For the sixth consecutive girls’ basketball season, the St. Paul Como Park Cougars are Twin Cities champions after defeating Minneapolis South 68-61 last Saturday afternoon.
The sophomore trio of Ronnie Porter, Kaylynn Asberry and Cloey Dmytruk led the Cougars—ranked number seven in Class 3A—to victory in front of an energized and enthusiastic crowd on their home court.
Porter led the way with 21 points, Asberry contributed 12, and Dmytruk had 14 points and six blocks.
South junior Jade Hill and her sister, eighth grade guard Angel Hill, led the Tigers with 28 and 19 points respectively, while junior Camryn Benjamin added 10.
Former University of Minnesota women’s basketball player Lea B. Olsen, now a sports broadcaster for the WNBA, NBA, and girls’ state basketball tournament, checked out the game with special interest. “It’s always nice to watch good basketball,” she said. “But I’m also a South alum.”
Olsen played for the Tigers before graduating in 1985. She got a degree in communications and journalism from the University of Minnesota in 1990 and has since become one of the nation’s top broadcasters.
There were two other South graduates in the house last Saturday. South Coach Ricky Hill starred in football and basketball for the Tigers, and Jade and Angel’s father Paul Hill did likewise for the basketball team.
Like, Olsen, both graduated in 1985.
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald is a contributing columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.