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The dream matchup of the Class AA girls' basketball state tournament takes place at 7 tonight in the first semifinal game. Defending champion and second-rated Rochester Mayo (23-3), led by the state's best backcourt, will play No. 1 Osseo (25-1) at Williams Arena. The Orioles have a front line that's probably unmatched this season in size and depth.
Both teams rallied to win in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Mayo beat Elk River 76-54 as the Miller twins, Kelly and Coco, combined for 43 points. Both are 5-10 juniors who were named to the AAU All-American team last summer.
Osseo has a four-player rotation in the middle. Erin Skelly, a 6-4 junior, and Taya Brodin, a 6-1 senior, usually start, but 6-3 Lisa Buysse and 6-1 Joy Thomas also see plenty of duty.
"I played against some of Mayo's players in the summer," Skelly said. "I was on an AAU team called the Minnesota Magic. They {the Millers} get so much publicity, I want to see how good they are."
Said Mayo coach Les Cookman after his Spartans' quarterfinal victory, "Osseo is huge and physical. We'll have a lot of work in the next day and a half, figuring out something to do."
"It was a good win for us," said Coco Miller. "We were hoping to send a message to some people."
The people? "Osseo." Attendance for Thursday's quarterfinals was 3,371 at the afternoon session and 4,377 in the evening for a total of 7,748. Burnsville, Elk River win consolations
In Class AA consolation games Thursday morning, Burnsville (16-12) defeated Duluth East 50-43 behind senior guard Dani Coleman's 19 points, while Elk River (15-13) beat Hill-Murray 52-46 as 6-3 senior center LeAnn Perman scored 15. Lindsey Mergenthal of the Elks had 11 points,...