Conversation with former prep star leads columnist to witness upset
The plan was to watch Park Center, who defeated Fridley 69-24, and DeLaSalle — who outscored St. Paul Como Park 80-44 in the Section 3AAA girls’ basketball semifinals and call it a Saturday afternoon.
So how did I end up at Waconia High School to watch Richfield upset the host 72-61 in the Section 6AAA quarterfinals?
Former Minneapolis North standout Krystal Taylor, who went on to play four years at Valparaiso University and is now an assistant coach at Richfield, extended me an invite to come and watch the No. 5 seed Spartans take on Waconia, the No. 1 seed.
“We are finally coming together,” Taylor said smiling. “Come check us out.”
Check them out I did, and Richfield, led by Head Coach Kesha Ross Bradford, didn’t disappoint.
Kyla Adams was unstoppable, leading the way with 29 points. Tenzin Tsega quietly contributed 10. Katrina Mogren ran the offense flawlessly while contributing nine points, and Kailey Adams added the same amount in a timely fashion. Breanna Wendlund scored eight and Delilah Taylor chipped in six. With the exception of Taylor, who plays center, all of Richfield’s scoring came from their guards.
The Spartan’s victory — which put them in the section championship game against Minneapolis Washburn this week — came despite a 38-point performance by Waconia senior guard Anna Schmidt.
I had been seriously ready to call it a day, but Taylor proved to be persuasive. “I hope you can make it,” she said. “You won’t be disappointed.”
She was right.
Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses to mmcdonald@spokesman-recorder.com.
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