Girls Basketball 2025: Benilde-St. Margaret's wins familiar state tournament meeting with Stewartville
Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 - 11:40 AM
Beating Stewartville has been a necessary step on the path to state championships for the last two Benilde-St. Margaret's Girls Basketball teams. The Red Knights hope to make it three by the end of the week.
No. 1 seed Benilde-St. Margaret's raced past No. 8 Stewartville, 84-58, in a Class AAA quarterfinal game to begin the Minnesota State High School League's 2025 Girls Basketball State tournament Wednesday morning at Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus. The Red Knights ended the first half on a 19-4 run in the last five minutes to take a commanding 49-29 lead.
Zahara Bishop (22) and Pressley Watkins (21) led four Red Knights in double-figures scoring. The team made 10 of its 25 3-point attempts, including Watkins' 4-for-6 mark.
Stewartville had settled in after falling behind 8-0 and using a timeout just 93 seconds into the game. Audrey Shindelar scored a game-high 24 points for the Tigers (21-9).
The Tigers and Red Knights have met in each round of the State Tournament over the last three seasons, including a 66-60 Benilde-St. Margaret's win in the 2023 title game and a 73-42 verdict in favor of the Red Knights in last year's semifinals.
Their previous meeting this season on Jan. 18 resulted in a similar margin, 99-74 in favor of the Red Knights (23-6), who have lost just once since.
Up next: Benilde-St. Margaret's will face the Alexandria Area-DeLaSalle winner in a semifinal game Thursday at noon at Williams Arena. Stewartville will play in a consolation game at Concordia University's Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.
