Mar. 9—ROCHESTER — Is there a sense of satisfaction as the Mayo girls basketball team advances to the state tournament for the first time in 11 years?
Judging from Saturday’s practice, definitely not. These Spartans wanted more.
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It was all business as usual for Mayo on Saturday.
“The girls are excited right now,” Mayo coach Andy Bromelin said. “But there’s also a sense of unfinished business. Our girls don’t want to be satisfied with just getting there. They want to win.”
Judging from the No. 3 seed the Spartans were drawn, they are definitely in contention for the championship.
They also know they could be out quickly if they don’t perform well in Wednesday’s Class 4A state championship game against No. 6 seed Monticello at Williams Arena at 4 p.m.
The Magic are not to be underestimated. They are ranked eighth in the state (Mayo is fifth) and have one of the best defenders in Samantha Voll. The 5-foot-9 senior averages 26 points per game and will play her college basketball at Division I University of St. Thomas.
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The Magic have two other players committed to play Division II college basketball at Concordia University and St. Paul’s University — Abby (1,000-point scorer) and Addison Rueda, a 6-1 twin.
It’s not easy to get out of the first round.
Still, as much as Mayo respected Monticello, it knew it had what it took to beat it.
There’s something comfortable about fighting fire with fire, and Mayo can do that with a pair of future Division I players of their own.
In just their sophomore years, Amelia Mills and Maggie Dyer are already rated as two of the top talents in the state, with both earning a slew of Division I offers. Mills is a speedy 5-foot-7 point guard who averaged 21.5 points, 3.3 steals and 3.1 assists per game and shot 40% from three-point range.
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Dell is 5 feet 11 inches tall, strong and athletic, averaging 18.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 35% from three-point range.
Together, they brought comfort to this team with their talents.
“It’s a comfort level to have two Division I players on the floor that you can count on in any situation,” Bromeling said. “But I feel like we’re balanced as well. All of our players promote each other.”
As good as Mills and Dier were, what made Mayo’s team special was its collective speed, agility and tenacity. The Spartans use non-stop, full-court man-on-man pressure on defense. This proved crucial to their offense as teams committed an average of 21 turnovers against them, with Mayo turning many of those turnovers into easy layups.
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Mayo went far beyond Mills and Dyer in achieving this goal. Among the defensive leaders are junior Madalynn McLaughlin (who will guard Wall at Monticello), junior Siri Kirkeby and sophomore backup Lyric Urban.
As good as all of these players are, Mayo may not have a more valuable player than senior shooting guard Mia Banks. The only senior on the team, Banks is not only a strong player (averaging 13 points and 5 rebounds per game) who will play at Division II Bemidji State next season, but he is an ultimate leader.
“She was the leader of the group,” Bromeling said. “Even when things weren’t going well, she was always a constructive encourager.”
For the most part, things went very smoothly for the Spartans. Aside from a loss to Eastview on Nov. 28, Mayo hasn’t dropped a game this season, including two wins over annual rival Lakeville North, most recently a narrow defeat (50-48) in the District 1 Class 4A final.
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Mayo brings a 28-1 record and is hungry for more.
On Wednesday, if Mayo wins, it will advance to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of No. 2 Rosemont and No. 7 Chanhassen. Game time is Thursday at 8 p.m. at Williams Stadium.
