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Benilde-St. Margaret's tops Marshall in Minnesota high school girls basketball Class 3A final: Live score recap

Get real-time game updates as the Red Knights face the Tigers in the 2025 MSHSL girls basketball Class 3A championship

Jack Butler

Benilde-St. Margaret's Tim Ellefson coaches the Red Knights during a timeout
Benilde-St. Margaret's Tim Ellefson coaches the Red Knights during a timeout / Jon Namyst

MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 1 Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights (26-6) defeated the No. 3 Marshall Tigers (29-2) 73-57 in the 2025 Minnesota (MSHSL) high school girls basketball Class 3A championship game at Williams Arena.

The win gives the Red Knights their third consecutive state title and fifth in program history. In the prior two, five-star recruit Olivia Olson led Benilde-St. Margaret’s to the title, but the Red Knights’ talent is deeper this season. Kendall McGee, Zahara Bishop, Sydney Friedly and Pressley Watkins all scored double-digit points on Saturday.

“It’s different every year,” Benilde-St. Margaret’s head coach Tim Ellefson said. “The makeup, the leadership, all gets shifted around. Their roles get changed, so it’s different. It's really enjoyable, though.” 

It’s much different for McGee, a senior, who suffered a significant knee injury in the state tournament at Williams Arena in the 2023 Class 3A semifinals. She missed her junior season, so this was her first time on the floor with the Red Knights for a title game. 

“It just means everything to me,” McGee said. “I’ve been waiting a very long time to get back here and for the opportunity to be on the court with them. These girls are like my family, my sisters, the people that I love. To be able to go out there with them, to go out and experience it with them, it meant everything.”

McGee started well. She attacked the Marshall defense, and she finished with 10 of her 17 points in the first half.  

“I saw opportunities,” McGee said. “I saw space on the floor. It was a good mismatch for me to go and score.”

Marshall stayed with the Red Knights in the first half. But two Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-point shots to start the second half and active defense sparked the Red Knights into a run. 

“Our pressure sped them up a little bit,” Ellefson said. “They took quick shots, which often leads to long rebounds and easy transition baskets. … If we can score off of transition, it makes us really tough. We’re good in the halfcourt, but we’re really good in transition.”

McGee and Watkins led the Red Knights in the first half, but they passed the baton to Bishop and Friedly in the second half. They finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively. 

“You’ve got to pick your poison with some of their kids with what you want to do,” Marshall head coach Dan Westby said. “There were a couple times in the second half where they cashed in some easy layups because of that. They’re just a good team.”

Benilde-St. Margaret's tops Marshall in Minnesota high school girls basketball Class 3A final: Live score recap

Teams are on the court for introductions.

FIRST HALF UPDATES

B-SM wins the opening tip and we're underway.

Five minutes into the game and B-SM has a 9-6 lead. Kendall McGee with four points and an aggressive start for the Red Knights.

B-SM leads Marshall 13-11 with 11:52 remaining in the first half. Reese Drake with five points for Marshall. The Tigers aren't shooting well to start, but they're forcing turnovers to keep it close.

A 6-0 run gives the Red Knights a 19-11 lead with 10:20 remaining. Mirabel Wismer and Kiera Willis connected with each other to to start the run.

McGee up to 10 points in the first half. The Red Knights lead by seven with 6:53 remaining.

HALFTIME: Benilde-St. Margaret's 35, Marshall 29

Benilde-St. Margaret's has attacked the basket and have been rewarded for it. The Tigers have had a difficult time staying in front of McGee.

Marshall isn't shooting well, but the Tigers have kept the Red Knights within striking distance.

Pressley Watkins and McGee with 10 points for the Red Knights. Taleigha Bigler has 10 points for Marshall.

SECOND HALF UPDATES

The second half is underway.

The Red Knights are on an 11-0 run to lead 52-36 with twelve minutes remaining. Sydney Friedly with five of the 11 points on the run.

The Red Knights push their lead to 65-47 with 7:04 remaining. Friedly continues to be the star for B-SM's offense in the second half. She has ten points in the second half so far.

Two minutes remain and B-SM has a 73-55 lead. Zahara Bishop has led the Red Knights down the stretch with 10 straight points.

FINAL: Benilde-St. Margaret's 73, Marshall 57

Benilde-St. Margaret's pulled away in the second half with 10 points from Bishop and Friedly. They finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

McGee finished as the Red Knights' leading scorer with 17 points. Bigler led Marshall with 19 points.

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Jack Butler
JACK BUTLER

Jack Butler is the Regional Editor of the Midwest for SBLive/High School on SI. Jack has covered high school sports in Oregon, Arizona and Minnesota.

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