Girls Basketball Class A Semifinal: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa advances to State Championship

The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars defeated the Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Knights 51-50 to advance to the State Championship game.

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Sophomore guard Harley Roering scored her only points of the first half to give Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa a 21-17 advantage at 2:46. The Jaguars led 24-22 at the break.

Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s junior guard Madison Mathiowetz came out on fire early in the second half and pushed the score to 28-24 in favor of the Knights. But, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa senior guard Josie Knutson countered with back-to-back three-pointers to put the Jaguars back on top 30-27 at 12:40.

From there, the score went back and forth. Sophomore guard Abby Berge went 4-6 on free throws in the second half, giving Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa a 45-39 lead at 3:09. Less than a minute later, Berge drained a layup for a 47-45 advantage.

Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s senior guard Sydney Windschitl cut the lead to 48-47 on a layup with 25 seconds left in regulation, but Knutson pushed it back three after making two free throws at 0:21. With nine ticks left on the clock, Knutson was fouled by junior guard Reagan Severson and she made one free throw for the 51-47 lead. Mathiowetz raced down the floor, pulled up, and hit a three-pointer as time expired, but the Jaguars escaped with the 51-50 win.

Senior forward Allissa Knight led Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Knutson finished with 13 points. Mathiowetz led Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s with 23 points and sophomore forward Liz Schindt cornered 15 rebounds.

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (23-1) will play Minneota for the Class A title at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 9. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s finishes its season at 23-1.