St. Michael-Albertville’s Bobbi Brendefur did not perform like her team’s leading scorer in the first half of the Class 4A, Section 8 championship game against Elk River Thursday night at Monticello High School.

The senior guard hadn’t converted a field goal and the Knights trailed the Elks by seven points heading into halftime. During the break, St. Michael-Albertville coach Kent Hamre implored Brendefur to seize the moment.

“I told her, ‘You know you’re a senior, you want to do a little extra. You want to do something a little awesome,’” he said.

And she did. Brendefur overcame the anxiety of possibly playing in the final game of her high school career to score 22 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, powering the top-seeded Knights past second-seeded Elk River 72-64 and into the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

“She told me as a freshman we’re going to state four years in a row, and that’s what happened,” Hamre said.

Giving truth to her self-fulfilling prophecy wasn’t easy as Brendefur and St. Michael-Albertville, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, had to rally from an 11-point deficit to defeat the No. 5-4A Elks.

“I knew going (to the state tournament) three years in a row that I wasn’t going to stop my senior year,” Brendefur said. “This is a big deal to me. I’m so proud of this team and can’t wait to play in the tournament.”

While Brendefur struggled in the first half, Sydney Tracy stepped up to carry St. Michael-Albertville with eight points. The junior guard, who has been on the Knights’ three previous state tournament teams, finished the game with 15 points.

Brendefur’s inspired play wasn’t the only change for St. Michael-Albertville in the second half. The Knights switched to a motion offense, speeding up the play in an attempt to draw Elk River’s 6-foot-2 junior center, Abi Scheid, out of the paint allowing for easier, close-up shots.

Scheid makes penetrating the lane difficult because she defends the basket so well, including blocking shots, Hamre said.

“She’s like a goaltender,” he added.

Scheid and the Elks may have kept the Knights from building a comfortable lead, but St. Michael-Albertville’s acclaimed defense also held Elk River at bay, especially late in the game. Several Knights dove and fought for loose balls, but no defensive play was more important in the victory than one made by Tracy with a minute remaining.

Needing a basket to stay close, the Elks  dumped the ball into Scheid, who was having her way in the paint most the game. Tracy, however, blocked Scheid’s shot to thwart Elk River’s comeback.

“It was one of those ‘finally, we get a no-call block’ moments,” Tracy said. “(Scheid is) definitely a tough player and a hard matchup to stand up to.”

The block triggered widespread reverberations of crowd noise through the gym as the Knights collected the ball and forced the Elks to foul.

“That was amazing,” Brendefur said. “(The block) gave us so much motivation and more momentum to keep going. It was a big turn in game.”

Brendefur solidified the victory by sinking 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute of the game.

“We’ve practiced a lot this last month knowing there were going to be some big free throws in this game, and I was ready for it,” Brendefur said.

Winning those small battles helped St. Michael-Albertville earn the bigger victory, Tracy said.

"We wanted it more at the end, and they kind of overlooked us since they had the lead," she said. "I think we pulled together and took care of the little things and it happened."

This was the third straight year Elk River and St. Michael-Albertville met in the section championship, but this matchup seemed to carry more weight as both teams finished the season ranked among the top 5 teams in Class 4A. The Knights are now 5-0 against the Elks since opting up.

"We have respect for them and they have respect for us," Tracy said. "Every time we step on the court together it’s a good game."

With the section title firmly in hand, Tracy and her St. Michael-Albertville teammates can focus on the state tournament and whether the Knights will be seeded this season.

“We’ve never been seeded in the state tournament and I really hope we are this time,” Hamre said.

Hamre, however, said St. Michael-Albertville might not be seeded and could be considered an underdog because the team has not won a quarterfinal game at the state tournament.

“I don’t think it matters to anybody here,” Hamre said. “We beat, I think, a top 5 team in the state in Elk River. It’s too bad one of us had to not go.”

While most of these Knights have tasted their share of hardwood heartache at the state tournament, the players still have plenty to look forward to next week. 

“It’s great. It’s one of those feelings that never gets old. Hopefully we can do a bit more damage this year,” Tracy said.

Senior guard Bobbi Brendefur’s second-half surge fueled top-seeded St. Michael-Albertville's 72-64 comeback victory over second-seeded Elk River in the Class 4A, Section 8 finals at Monticello High School on Thursday night.

The Knights (26-3), who are No. 3 in the season's final rankings provided by Minnesota Basketball News, advance to the state Class 4A tournament for a fourth consecutive year. St. Michael-Albertville faced Elk River in the last three section championships.

Brendefur scored only two points in the first 18 minutes as St. Michael-Albertville trailed 33-26 at halftime. She then caught fire, scoring 22 points in the second half and finished the game 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.

The Knights opened the second half on a 10-4 run to get back into the game.

The teams traded leads five times in the waning minutes of the game before Brendefur knocked down a three-pointer with under three minutes to play.

No. 5-4A Elk River (24-4) then looked to their leading scorer, junior captain Abi Scheid, who had been dominant in the post all evening. But junior guard Syndey Tracy blocked Scheid's shot inside the paint, forcing a turnover. The Elks fouled Brendefur, who went to the free-throw line and sank both attempts to extend the Knights' lead to eight points with a minute remaining. 

Scheid finished the game with 21 points.

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