The Minneapolis South and DeLaSalle girls’ basketball teams unfortunately found themselves in a familiar position after their respective state title games on Saturday, March 15.

Both teams were in the title game last year for their respective classes – South in 4A and DeLaSalle in 3A — and both came away once again with losses, and a second-place prize.

For South, the game was a rematch with 2007 state champs St. Paul Central — a team that went undefeated that year, and that many called the greatest in girls’ state basketball history. This time around, it was the Tigers that owned the top seed in the tournament, however.

The 4A championship game started as a game of streaks, with St. Paul Central opening a 14–4 lead early own, only to have South respond with its own run to build double-figure lead late in the first half.

The game evened in the second half to a back-and-forth battle, with Central coming out on top, 49–44 at the final buzzer.

Junior Taylor Hill, earlier named state player of the year, was held to only nine points after 25- and 24-point performances in the quarterfinal and semifinal games, respectively.

DeLaSalle’s 3A title bid was not nearly as close, with the Islanders falling behind Totino-Grace early on their way to a 53–40 defeat.

The boys’ state high school basketball tournament takes place March 26–29; teams and brackets had not been announced as of March 16.

last revised: March 16, 2008

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