John's Journal: With New-Look Lineup, Red Knights Chase Threepeat

Benilde-St. Margaret’s has won the last two Class 3A girls basketball state championships and the Red Knights will play for a third consecutive title on Saturday night at Williams Arena, facing Marshall.

One of the main reasons for the Red Knights’ success the last two years was someone who is no longer on the squad. Olivia Olson, a 6-foot-2 2024 graduate, was a McDonald’s All-American who averaged more than 25 points a game as a high school senior and had 30 points and 15 rebounds in the 2024 state championship game against DeLaSalle.

Now a freshman at Michigan, Olson leads the Wolverines in scoring with an average of 16.2 points per game and was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year.

Before Benilde-St. Margaret’s faced Alexandria in Thursday’s state semifinals (a 60-52 Red Knights win), the team talked with Olson via video.

Asked about how the Red Knights handled her departure, coach Tim Ellefson said, “Honestly, we didn't talk about it. I wanted these kids to be themselves, and then I was going to have to adapt to what I saw. I knew rebounding was going to be a huge thing. Our girls were used to just sprinting out, knowing ‘Olivia is going to get the rebound and I'm going to get my layup.’ And those are our habits. And that did not work for us. We lost a couple games this year because of rebounding, and so we went back to middle school basketball, where we're boxing out in drills and we're practicing the fundamentals. We had to do it enough to where it became a habit, and now they don't even think about it anymore. They just do it. And that's probably the biggest thing.

“Obviously, we can score the basketball. I think we were the highest-scoring team in 3A this year. So we don't really miss Olivia's points, but we did miss her rebounding early on, and then just some leadership. And these girls have taken turns. We haven't really had one person that's like our leader. They all keep each other accountable, which I really love. So we kind of did a collective group, saying, ‘Let's get this done. How can we do it?’ It all bring different attributes and it's been fun.”

The Red Knights will take a record of 25-6 into the championship game. The opened the season with losses to Minnetonka, Iowa’s Dowling Catholic and Hopkins, and also lost to DeLaSalle and Orono (twice); they defeated Orono in the Section 6 title game. 

From One Sport To Another

West Central Area senior Mya Foslien is playing what will be her final season of basketball. Also a high-level volleyball player, the 5-foot-10 Foslien has signed to play volleyball at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota, which is transitioning from the NAIA level to NCAA Division II.

At last fall’s state volleyball tournament, West Central placed third in Class A and Mya was named to the All-Tournament team. She had 19 kills in a quarterfinal victory over Kittson County Central, 21 in a semifinal loss to Mayer Lutheran and 17 in a third-place win over Fillmore Central; all were team highs.

Her toughness can’t be questioned after she played most of the volleyball season with a broken hand … her ball-striking hand. She missed a few matches while wearing a cast and finished the season with her hand taped during matches.

The Knights defeated Cromwell-Wright 61-54 in Thursday’s Class A basketball quarterfinals and will meet defending champion Goodhue in Friday’s semifinals.

Ready For Competition

If there is a team in the state tournament that was well-prepared, it was Alexandria. The Cardinals arrived at state with a record of 24-4, losing only to other state qualifiers: Maple Grove (top-seeded in 4A), Benilde-St. Margaret's (top-seeded) and Marshall in 3A, and Providence Academy (top-seeded in 2A).

“We knew we needed to build this for these kids,” said Alexandria coach Wendy Kohler. “I tell them all the time that the schedule was built for them, and to lose to four teams that are down here right now -- and they were all ranked number one at one point in the season -- I think that gives them confidence because they're not afraid to take anybody on and they've competed against the best. I think you need to do that. Iron sharpens iron.

“And you learn from losing. They needed to do more than beating somebody by a huge margin. We have the utmost respect for all the teams down here, it’s just a fantastic field.”

Kohler brought all five seniors on the roster to the postgame press conference after the Cardinals lost in the semifinals. They have played together since kindergarten, she said with pride.

Kohler has led the Cardinals to state for the 14th time in her 39 years at the helm. She ranks second on the Minnesota career wins list with 727; No. 1 is New London-Spicer's Mike Dreier (1,095).

--MSHSL staff member John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Bluesky at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]