Girls State Basketball: Defending champ Becker beats Mankato East 67-63 in Class 3A semifinals

Top-seeded Becker forged its way into the Class AAA championship game for the fourth consecutive season following a 67-63 victory over Mankato East in the first Class AAA semifinal of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Basketball State Tournament on Thursday, March 17, 2022 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

Sophomore guard Alexis Rose scored 21 points, including a three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining that snapped a 62-all tie to send the Bulldogs (25-4) one victory away from successfully defending their Class AAA crown. Becker will play the winner of the second semifinal between Totino-Grace and St. Paul Como Park. After Rose’s three-pointer gave Becker the lead for good, upset-minded Mankato East (25-5), the No. 5 seed, pulled to within 65-63 on a single free throw by senior forward Lexi Karge with 25.2 seconds remaining in regulation

Forced to foul, Mankato East sent Becker junior guard Maren Westin to the free-throw line with 5.7 seconds remaining and she promptly made two free throws to set the score.

Becker, making its sixth state tournament appearance, was the Class AAA champion in 2007 and the runner-up in 2019. In 2020, the Bulldogs qualified for the Class AAA title game before the remainder of the state tournament was cancelled in the midst of a global pandemic.

Westin added 15 points for the Bulldogs while junior guard Aylan Brown and senior guard Adeline Kent added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Karge paced Mankato East with 22 points and 10 rebounds.