The long wait is over.
Eagan girls basketball team wins its first trip to the state tournament
A victory over Rosemount in the section championship game secured the spot.
By Star Tribune staff
March 10, 2023 at 5:09AM
Eagan's girls basketball team is headed to the state tournament for the first time in program history, after beating Rosemount 63-52 to win the Class 4A, Section 3 championship Thursday at Rosemount High School.
Junior guard Drew Buslee scored 20 points to lead three Wildcats (19-10) in double figures. Senior forwards Madi McCullum and Jocelyn McClary each scored 14 points.
Freshman guard Riley Ang had a game-high 24 points for the Irish (21-8), who trailed 25-19 at halftime. Rosemount won both regular-season meeting by double figures.
Neither team was rated in Minnesota Basketball News' final regular-season rankings.
In other section finals:
Class 4A, Section 4
Stillwater 60, East Ridge 55: Junior guard Amy Thompson scored 22 points, her second-highest output since the end of January, leading the No. 10 Ponies (24-5) past the No. 9 Raptors (23-5). Thompson averages 15.9 points per game.
Senior forward Emily Christenson led the Raptors with 19 points. East Ridge won both regular-season meetings.
Class 3A, Section 3
DeLaSalle 67, Visitation 55: Aneisha Scott scored 26 points, her second-best total of the season, and the No. 6 Islanders (23-6) scored 41 second-half points to beat the Blazers (18-8). Scott had 18 points in the second half.
Sophomore guard Samantha Wills had a game-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Visitation.
Class 3A, Section 4
Hill-Murray 53, Totino-Grace 44: Sophomore guard Elise Groppoli scored 25 points, leading the Pioneers (17-11) past the Eagles (8-21). Hill-Murray trailed by one point at halftime before limiting Totino-Grace to 14 points in the second half.
Class 3A, Section 6
Benilde-St. Margaret's 71, Holy Angels 47: Junior guard Olivia Olson took matters into her own hands, scoring 32 points as the No. 2 Red Knights (23-6) had no trouble with the No. 7 Stars (22-6).
The defending section champion Red Knights scored the first 10 points and built a 20-point lead, 36-16, at halftime and were never threatened by Holy Angels. Olson, committed to Michigan, scored the Red Knights' first 12 points and had 22 at the intermission.
Class 3A, Section 8
Alexandria 69, Sauk Rapids-Rice 44: Sophomore forward Hadley Thul had 20 points, pacing four Alexandria players in double figures, as the No. 8 Cardinals (24-4) pulled away from the Storm (18-11) in the second half.
Alexandria held a slim 36-34 lead at halftime before outscoring Sauk Rapids-Rice 33-10 in the second half.
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Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
