After completing an undefeated season with a convincing 75-64 victory over Sauk Centre in the Class 2A championship game, Roseau (32-0) can proudly call itself a basketball town.

Well, not quite. Yet it’s clear things are changing on Minnesota’s northern border, where it’s always been assumed that kids lace up hockey skates as soon as they can walk.

But as the Rams’ remarkable season showed, basketball has found a home there.

“We know the whole town is rooting for us back home,” said senior Kiley Borowicz, Roseau’s leading scorer and driving force. “Even hockey boys.”

Credit the deep and skilled Rams, who turned their third consecutive state tournament berth into their Mona Lisa. Running and shooting like a team determined not only to win a championship but change a mindset,

Roseau was dominant in the tournament. They defeated all three opponents by double-digit margins, starting slow yet finishing strong.
That was again the case Saturday. Sauk Centre, which had won 30 consecutive games after an early-season loss to Anoka, jumped out to a 13-3 lead.

Roseau never wavered. Even though Borowicz wasn’t scoring at the clip she had been accustomed – after 69 points in the first two games she had just six at halftime – the Rams battled back. They outscored Sauk Centre 30-10 to take a 33-23 halftime lead.

“It’s not really common for me to score that low, but we were ahead by 10. That’s what we were all taking about [at halftime],” said Borowicz, who finished with a team-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. Her sister Kacie, a sophomore, picked up the first-half slack with 11 points en route to 19 on the game.

In the second half, Sauk Centre hit its first seven shots. But the Mainstreeters were never able to cut the lead to less than six points against the taller, stronger Rams.

“They are so difficult to come back against because they’ve got so many weapons,” Sauk Centre coach Scott Bergman said.

Considering where the Rams call home in northwestern Minnesota, Roseau coach Kelsey Didrikson said she believes the championship has brought a new, exciting element to the town of 2,400.

“We’re really excited to bring this back to Roseau,” she said. “This been has fun for the community. It’s different than a state hockey title. It’s been a fun learning experience and the community has embraced it.”

Roseau completed an undefeated season with the first girls basketball state championship in team history, beating Sauk Centre 75-64 in the Class 2A championship game.

As they have all season, the Rams (32-0) leaned on the sisters Borowicz. Kiley, a senior, led the team with 20 points, giving her 89 in the three-game tournament and 268 in nine career state tournament games, the fourth-best total in tournament history.

Sophomore Kacie had 19 points and eighth-grader Katie chipped with 9. Jill Klaphake led Sauk Centre (31-2) with 19 points.