Girls state basketball tourney finals set for Saturday

Four champions will be crowned Saturday in the Minnesota State High School League's girls basketball tournament.

Friday the A and AA teams duked it out in the semifinals to secure the coveted spots in the championship game.

In the 1A semifinals, the Maranatha Christian Academy topped Minneota High School 76-69.

Lexi Lee led the girls with 28 points. Her teammates Alaina Jarnot had 17 points, and Ashley Lewis had 14, according to the MSHSL.

Top-seeded Maranatha will play Ada-Borup in the Class A Championship at noon Saturday.

No. 2 seed Ada-Borup came back to win 54-52 over Lyle/Austin Pacelli.

Miki Lee sealed the deal, with a jumper with seven seconds left in the game, MSHSL reports.

The game kept fans on the edge of their seats as the leader changed five times during the game.

The Class AA championship game will feature Sauk Centre and Dover-Eyota.

Top-seeded Sauk Centre beat Minnehaha Academy in the semifinals 54-49 win. Sauk Centre went 88-percent from the free-throw line, but only hit 31 percent from the field, MSHSL reports.

No. 2-seed Dover-Eyota crushed Roseau High School 94-61 in its first-ever tournament appearance. The Eagles went into halftime with a 46-35 lead. They soared in the second half, with Brandi Blattner leading the way.

According to the MSHSL, Blattner was two assists shy of a triple-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Megan Hintz had 21 points and two rebounds.

Dover-Eyota and Sauk Centre go head-to-head at noon Saturday.

For Class AAA, Marshall plays Park Center at 6 p.m. The Class AAAA game against Hopkins and Eastview starts at 8 p.m.