St. Michael-Albertville rolls past Elk River into girls basketball state tournament

Stenciled on the backs of the warmup jerseys for the St. Michael-Albertville girls basketball team is one simple word: Unfinished.

Not an original message — it's a common rallying cry for teams with championship dreams — but it was certainly effective.

The Knights, Class 4A state runners-up a year ago, qualified for the state tournament with an authoritative 78-44 victory over Elk River in the Section 8 championship game Thursday at Monticello High School.

The Knights, ranked third by Minnesota Basketball News, got the rout going early, draining nine three-pointers in the first half to take a 47-29 halftime lead.

They cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half and put the game away with a 27-4 run. So decisive was St. Michael-Albertville's second-half pressure, the final nine minutes were played under running time.

"It all starts with our defense," Knights coach Kent Hamre said. "This team has a commitment to defense, and they showed it tonight."

Hamre said the Knights' commitment to defense is so ingrained in their system that even his best players are going to hear it if they're not living up to expectations.

Early in the game, Hamre called out star guard Tessa Johnson, who is headed to South Carolina for college and who was recently named Gatorade Player of the Year for Minnesota, for a defensive lapse.

"She wants to be held accountable," he said. "She wants to hear it if she's not playing well. That's the kind of player she is."

Johnson's offense was on point from the outset. She made four three-pointers in the first half, when she scored 23 of her game-high 25 points. She said last year's second-place finish has spurred the team forward all season.

"That was our motivation this season," Johnson said, referring to the Knights' warmups message. "Everyone knows how it feels. ... We learned a ton from it."

Junior Ja'Kahla Craft added 24 points and senior Piper Carlson 14 for St. Michael-Albertville (24-3). Jordan Langbehn led Elk River (22-7) with 16 points.