Rebels girls hoops ends season against Crimson

Champlin Park girls basketball took part in the Section 5AAAA tournament as the fourth seed last week, beating Spring Lake Park in the quarterfinals before falling to Maple Grove in the semifinals on Mar. 1.

Spring Lake Park

Champlin Park started last week with a 68-61 win over Spring Lake Park in the quarterfinals of the Section 5AAAA tournament on Feb. 28.

Fifth seed Spring Lake Park finished 10th in the Northwest Suburban Conference with a 6-12 record, 11-15 overall. In their previous matchup, Champlin Park beat the Panthers 59-56 at Spring Lake Park High School.

The Rebels were led in scoring by Savannah Belongia, who scored 16 points. Nyomi Crushshon added 15, while Allana Bates scored 12. The result qualified Champlin Park for the section semifinals two days later.

Maple Grove

The Rebels concluded their season at Maple Grove on March 1, falling 79-52 to first-seed Maple Grove in the Section 5AAAA semifinals.

The Crimson entered the Section 5AAAA as the first seed with a first-round bye, having finished second in the Northwest Suburban Conference with a 16-0 record, 22-4 overall. Maple Grove opened the season with a seven-game winning streak and won eight of its last 10 regular season games.

Maple Grove stamped their intent for the night in the first half, outscoring the Rebels 47-20. Champlin Park did not slow down in the second half, matching Maple Grove’s score in the latter half of the game at 32-32.

Sophomore center Reese Hagenbart and senior point guard Mariah Pates both led Champion Park on points with 10 each. Belongia added eight and Crushshon earned seven points.

Champlin Park girls basketball will graduate five seniors this summer, including Natalia Tolentino, Jade Stanford, Mariah Pates, Allana Bates, and Nyomi Crushshon. The Rebels rostered seven juniors this season, three sophomores, and three freshmen.

Belongia finished the regular season as top scorer with 317 points. Chrushshon added 268, while Pates scored 150 and Bates scored 137. Tolentino scored 120 to make all five top scorers this season from Champlin Park’s senior class.

The Rebels conclude their 2023/24 season with a 9-10 conference record, 11-17 overall.

Rebel boys

Champlin Park boys basketball concluded their regular season last week with a 63-56 home loss to St. Michael-Albertville on Feb. 28, finishing the 2023/24 regular season with a 14-12 overall record.

The Rebels will return to action the following week, playing third-seed Osseo in the quarterfinals of the Section 5AAAA tournament as the sixth seed on March 6.