Former Minnesota prep star Kelly Rae Finley leads Florida women's basketball turnaround

Thank you for checking out Basketball Across Minnesota, my weekly look at some of the state's top hoops stories, from preps to pros. — Marcus Fuller

When Kelly Rae Finley saw attention building on her impressive turnaround with the Florida women's basketball program this season, she made it a habit to remind people of her Midwest roots.

"It's always good to remember where you started," Finley said. "I'm just a girl from Minnesota."

The 36-year-old Minneapolis native and former Breck standout took over a Gators team immersed in scandal last summer under former coach Cameron Newbauer and coming off a 12-14 season. Under Finley's leadership as interim coach, they are 21-10 and in firm contention for an NCAA tournament bid.

That has folks around the country, and not just the Twin Cities, recognizing a rising star in the coaching ranks.

She's among 15 candidates for National Coach of the Year honors, a list including league peers South Carolina's Dawn Staley and LSU's Kim Mulkey.

Both Staley and Mulkey publicly endorsed Florida lifting the interim tag on Finley.

Finley celebrated the life-changing news Monday afternoon with her staff and players. Bear hugs in the middle of the Gators' locker room were followed by cheers and selfies.

A humble Finley reflected earlier in the day on her time as a young basketball player in Minnesota. She won a state title at Breck School playing for her father, Ray Finley, who won three state titles, the others at Providence Academy and Blake.

"To grow up in the basketball community in Minnesota was really, really special," Finley said. "There's a lot of talented student-athletes who have come from there, and a lot of coaches now. So that's really fun."

Winning is fun. That hadn't been happening much with the Gators with five straight losing seasons previously. The future now seems bright under Finley's leadership. Florida was nationally ranked for the first time since 2016. A team picked to finish 11th in the SEC entered the conference tournament Thursday with a No. 5 seed and beat Vanderbilt 53-52 in a second-round game to end a three-game losing streak.

"What a cool year," Finley said. "We've had ups and downs just like any team. But I'm really proud of where we're at. It was a tough [last week]. We didn't get the results we wanted, but I know that we've grown. It's better to have those games before the tournament."

Finley, who moved from assistant to interim coach in July, proved with separate five-game win streaks in January and February that she was the best long-term fit as Florida's head coach.

But it started off with her having to just barely keep a program in turmoil afloat. Players alleged a toxic culture and abusive behavior under Newbauer, who resigned last summer.

Florida's losing streak to end the regular season was minimal compared to the adversity the team faced after Newbauer's departure and the loss of All-SEC second team forward Lavender Briggs, who transferred after suffering a season-ending injury in January.

A high point for the Gators earlier this season was an 84-59 win against No. 7 Tennessee, which sparked five straight victories in February and a ranking as high as 15th in the Associated Press poll. Florida also defeated five ranked opponents, the most in 16 years.

After playing at Northwestern and Colorado State in the early 2000s, Finley had assistant coaching stints at Harvard, Colorado and Arizona before joining the Gators in 2017. She experienced winning cultures previously, but her players reached a high level of success for the first time. And she looks forward to them responding better as contending becomes more of the expectation for Florida basketball.

"As a whole on the season, I just couldn't be more proud of our team," Finley said. "Of their efforts and commitment to each other and their commitment to getting better."

The start of postseason play this week means Selection Sunday is around the corner on March 13. With the Gators vying for their first NCAA tournament berth in six years, eyes back here will be on Finley, who is proud to represent Minnesota and also excited her hometown can show off its love and support for women's basketball with the Final Four this year.

"The fan support is outstanding," Finley said. "And I would anticipate nothing less at the Final Four this season. It will be fun for everyone to see."

Five Minnesotans who stood out this week:

Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin

The former Lakeville North star and junior forward led the Badgers with 19 points, five steals, and two blocks in Tuesday's win over No. 8 Purdue to clinch a share of the Big Ten title.

Sara Scalia, Gophers

The Stillwater product tied her teammate Kadi Sissoko with 32 points in Sunday's win for the Gophers against Penn State. Scalia's 105 threes in one season are the second most in program history.

Prince Aligbe, Minnehaha Academy

A Boston College recruit, Aligbe had 36 points in a win vs. Holy Family and the state's top 2023 big man Boden Kapke on Tuesday and 28 points vs. Minneapolis South on Thursday.

Brooke Olson, Minnesota Duluth

The senior forward averaged 19.7 points in three NSIC women's tournament games, highlighted by 21 points to lead the Bulldogs to their second-straight conference tourney title Tuesday against St. Cloud State.

Isaac Asuma, Cherry

The sophomore guard became Cherry's all-time leading scorer with a triple-double of 36 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. He now has over 1,800 career points.

28.8 — Stillwater junior Max Shikenjanski edged out Minnehaha Academy senior Prince Aligbe, who were tied for the unofficial state points per game lead as of Wednesday.

46 — Northern Michigan guard Max Bjorklund's scoring total after going 9-for-10 on threes and 14-for-15 on field goals for 40 points in the second half of a 93-87 win over Ferris State. He played at Orono High School.

2 — Number of seconds left when Dakota County Technical College's Janeir Harris scored the game-winning bank three to win the Region 13 championship. Also earned "SportsCenter" top 10 play honors.

700 — Number of career coaching victories for Anoka-Ramsey men's basketball coach Ron Larson after a playoff win last week.

2,010 — Number of career points for Cretin-Derham Hall senior Tre Holloman, who passed ex-Gopher Daniel Oturu on the program's all-time scoring list Wednesday.

3,000 — Madelia's JaSean Glover became the 13th boys player to reach that career points mark Friday after scoring 31 points, along with 20 rebounds and 10 steals.

This is the final installment of Basketball Across Minnesota this season. Enjoy the tournaments. Thanks for reading, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on Twitter)