Visitation girls’ basketball coach Faith Johnson Patterson recently notched career victory No. 500 a couple of weeks ago.
Johnson Patterson, a Hall of Famer who starred as a player at Marshall University High School and the University of Wisconsin, started her head coaching career at Minneapolis North, DeLaSalle, Eden Prairie, and Minneapolis Edison before coming to Visitation.
She coached eight Class 3A state championship teams at North (1998, ’99, ’03, ’04, and ’05) and DeLaSalle (2011, ’12, and ’13).
With that being said, MSR columnist Charles Hallman and I decided to attend Visitation’s Tri Metro contest against DeLaSalle on Thursday, February 10.
DeLaSalle featured forward Savannah White, one of the state’s best players who will play at the University of Wisconsin next year.
Visitation hung in there with DeLaSalle in the first half, trailing 31-28 to the No. 6 ranked team in Class 3A.
DeLaSalle, coached by James Fassett and led by Sydney Runsewe’s 27 points, cruised to an 86-54 victory in the second half.
White finished with 12 and I’Tanna Salam, Erianna Moescheter, and Jordan Johnson each chipped in 10 for the victorious Islanders.
Samantha Wills and Olivia Johanns each scored 18 points to lead the Blazers.
They are a great group,” Johnson Patterson said about her team before the game while adding, “I’m having fun.”
Support Black local news
Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.