West Central Area defeats MACCRAY 58-41 to claim Class 1A girls basketball championship

Reaching the state final and winning the school’s first team state championship was not something the West Central Area girls basketball players had on their bingo cards for 2025.

Did they think it was a possibility?

“Not once,” senior guard Mya Foslien said.

But on Saturday at Williams Arena, West Central Area, the No. 4 seed in the bracket, defeated seventh seed MACCRAY 58-41 for the Class 1A state championship.

Both teams were first-time finalists.

The Knights (27-6) had three players finish in double digits, led by senior Jayden Styba’s double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds along with four assists, three steals and two blocks. Senior Macy Grosz had 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists while senior forward Addison Staples, who had picked up four fouls by early in the second half, finished with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting.

The Knights led 25-18 at the half. With Staples, one of their top scorers, sitting in foul trouble, other players stepped up. Becca Holland, a 27-year-old head coach in her third season, credited players like Styba.

Styba was humble about her role.

“Well, when someone gets in foul trouble, I don’t feel like I need to prove myself with points,” Styba said. “But if the shot is there, I’ll take it. I’m not going to force anything.”

MACCRAY trailed by 16 points with less than five minutes remaining before back-to-back three-pointers from senior Ella Hultgren and junior Brielle Janssen briefly stole the momentum.

With MACCRAY trailing 50-40, Brielle Janssen, the team’s leading scorer, fouled out with 3:21 left. She finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and made nine of 10 free throws. Junior Emma Thein added 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.

The Wolverines (25-6), trying for a third consecutive upset in the tournament, had won their previous 12 games entering Saturday’s final.

“It’s not what we wanted, the way we wanted it to end,” Janssen said. “Nobody thought that we would do that, so just getting that far is something for us to all be proud of, no matter how it feels right now.”

Saturday marked the first team championship for West Central in any sport. Staples said she wasn’t aware of it, and Holland added that they didn’t talk about it.

“I think there was enough pressure on today,” Holland said. “I think now is the time we finally get to soak everything in, because sometimes you put the cart before the horse.”

So, how were the new state champs going to soak in the moment and celebrate their victory?

“We got reservations at Pizza Ranch,” Foslien said.