For the third consecutive year, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls basketball team took home the MSHSL State Championship trophy. The girls proudly represented BSM on the court throughout the entirety of the state tournament, and their performance was a result of the hard work and dedication they put into the team this season. From the very beginning of the season, the team knew their goal: a state championship title.

Although this year’s season ended with a state championship trophy in the team’s possession, it was not without challenges. Coming off of two consecutive state championships, this season’s team had a tough act to follow and was tasked with living up to the success of past years, especially as they adapted to the loss of graduating seniors, notably, five-star recruit Olivia Olson. However, despite graduating Olson and other influential players, every player on the roster stepped up and put in extra effort to make up for the loss of the 2024 seniors. Senior and Creighton University commit Kendall McGee especially helped the team gain confidence despite losing players. Coming back from a devastating knee injury from the state tournament her sophomore year, McGee made her reappearance on the court this season and quickly reclaimed her position as an influential player on the team. However, McGee wasn’t the only player who stepped up and each player knew if they pushed themselves, their potential as a team was endless. “We knew that we were capable of going far again and that we could still be the best team even without Liv [Olivia Olson]. Having Kendall back, honestly, gave us a lot of confidence, and we were excited to have her back on the team. So, we knew we had to work a lot harder and push ourselves more than we maybe had to in the past,” senior Isabella Yacoub said.

This team had to adapt to changes and challenges throughout the year, but their hard work and attitude allowed the team to adapt successfully. Losing to Orono twice in the regular season was definitely a hit to their confidence; however, the girls put in the extra work at practice. And, as a result, the team was able to defeat Orono in the section final game, earning themselves a spot in the MSHSL state tournament lineup. “One of our biggest challenges this year was being able to beat Orono in the section final after losing to them twice in the regular season. It was definitely tough physically and mentally just knowing that we had already lost twice. They are a great team, but when we have a common goal to make it to the championship, we always find a way to push through. I would like to shout out Tim, our coach, for all of the scouting he did the whole season, which was very helpful in figuring out how to beat Orono when it really mattered,” senior Ashley Skram said.

Despite some downs throughout the season, the team had a lot of ups in their journey to the state championship. Keeping their eyes on the trophy as their ultimate goal, the girls capitalized on their strengths on the court, particularly their offensive strength. In addition to their impactful offense, the team’s close connection and their family-like unit was influential in bringing success on the court. “I’d say one of our biggest strengths was that our offense was really good, so that was able to help us score a lot. But then, apart from skill set, I would say our bond as a team [was a big strength] because a lot of us had been on the team now for four years because of having a lot of seniors, so we were very connected as a team. We were able to help each other and align with each other if we needed it,” Yacoub said.

Despite losing influential seniors, the BSM girls basketball team gave it their all to meet their ultimate goal this season. Pushing through every obstacle with a common goal in mind and capitalizing on every strength as a team, the girls made their beginning of the season goal a reality, earning themselves the title as third-consecutive state champions and making the BSM community proud for the third year in a row.