St. Michael-Albertville is a fast-paced team that thrives in transition.
So Rosemount’s early turnover troubles were a doomsday scenario for the Irish. Six Irish giveaways in the first four minutes of the contest aided the Knights to an early advantage they wouldn’t surrender in their 68-57 victory in the Class 4A state quarterfinals Wednesday at Williams Arena.
The third-seeded Knights will meet second-seeded Minnetonka in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Thursday. The Skippers have beaten the Knights twice this year, so the defending Class 4A champions will seek revenge as a way to continue their title defense.
A quick start like Wednesday’s would help their cause.
“I feel like we have better offense when we can get the ball up the floor quicker,” Knights senior guard Ava Haus said. “Not that our half-court offense isn’t good, but when we can score for transition, it really brings us together and we feel like we play harder.”
Rosemount fought back after the slow start. A 9-0 run pulled the Irish to within two. They trailed by just five at the break. But every Rosemount run was answered by a St. Michael-Albertville response.
“Proud of these girls for showing that fight and continuing to battle,” Irish head coach Chris Orr said. “We made it twice, back to one possession, and to their credit both times they came down next possession and hit a three. That was kind of the dagger.”
Rosemount (22-7) never led but remained competitive throughout. But the Irish couldn’t overcome the transition disparity. St. Michael-Albertville (23-7) scored 25 points on turnovers to the Irish’s three.
“I felt they got out in transition really early,” Rosemount senior guard Ava Thompson said. “It was kind of like shift gears from we were on offense to right away to oh crap there’s a girl all the way underneath our basket. It’s not something we were really used to playing. We never played a team with that type of style.”
Jahnke had a game to remember. The sophomore guard led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds for the Knights, who had four players score in double digits. The 6-foot-1 guard also contributed solid defense; she was given the task of shutting down Rosemount’s Ayelishka-Bel Teko-Folly and held the senior to six points, though Teko-Folly did grab 12 rebounds.
“We did a matchup (where) we weren’t sure how to guard (Teko-Folly),” Knights head coach Kent Hamre said. “When you’ve got 6-foot-1 draped over you with a long wingspan she made it pretty miserable for that girl to get anything off.”
Amisha Ramlall paced Rosemount with 15 points.
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