Albany junior Alyssa Sand eyes the basket as she sneaks through defenders in the Huskies' Class 2A quarterfinal against Perham on March 15. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine
The 2022-23 girls basketball state championship round featured four games of varying storylines, with the closest game a one-point victory all the way to a runaway victory.
The Class 4A title game was a thriller as St. Michael-Albertville edged Hopkins by one point. After holding a 17-point halftime lead, the Knights slowed down in the second half but held off Hopkins for a 70-71 win, led by all-tournament player and 2023 Miss Basketball Tessa Johnson’s 27 points. The Knights overcame losses to Hopkins in both of their regular season matchups, once by nine points and the other by 10, to take the state title.
In Class 3A, Benilde-St. Margaret’s defeated Stewartville 66-60. Junior Olivia Olson, one of the state’s top-10 scorers throughout the regular season and one of the all-tournament selections, scored 19 points in the win.
The Class 2A all-tournament team included three players each from champion Providence Academy and runner-up Albany. The Huskies’ 74-60 loss was just their second loss of the season. Junior Alyssa Sand led the Huskies’ effort with a season-high 29 points. The Huskies boasted a 30-2 record on the season, with their only other loss at the hands of New London-Spider back in December. That loss was followed by 24 straight wins to get the Huskies to the championship game against the Lions. Sand is joined on the all-tournament team by fellow juniors Tatum Findley and Kylan Gerads, as the trio will look with high expectations to the 2023-24 season. It was the third straight year the Huskies and Lions have met in the postseason, with the Lions winning the matchup in last year's Class 2A semifinal and the Huskies taking the state championship the year prior.
Junior Jordan Zubich, the state’s fourth-leading scorer during the regular season with 873 points, led Mountain Iron-Buhl in their Class 1A state championship rout of BOLD with 15 points in the 52-21 win.
See the table below for the full list of players selected to the all-tournament teams.
First Name | School |
---|---|
Marisa Frost | Centennial |
Annika Anderson | Eden Prairie |
Molly Lenz | Eden Prairie |
Liv McGill | Hopkins |
Taylor Woodson | Hopkins |
Nunu Agara | Hopkins |
Abby Hoselton | St. Michael-Albertville |
Ja'Kahla Craft | St. Michael-Albertville |
Tessa Johnson | St. Michael-Albertville |
Lexi Karlen | Stillwater |
First Name | School |
---|---|
Hadley Thul | Alexandria |
Dani Nuest | Becker |
Maren Westin | Becker |
Kate Kapsner | Benilde-St. Margaret's |
Olivia Olson | Benilde-St. Margaret's |
Madalyn Blaylark | DeLaSalle |
Aneisha Scott | DeLaSalle |
Savannah Hedin | Stewartville |
Haylie Strum | Stewartville |
Keeley Steele | Stewartville |
First Name | School |
---|---|
Tatum Findley | Albany |
Alyssa Sand | Albany |
Kylan Gerads | Albany |
Elisabeth Gadient | Goodhue |
Kendyl Lodermeier | Goodhue |
Addi Mack | Minnehaha Academy |
Avery Rich | New London-Spicer |
Emma Millerbernd | Providence Academy |
Grace Counts | Providence Academy |
Maddyn Greenway | Providence Academy |
First Name | School |
---|---|
Tiyana Schwinghammer | Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa |
Abby Berge | Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa |
Mari Ryberg | BOLD |
Lainey Braulick | BOLD |
Mackenzie Visser | BOLD |
Natalie Beaver | Hayfield |
Sage Ganyo | Mountain Iron-Buhl |
Hali Savela | Mountain Iron-Buhl |
Jordan Zubich | Mountain Iron-Buhl |
Elizabeth Lukken | Underwood |
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