Girls Hoops Season Ends

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

The perfect season is complete for Ada-Borup, as the Cougars won the Class State A Basketball Championship Saturday in Minneapolis as the winter sports season can to its official end, and with that end we move forward to the Spring Sports Season.

The No. 2-seed Cougars jumped out to an early double-digit lead and used a strong shooting and rebounding effort to maintain the advantage the entire way, scoring an 82-65 win over top-seed Maranatha Christian Academy in the Minnesota Class A girls’ basketball state championship game on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena.

Ada-Borup finished the season a perfect 32-0, the lone girls’ or boys’ basketball team in Minnesota to finish this season unbeaten. Maranatha Christian Academy finished its season at 29-4.

A 16-2 run over a 4:28 span gave the Cougars a 22-7 lead with 11:06 left in the first half, and the advantage never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.

Ada-Borup connected on 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the field in the first half, en route to a 50.9-percent (29-of-57) shooting effort in the game. Meanwhile, Maranatha Christian Academy hit just 29.1 percent (23-of-79) from the field. Ada-Borup also held a 51-37 advantage in rebounding.

Four Cougars scored in double digits in the victory, led by Miki Lee, who scored 22 points with five assists and three rebounds. Three Ada-Borup players had double-doubles — Elizabeth Birkemeyer with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Lexi Merkens with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Haley Poehler with 10 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

For the Mustangs, Lexi Lee led the way with 32 points — the most points scored by any player in the state tournament so far — with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Jaclyn Jarnot had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, Alaina Jarnot scored eight points with three assists and a steal, and Ashley Lewis scored six points with nine rebounds, two steals and an assist.

In a game of back-and-forth surges, it was the final surge that gave Dover-Eyota the Class AA state championship, with a 71-58 win over Sauk Centre at the Minnesota State Girls’ Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena.

Trailing 55-51 with 5:44 left, the Eagles (31-2) outscored the Mainstreeters (31-2) 20-3 down the stretch, with Megan Hintz scoring 10 points, Madison Nelson scoring six points and Brandi Blattner scoring four points in the final run.

All three Eagles ended up with double-doubles, with Blattner scoring 25 points with 14 rebounds and six blocked shots, Hintz scoring 24 points with 17 rebounds, and Nelson scoring 15 points with 15 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

In the process, Dover-Eyota also set a state tournament single-game record with 71 rebounds, breaking the old mark of 67, set by Archbishop Brady in a 1979 game against Redwood Falls. Dover-Eyota also set a tournament (three-game) record with 171 rebounds, breaking the old mark of 156, set by St. Paul Central in 2007.

The Eagles pulled down 22 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 18 second-chance points. Dover-Eyota also dominated in the low post, with 42 points in the paint compared to Sauk Centre’s 14.

There were 11 ties and 10 lead changes in the game, in which neither team led by more than six points until the final Dover-Eyota push.

Sauk Centre was paced by Maesyn Thiesen, who scored 23 points with five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Mauren Thiesen scored 14 points, Kelsey Peschel scored seven points and Madison Moritz scored six points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Eagles shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the field, while Sauk Centre shot 25.0 percent (19-of-76).

It didn’t take three overtimes to decide things this year, but the result was still the same: Park Center topped Marshall to claim Class AAA state championship honors, this time with a 49-43 win on Saturday evening at the Minnesota State Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Williams Arena.

Last year, the two teams battled in a 73-71, three-overtime classic, with Park Center coming out on top. This year, the Pirates used a late-game run to pull away for its second straight state title in a close contest, in which neither team led by more than eight points.

Leading just 41-39 with 4:44 left, Park Center (25-7) outscored Marshall (29-3) 11-6 down the stretch, with Ann Simonet hitting two crucial three-pointers to keep the Pirates ahead.

Mikayla Hayes led the Pirates with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, while Hannah Schaub had 11 points, six assists and two rebounds, and Feyisayo Ayobamidele scored 11 points with two rebounds and two steals. Simonet scored nine points with seven rebounds and a steal.

Marshall was led by Marah Mulso, who scored 15 points with seven rebounds. Sarah Buysse had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Morgan Saugstad scored 10 points with six rebounds.

Marshall out rebounded Park Center by a 45-22 margin, but also committed 21 turnovers to the Pirates’ nine. Park Center had 19 points off turnovers, compared to Marshall’s nine. Park Center hit 40.0 percent (20-of-50) from the field, including six 3-pointers, while Marshall hit 32.6 percent (15-of-46)

After the teams split their two regular-season meetings in December, Hopkins used a second-half outburst to pull away from Eastview, and withheld a late rally to claim the Class AAAA championship for the fourth time in the last five seasons with a 68-60 win on Saturday evening at the Minnesota State Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Williams Arena.

Last year’s state titlists, Eastview (30-2) led a tight contest at halftime 30-28, but a 13-2 run over the first 4:02 of the second half — which included a run of seven straight points by TT Sparks — gave Hopkins (30-1) a 41-32 lead, and the Royals expanded the advantage to as many as 13 points, leading 61-48 with 4:17 left.

Eastview mounted a rally of its own in the closing minutes. The Lightning scored 10 straight points — eight from Madison Guebert — to cut the lead to 61-58 with 1:12 remaining. Eastview was forced to foul, and the Royals connected on 7-of-8 free throws in their final four possessions to secure the win.

Nia Hollie led all scorers with 26 points in the game for Hopkins, adding five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Starks scored 16 points with four rebounds, an assist, block and steal, and Ashley Bates scored 15 points with five rebounds.

For Eastview, Guebert scored 19 points with two assists, while Samantha Trammel scored 12 points with 12 rebounds, two blocked shots and an assist. Erika Schlosser scored 11 points with six rebounds and five assists, and Rachel Ranke and Hana Metoxen scored nine points apiece.

Hopkins shot 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the field, while Eastview connected on 39.6 percent (19-of-48), including eight 3-pointers. The Royals out rebounded the Lightning by a 33-29 margin.