MN State Girls' Basketball Tournament Preview

            Two teams return to defend their 2015 titles: Park Center of Brooklyn Park and Hopkins. ParkCenter, which won in Class AAA the past two years, has moved up to Class AAAA and will challenge the defending champions from Hopkinsin that class.

            Coaches of all four teams voted and seeded the top five teams of each class: Goodhue in Class A; Plainview-Elgin-Millville in Class AA; Hutchinson in Class AAA; and Hopkins in Class AAAA.

            Three teams are making their first appearances: Sacred Heart of East Grand forks in Class A; Holy Family Catholic of Victoria in Class AA; and St. Paul Como Parkin Class AAA.

            The 2016 State Girls’ Basketball Tournament starts Tuesday, March 15, with six quarterfinal games being played at Target Center. The remaining quarterfinals continue on Wednesday, March 16, and Thursday, March 17, at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota Minneapoliscampus. Semifinals start at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus on Thursday, March 17, and conclude on Friday, March 18. The championship games of all four classes will be played at Williams Arena on Saturday, March 19. Third-place games will be played on Saturday at Concordia University in St. Paul.

            This is the final year the boys’ basketball tournament will precede the girls’ basketball tournament because Target Center is hosting the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff tournament.

            This is the 20th year of the four-class format and the 13th year with all games being played in Minneapolis. This is the 10th year that the Class AAA and Class AAAA tournaments were seeded by the participating coaches, and the third that Class A and Class AA were seeded.

            The seeding process had all 32 coaches of the section champions log onto a special page of the League Web site. Each coach then ranked the other teams in their class one through seven. The highest and lowest rankings for each team were discarded, leaving five rankings for each team. From those rankings, the top five teams were seeded. In conference calls with all eight head coaches of each class, League Associate Director Lisa Lissimore announced the top five seeds. A representative of the girls’ basketball coaches association, then blindly drew the three remaining teams to establish the opponent for each seeded team. Numbers four and five automatically play each other.

            Detailed statistics provided by qualified teams are available on the League’s Web site — www.MSHSL.org — as a Media Guide link under Tournaments, then Winter, then Girls’ Basketball.

            (Section 8) Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks (28-1) vs. (No. 1 Seed-Section 1) Goodhue (27-4): Sacred Heart is making its debut tournament appearance. The Eagles finished the season unranked in the final Minnesota Basketball News (MBN) poll. The No. 1-ranked Goodhue Wildcats are making their sixth overall appearance and first since 2014.

            (No. 5 Seed-Section 6) Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (28-2) vs. (No. 4 Seed-Section 5) Cromwell-Wright (27-3): Wheaton/Herman-Norcross is making its first tournament appearance under this name. Wheatonhas made two previous appearances, but not since1987. The Warriors were ranked No. 10 in the final MBN poll. It is also the first tournament appearance for the No. 9-ranked Cromwell-Wright Cardinals. Cromwell has appeared twice previously, most recently in 2004.

            (Section 2) Sleepy Eye (28-2) vs. (No. 2 Seed-Section 7) Mountain Iron-Buhl (28-2): The No. 8-ranked Sleepy Eye Indians are making their second overall appearance and first since 2012. Mountain Iron-Buhl enters tournament play ranked No. 2 in the final MBN poll. It is the sixth consecutive and seventh overall appearance for the Rangers, who fell in the quarterfinals last year.

            (Section 3) Southwest Minnesota Christian, Edgerton (27-1) vs. (No. 3 Seed-Section 4) MaranathaChristian Academy, Brooklyn Park(24-6): Southwest Minnesota Christian is making its first tournament appearance since 2010. It is the sixth overall appearance for the Eagles, who are unranked in the final MBN poll. The 2015 runners-up from Maranatha Christian Academy are making their seventh consecutive and seventh overall tournament appearance. The No. 3-ranked Mustangs won previous championships in 2011 and 2012.

            Class A Quarterfinal Schedule — Thursday, March 17

            11:00 a.m. — Sacred Heart vs. Goodhue at Mariucci Arena

            1:00 p.m. — Wheaton/Herman-Norcross vs. Cromwell-Wright at Mariucci Arena

            3:00 p.m. — Sleepy Eye vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl at Mariucci Arena

            5:00 p.m. — Southwest Minnesota Christian vs. Maranatha Christian Academyat Mariucci Arena

            Class AA Preview

            (Section 5) Holy Family Catholic, Victoria (18-11) vs. (No. 1 Seed-Section 1) Plainview-Elgin-Millville (28-1): The unranked Fire of Holy Family Catholic are making their first-ever tournament appearance. Plainview-Elgin-Millville is making its first appearance under this name. Elgin-Millville made six additional appearances and won a championship in 2005. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked No. 1 in the final MBN poll.

            (No. 5 Seed-Section 7) PequotLakes (27-3) vs. (No. 4 Seed-Section 8) Roseau(27-3): The Patriots of Pequot Lakes, ranked No. 10 by MBN, return to the tournament after a one-year hiatus for their seventh overall appearance. The Roseau Rams, who took fourth place in 2015, closed the season ranked No. 6. It is their second consecutive and fourth overall appearance.

            (Section 2) Norwood-Young America (26-3) vs. (No. 2 Seed-Section 6) Sauk Centre(29-1): The Raiders of Norwood-Young America, unranked by MBN, are making their second consecutive and third overall tournament appearance. The Raiders fell in the quarterfinals in 2015. Sauk Centre, last year’s runner-up, enters the tournament ranked No. 2 in the final MBN poll. It is the second consecutive and sixth overall appearance for the Mainstreeters. 

            (Section 3) New London-Spicer (23-6) vs. (No. 3 Seed-Section 4) Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis(25-3): Making its 16th overall appearance, New London-Spicer finished the season unranked. The Wildcats last appeared in 2014 and won championships in 1997 and 2002. Minnehaha Academy, last year’s third place finisher, is making its third consecutive and tenth overall appearance. The Redhawks are ranked No. 5 in the final MBN poll.

            Class AA Quarterfinals Schedule — Wednesday, March 16

            2:00 p.m. — Holy Family Catholic vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville at Mariucci Arena

            4:00 p.m. — PequotLakes vs. Roseau at Mariucci Arena

            6:00 p.m. — Norwood-Young America vs. Sauk Centre at Mariucci Arena

            8:00 p.m. — New London-Spicer vs. Minnehaha Academy at Mariucci Arena

            Class AAA Preview

            (Section 8) ThiefRiver Falls(25-3) vs. (No. 1 Seed-Section 6) Hutchinson(23-5): Thief River Falls, which is making its second consecutive and overall appearance, fell in the quarterfinals in 2015. The Prowlers are ranked No. 8 in the final MBN poll. The No. 3-ranked Tigers of Hutchinson are making their sixth overall appearance and first since 2012.

            (No. 5 Seed-Section 3) Academyof Holy Angels, Richfield(22-5) vs. (No. 4 Seed-Section 2) Marshall(23-6): No. 7-ranked Academy of Holy Angels returns to the tournament for the first time since 2005. It is the fourth overall appearance for the Stars, who won a championship in 1975. Marshall is looking to improve on last year’s runner-up showing. The Tigers, ranked No. 6 in the final MBN poll, are making their third consecutive and tenth overall appearance. They made one additional appearance as a co-op with Marshall Area Christian in 2000. If Marshall wins, it would be the third title for the Tigers. They won previously in 2001 and 2002.

            (Section 7) Grand Rapids(22-7) vs. (No. 2 Seed-Section 1) Winona(23-6): The Thunderhawks of Grand Rapids, unranked in the final MBN poll, are making their fifth overall tournament appearance and first since 2011. They’ll meet the No. 5-ranked Winhawks of Winona, who are making their second-ever appearance and first since 2003.

            (Section 5) Becker (19-9) vs. (No. 3 Seed-Section 4) St. Paul Como Park(24-5): Becker enters the tournament unranked, making its second overall appearance. The Bulldogs won a championship in 2007. St. Paul Como Park is making its debut appearance in the tournament. The Cougars closed the season ranked No. 4 by MBN.

            The Class AAA Quarterfinal Schedule — Tuesday, March 15

            6:00 p.m. — Thief River Falls vs. Hutchinson at Target Center

            8:00 p.m. — Academyof Holy Angels vs. Marshallat Target Center

            The Class AAA Quarterfinal Schedule — Wednesday, March 16

            10:00 a.m. — Grand Rapids vs. Winonaat Mariucci Arena

            Noon — Becker vs. St. Paul Como Park at Mariucci Arena

            Class AAAA Preview

            (Section 5) ParkCenter, Brooklyn Park (22-7) vs. (No. 1 Seed-Section 6) Hopkins(27-2): The two-time defending Class AAA champions from Park Centernow compete for a title in Class AAAA. It is third consecutive and third overall tournament appearance for the Pirates, who finished the season ranked No. 9 in the final MBN poll. Defending champion Hopkins is looking for its seventh title, having won previously in 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. The No. 1-ranked Royals are making their second consecutive and tenth overall appearance.

            (No. 5 Seed-Section 1) Lakeville North (24-5) vs. (No. 4 Seed-Section 3) Eastview, Apple Valley (24-4): The No. 6-ranked Panthers of Lakeville North are returning to the tournament after a one-year absence. This is the sixth overall appearance for the Panthers, who won a title in 2010. The 2015 runners-up from Eastview return for their fifth consecutive and ninth overall appearance. The Lightning were ranked No. 5 in the final MBN poll. They won a championship in 2014.

            (Section 4) White Bear Lake Area (21-7) vs. (No. 2 Seed-Section 8) St. Michael-Albertville (26-2): White Bear Lake Area is making its second consecutive and eighth overall appearance. The Bears were ranked No. 10 in the final MBN poll. The Knights of St. Michael-Albertville, who took third place in 2015, are making their fifth consecutive and ninth overall appearance. They were ranked No. 3 in the final MBN poll and are in pursuit of their third championship. The Knights won previously in 2001 and 2009.

            (Section 7) Anoka(22-7) vs. (No. 3 Seed-Section 2) Minnetonka(24-4): Unranked Anoka returns to tournament play after a one-year hiatus. It is the fourth overall appearance for the Tornadoes. The Skippers of Minnetonka are making their second tournament appearance and first since 1999. Minnetonka was ranked No. 4 in the final MBN poll.

            The Class AAAA Quarterfinal Schedule — Tuesday, March 15

            10:00 a.m. — ParkCenter vs. Hopkinsat Target Center

            Noon — Lakeville North vs. Eastview at Target Center

            2:00 p.m. — White Bear Lake Areavs. St. Michael-Albertville at Target Center

            4:00 p.m. — Anokavs. Minnetonka at Target Center

            Television and Webcast Coverage

            All semifinal and championship games will be televised live by KSTC-TV, Channel 45, and also streamed live at Prep45.com for a fee of $6.97 per day. A tournament pass may be purchased for $14.97. Live statistics of all games will also be displayed on the League website (www.MSHSL.org).

            Press Conferences

            There will be a press conference after each game after a mandatory “cooling-off” period. A media steward will assist you making contact with any players or coaches you wish to interview.

            Ticket Information

            Tickets will be available at Target Center, Mariucci Arena, and Williams Arena. Quarterfinal tickets cost $14.00 for adults and $9.00 for students. Daily quarterfinal wristbands, which are good at each venue, are $19.00 for adults and $12.00 for students. Semifinal and championship tickets will be available at Williams Arena and cost $14.00 for adults and $9.00 for students per session. Third-place tickets will be available at Concordia University and cost $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for students.