If you ask members of the St. Michael-Albertville girls’ basketball team, it gets harder every year to get back to the state tournament.

But it’s also more fun each time they do it.

The top-seeded Knights held off No. 2 seed Elk River 57-49 on Thursday at Monticello High School to claim the Class 4A, Section 8 title. This will be the Knights’ fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament.

“Every year feels better, it really does,” St. Michael-Albertville coach Kent Hamre said. “We’ve got a great thing going here. I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Knights junior guard Rae Johnson did what she’s done all year: lead the Knights (27-2) in scoring. Johnson, who has committed to Iowa State, finished with a game-high 29 points.

That included Johnson’s 10 points at the free-throw line in the final 1:58 of the game.

Kitri Zezza chipped in 11 points, and Lizzy Heil had nine. On a night when second-leading scorer Sydney Tracy was held to just one point, Johnson carried the load.

“I’m very proud of the team,” Johnson said. “We worked our butts off. We played together and we communicated really well.”

Elk River senior Abi Scheid scored 22 points and Gabi Haack had 12, but it wasn’t enough as Elk River’s season ended once again at the hands of St. Michael-Albertville.

The Elks (24-6) had won 11 consecutive games.

St. Michael-Albertville is going back to a familiar place – the state tournament.

The top-seeded Knights (27-2) held off No. 2 seed Elk River (24-6) for a 57-49 victory on Thursday at Monticello High School to claim the Class 4A, Section 8 title.

Knights junior guard Rae Johnson did what she’s done all year: lead her team in scoring. Johnson finished with a game-high 29 points to lead the way for the Knights. Twelve of her 19 points came in the first half, including six during an 8-0 run by the Knights.

Elk River senior Abi Scheid scored 22 points, but it wasn’t enough as Elk River’s season ended once again at the hands of St. Michael-Albertville. The Elks had won 11 consecutive games heading into the game.

Trailing 22-16 at the half, Elk River cut the deficit to as few as two points early in the second half on a putback by Scheid. St. Michael-Albertville eventually pushed its lead back to nine at 36-27 and kept the Elks at bay the rest of the game. A 3-pointer by Johnson helped stop a brief threat from Elk River after the Elks cut it to three.

It’s the second time these two teams faced off this season. St. Michael-Albertville won the first meeting back in December by a 59-49 final.

Check back later for more on the game.