Rebels run past Dragons, will meet Patriots in Section 3A South final

Third-seeded Murray County Central overcame a slow start Tuesday night to advance to the Section 3A south girls basketball final, beating No. 2 seed Adrian-Ellsworth 59-43 in the Worthington High School gym.

In the first half, it was A-E starting strong and MCC finishing that way.

The Dragons scored the first eight points of the game and went up by 11, 15-4, following a 3-pointer from Shandra Cuperus. But, after an Aurora Lewis bucket made it a 17-6 game, the Dragons became snakebit with both shots and turnovers, and the Rebels finished off the half with a 14-0 run. Kat Miller's 3-pointer with less than a minute before the break gave MCC its first edge, and Joelle Hellewell beat the buzzer with a jumper for a 20-17 score.

The Rebels maintained their momentum to start the second half, and the Dragons never got the lead back the entire rest of the way. A layup from Calleigh Doeden put MCC ahead 47-30 — the largest MCC advantage to that point — with 5:46 remaining, forcing an A-E timeout. The Rebels later led by 18 and the Dragons never got closer than 14 of the lead.

Ava Deacon paced MCC, now 15-10, offensively with 17 points, and Kate Blankenship contributed 13 and Joelle Hellewell nine. A-E got 18 points from Shandra Cuperus — including her team's last 11 of the game — and Kamry Lehnhoff had 11. The Dragons finished the year 18-10. 

In Tuesday's other Section 3A South game, top-seeded Hills-Beaver Creek dominated fifth-seeded Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the second half and wound up cruising to a 62-38 triumph.

The Patriots, who improved to 25-3 on the season, put up 37 points in the final 18 minutes compared to 15 for the Chargers. W-WG finishes its season at 16-12.

Friday's Section 3A South title game between H-BC and MCC will begin at 7 p.m. in the Worthington High School gym.

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Top-seeded and fourth-ranked Marshall advanced to the Section 2AAA semifinals Tuesday night by rolling past eighth-seeded Worthington 83-23.

The Trojans' season came to end with a 2-25 record. Marshall is 23-4.

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In Section 3AA South girls basketball Tuesday night at Jackson County Central, Fairmont defeated Luverne in the opening semifinal matchup, 52-42.

The No. 1-seeded Cardinals are now 27-2 on the year, while fifth-seeded Luverne — also the Cardinals — finish at 15-13. Luverne tied the score on multiple occasions, but Brylee Miller's 25 points helped Fairmont stave off the upset.

In the second contest, it was No. 3 St. James Area earning a triumph against No. 2 Pipestone Area 72-56. The Saints are 23-5; the Arrows' season is over at 23-4.

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In boys basketball Monday night, Worthington won its third consecutive game by beating Tri-City United 80-32.

It was the final home game of the year for the Trojans, who improved to 6-19 overall this winter while downing the Titans for the second time in two outings. WHS, which led 47-17 at the half, beat Tri-City-United 78-40 back on Dec. 5. Monday's game had been postponed from its original scheduled date of Jan. 16.

The Trojans will play their regular-season finale on Thursday at Blue Earth Area.