Maranatha Edges Nicollet For Girls' 1A State Title

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Madison Lee scored 14 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half, to lead Maranatha Christian Academy to a 59-52 win over Nicollet in the girls' basketball 1A state final Saturday at the Target Center.

Lee opened the second half by connecting from 3-point range, then added another from beyond the arc to spark a 10-2 run that put the Mustangs in command.

Nicollet staged a late surge to close within 52-50 on a basket by Kayla Winner with 45.6 seconds left. But Mikayla Payne made five of six free throws and Hannah Torgerson added two more to seal the Mustangs' first-ever girls' state title.

Payne finished the game with 13 points.

The Mustangs finished the season with nine losses, the most by a 1A championship team since Christ's Household of Faith won the 1998 tournament with a record of 19-10.

Wenner scored 17 points and Kasslin Swenson added 15 for the Raiders, who were playing in their first girls' basketball state tournament since 1980.

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