Ada-Borup, Minneota to meet for Class 1A championship

Ada-Borup made sure the third time wasn't the charm for Win-E-Mac. The Cougars completed a three-game season sweep of its Pine to Prairie Conference foe with a 62-55 victory in the Class 1A girls' basketball state semifinals at Target Center.

Win-E-Mac (27-3) believed this would finally be the game it would find a way to win. And the Patriots stayed close; there were six lead changes and six ties.

Junior guard Monica Vega led the Cougars (28-3) with 18 points, nine from the free-throw line.

"I think we kind of underestimated them, and they didn't back down," Vega said. "They came out stronger than we expected even though we had beat them twice."

Ada-Borup had three others scorers in double figures. Shaina Stevenson had 15 points, Heidi Eggen 14 and Megan Kolness 12. Stevenson scored 12 in the second half, including two timely three-pointers and four free throws in the final minute.

Coach David Smart said Stevenson has been consistent in high-pressure situations and was happy to see her get a chance to secure the victory from the free-throw line.

Win-E-Mac's Korbyn Ross had 18 points and Shelby Kaster 17 points and 10 rebounds. But the Patriots couldn't quite figure out how to stop Vega's speed and Kolness on the boards, despite improving each time they ran into the Cougars. The margin of victory for Ada-Borup was 21 in first meeting, 11 in the second.

"It's unfortunate for [Win-E-Mac] that their only three losses [all year] were to us," Smart said. "They are a really good team."

Minneota 47, Bethlehem Academy 44: Taylor Reiss scored 22 points, two on free throws in the final seconds, to secure the Vikings' spot in its first girls' basketball championship game.

Minneota (29-2) held off the Cardinals' late surge for a three-point victory in the other 1A semifinal.

"Those last free throws were the most crucial," Reiss said. "I had to make those to make sure we got through. We're the first team [from Minneota] to make it all the way to the finals."

The pair of free throws ended Bethlehem Academy's valiant attempt at a comeback in the final 70 seconds.

The Cardinals of Faribault trailed 44-37 and had the ball after Minneota drained more than a minute off the clock with 28 passes in one possession. A combination of four points from the Cardinals' Taryn Ashley and the Vikings' poor free-throw shooting and turnovers left Bethlehem Academy with a chance to tie with six seconds left.

Ashley missed what would have been a tying free throw, and Reiss closed it out on the other end.

Emily Stienessen added 14 points for Minneota. Molly Hennen had 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Jessie Mathews led Bethlehem Academy with 16 points.

"We're not a young team anymore," said Minneota guard Shelby Corbin, who ran the Vikings' offense one day after taking an elbow to the head. She was cleared to play 45 minutes before game time.

Coach Chad Johnston said Corbin's presence was important to limit Mathews, Bethlehem Academy's standout guard. The Cardinals' all-time leading scorer had just two points in the final five minutes.

The Cardinals (25-5) had their own injury worry. Taylor Schwab, playing with a bad ankle, had eight points, six rebounds.

Minneota held a 30-16 advantage in points in the paint. And, after shooting 32 percent in the first half, the Vikings shot 50 percent in the second.