. This was followed by a steal by Caroline Mahowald that resulted in a Kallie Theisen lay-up. The Trojan girls then went on an 11-point run and never looked back as they won their second straight state championship 39–27.

Theisen had a "lucky" 13 point and 13 rebound game while Mimi Schrader scored an amazing 12 points and dished out six more assists.

Team members are as follows: Annabelle Fritz, Caroline Mahowald, Ella Schrader, Grace Robertson, Kallie Theisen, Mimi Schrader, Molly Thompson, Paige Van Pelt, Soni Schrader; with coaches Ken Theisen and Rob Robertson.

Editors note: Information provided by the Wayzata Gold 6A team.