Rosemount beats Centennial for a spot in Class 4A final
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Rosemount forged its way into a championship game for the first time in more than three decades following a 40-33 victory over Centennial in the Class AAAA semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Basketball State Tournament on Wednesday, April 7 at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.
***To see extended highlights between Rosemount vs. Centennial in the Class 4A semifinals, CLICK PLAY ABOVE***
Sophomore guard Nicole O’Neill scored all 10 of her points in the first half and junior guard Alexa Ratzlaff added nine to propel the Irish (20-3) into the big-school championship game on Friday against Chaska, who knocked off Hopkins in the earlier semifinal. The Hawks snapped Hopkins’ 78-game winning streak and handed the Royals, the top-ranked team in the country, their first loss since 2018.
It will be Rosemount’s first appearance in a girls basketball state championship game since finishing as the Class AA runner-up in 1988. The last time the Irish qualified for the state tournament was 2002. Centennial was attempting to earn a berth in the state championship game for the first time since 2009 when it finished as a runner-up in the Class AAAA field.
The decisive second half was a grind-it-out series of timely defense, offensive misses and a stretch of more than 11 minutes without a made basket. The Irish outscored the Cougars (21-2) 13-8 in the second half. Ratlaff ended the scoreless streak with a basket and junior Tayah Leenderts added another in the final minute to help the Irish gain separation on the scoreboard.
![](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/kstp_RosemountbeatsCentennialforaspotintheClass4AfinalssyndImport112805.jpg)
Rosemount vs. Centennial highlights on Wednesday night.[KSTC/Ch.45]
At one point, Rosemount extended its halftime lead to six, 33-27, when senior forward Helen Staley made a three-pointer from the top of the arc with 12:52 remaining in regulation.
Rosemount led by as many as eight points in building a 27-25 advantage at the break. Sophomore guard Nicole O’Neil led the way with 10 points, including six on two successful three-pointers. Staley added four points in the first half, and also pulled down six defensive rebounds. The Irish held the lead for more than 15 minutes of the 18-minute first half.
Centennial led briefly late in the first half, 25-23, when junior guard Sydney Kubes hit a three-pointer with 2:24 remaining. Junior guard Camille Cummings paced the Cougars in the first half with nine points while senior center Jenna Guyer added seven.