The Minnesota Army National Guard selects our Two Stars of the Game:
Kiara Burford
St. Paul Central
24 points, 4 rebounds
Emily Kaus
Eastview
14 points, 9 rebounds
The Story Line
St. Paul Central will return to the Class 4A Championship game to defend their title against the team they beat last year, Minneapolis South. The Minutemen dominated Eastview in the semifinals Thursday with a 75-59 win. Kiara Buford paced Central with 24 points while the defense shut down the Lightning's top gun, Brittnye McSparron, holding her to 14 points. This year St. Paul Central enters the title tilt as underdogs to South. The Tigers are seeded #1 and already beat the Minutemen in two previous games this season.
The Box Score
K. Buford 24 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst
T. Taylor 20 pts, 6 rebs, 1 blk
G. Jones 11 pts, 16 rebs, 3 blk
Team FG: 21-47, 44.7%
Team 3FG: 1-6, 16.7%
Team FT: 32-41, 78%
E. Kaus 14 pts, 9 rebs, 1 blk
B. McSparron 14 pts, 6 rebs, 3 stl
S. Mehr 8 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asst
Team FG: 25-62, 40.3%
Team 3FG: 1-8, 12.5%
Team FT: 8-20, 40%
The Quote
Willie Taylor, St. Paul Central coach on South being the favorites this year: "I kinda like battling from below. I like it, it's a little bit better. They're a very good basketball team. Tayler Hill, you saw her today, I mean she's just out of this world good."
The Interview
Click here for Willie Taylor, St. Paul Central postgame