Spartans Come Up Short Against Hornets

Not shying away from its share of top-notch competition this season, the girls basketball—ranked third in Class AAA—hosted Class AAAA's No. 2 rankee, Edina, in a non-conference border battle at RHS on Thursday night.

The undefeated Hornets entered the Richfield gymnasium with a spotless 14-0 record, with wins over two ranked teams so far this season—having topped Hill-Murray (No. 5, AAA) and Lakeville North (No. 3, AAAA) in back-to-back games in December.

Richfield, fielding one of the most talented collectives in team history, came into the night with a 12-2 overall mark, a nine-game winning streak, and wins over a trio of ranked teams that included Hill-Murray and Bloomington Kennedy (No. 4, AAAA).

But on this night, the spoils of victory belonged not to the Spartans, but to their western neighbors. Edina claimed a lead of as many as 10 points before holding on for a narrow 62-57 win that kept the Hornets without a blemish, while Richfield suffered its first setback since a loss to Providence Academy (No. 1, AA) on Dec. 12.

While Edina scored the first basket of the game, the Spartans took the early advantage in pulling out to a 12-5 lead with guard Hailey Lindblom scoring seven of her nine total points within the first five minutes of the contest.

The Hornets promptly buzzed back into contention, however, taking their second lead of the game at 19-18 with five minutes remaining in the first half.

Edina would never trail again from that point on, holding a 26-20 halftime edge that it would increase to a high-water mark of 30-20 just 30 seconds into the second half.

Undaunted by the lone double-digit margin of the game, Richfield went on a 11-1 run to pull even at 31-31 on a layup by center Leah Barnes just over four minutes into the frame.

Yet, the Spartans could not find the go-ahead tally as Edina re-asserted itself with an 8-3 run of its own as the Hornets' defense continued to bottle up Richfield guard , who had just 10 points in the game with five minutes remaining. 

January and her teammates were not finished and the hosts kept matters interesting throughout the final minutes.

Two straight baskets by guard Hannah Wise in the final two minutes drew Richfield back to within a one-possession deficit at 56-54. However, the Spartans could draw no closer as a January three-pointer with 31 seconds to play gave the home side its final points of the night amidst a series of Edina free throws that settled matters on a frigid evening.

January's late surge earned her high-scoring honors for Richfield with 18 points, while center contributed 11 points to the Spartans' effort. In addition to Lindblom's nine points, Barnes scored eight points, with Wise logging seven points as guards Mackinsey Schramm and Sierra Washington chipped in two points apiece.

Richfield, now 12-3 overall on the season, returns to Classic Suburban Conference play at 7 p.m. Friday night with a home game versus Tartan. The Spartans, a perfect 3-0 to open circuit play, begin next week with a Tuesday night game at Henry Sibley before returning home to play fellow conference front-runner Simley (No. 8, AAA) on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.