Saturday, February 28, 2026 reports: High Five; MN GBB Section Results; Point Parade; Week that Was; Seeding the State & Review of BSM v Delano

D1 HIGH FIVE

There were 37 teams in action on Saturday.

*Avery Koenen, North Dakota State, Montevideo 29-W

*Olivia Olson, Michigan, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 28-W

*Alyssa Sand, St. Thomas MN, Albany 19-L

*Shania Nichols, Kennesaw State, St. Paul Como Park 15-W

*Abby Krzewinski, North Dakota State, Wayzata 14-W

*Molly Lenz, North Dakota State, Eden Prairie 14-W

Totals: 105 points, 5-1

AAAA, AAA and AA each had two players.

All made state except for Krzewinski.

D2

There were 23 teams in action on Saturday.

Natalie Bremer, MSU Mankato, Lake City 30-W

Ava Privet, Upper Iowa, Caledonia 23-L

Ashley Schuelke, Concordia St. Paul, Chaska 22-W

Acheampomaa Danso, Quincy, Simley 21-W

Mackenzie Schweim, MSU Mankato, Mankato East 19-W

Abigail O’Reilly, St. Cloud State, Plainview-Elgin-Millville 19-L

Totals: 115 points, 4-2

There were three AA based players, two from AAA and one from AAAA.

All made state except for O’Reilly.

D3

There were nine teams in action on Saturday.

Emily Erickson, Bethel MN, Chisago Lakes 15-W

Moriah McLendon, North Central MN, Eastview 15-L

Annika Southworth, Trine, St. Peter 15-L

Cally Peterson, Bethel MN, St. Francis 14-W

Colette Duininck, Bethel MN, Central MN Christian 12-W

Totals: 71 points, 3-2

There were two AAA based players, and one each from AAAA and A.

Southworth was the only player to reach the state tournament.

MN GBB RESULTS

AAAA

#1 Hopkins 92, St. Louis Park 31

#3 Wayzata 101, Edina 74

#4 Minnetonka 61, Prior Lake 59

#5 Rochester Mayo 82, Farmington 42

#6 Rosemount 83, Park-Cottage Grove 36

#7 East Ridge 69, Two Rivers 35

#9 Chanhassen 71, Waconia 65

#9 Eastview 67, Eagan 64

AAA

#1 Orono 80, Holy Angels 44

#2 Stewartville 98, Kasson-Mantorville 37

#3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s 78, #7 Delano 52

#4 Marshall 81, Mankato West 28

#5 Hill-Murray 86, Mahtomedi 69

#6 Cretin-Derham Hall 57, Minneapolis Roosevelt 19

Byron 63, #8 Northfield 58

#9 DeLaSalle 58, St. Anthony 41

#10 Becker 75, St. Francis 40

AA

#1 Providence 114, Rockford 36

#2 Crosby-Ironton 104, Aitkin 31

#3 Red Wing 58, Caledonia 48

#5 Duluth Marshall 70, Pierz 34

#6 Rochester Lourdes 70, Goodhue 67

#8 Foley 56, Albany 47

#8 Perham 89, Wadena-Deer Creek 44

#10 Minnehaha 84, Concordia 29

#10 Milaca 51, Royalton 47

A

#1 Mountain Iron-Buhl 81, Cherry 32

#2 Northome/Kelliher 90, Climax/Fisher 52

#4 Hillcrest Lutheran 80, Hancock 44

#5 NRHEG 79, Lewiston-Altura 47

#7 Mayer Lutheran 88, Lester Prairie 42

#9 EGF Sacred Heart 63, Mahnomen/Waubun 23

#10 Braham 67, Upsala 39

#10 Breckenridge 86, Lake Park-Audubon 53

SECTION RESULTS

AAAA

1

#1 Rochester Mayo 82, #5 Farmington 42

#3 Lakeville North 75, #2 Lakeville South 68

2

#1 Minnetonka 61, #4 Prior Lake 59

#2 Chanhassen 71, #3 Waconia 65

3

#1 Rosemount 83, #4 Park-Cottage Grove 36

#2 Eastview 67, #3 Eagan 64

4

#1 East Ridge 69, #4 Two Rivers 35

#3 Woodbury 56, #2 Roseville 53

6

#1 Hopkins 92, #4 St. Louis Park 31

#2 Wayzata 101, #3 Edina 74

7

#1 Forest Lake 71, #4 Andover 61

#3 Blaine 63, #2 Centennial 60

AAA

1

#1 Stewartville 98, #5 Kasson-Mantorville 37

#2 Byron 63, #3 Northfield 58

2

#1 Marshall 81, #4 Mankato West 28

#2 Jordan 82, #3 New Ulm 74

3

#1 Cretin-Derham Hall 57, #4 Minneapolis Roosevelt 19

#2 Tartan 57, #3 St. Paul Como Park 50

4

#1 Hill-Murray 86, #5 Mahtomedi 69

#2 DeLaSalle  58, #3 St. Anthony 41

5

#1 Totino-Grace 87, #4 Zimmerman 55

#2 Becker 75, #3 St. Francis 40

6

#1 Orono 80, #4 Holy Angels 44

#2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s 78, #3 Delano 52

7

#1 Rock Ridge 72, #4 Chisago Lakes 45

#3 Cloquet 46, #2 Hermantown 42

8

#1 Little Falls 54, #4 Sartell 46

#3 Willmar 56, #2 Fergus Falls  53

AA

1

#1 Red Wing 58, #4 Caledonia 48

#2 Rochester Lourdes 70, #3 Goodhue 67

4

#1 Minnehaha 84, #9 Concordia Academy 29

#2 Visitation 60 # New Life 38

#4 St. Agnes 50, #5 St. Paul Washington/Johnson 27

#6 St. Croix Lutheran 57, #3 St. Croix Prep 56

5

#1 Providence 113, #8 Rockford 36

#2 Maranatha 73, #7 Dassel-Cokato 57

#3 Minneapolis North 59, #6 Holy Family 55

#4 Watertown-Mayer 72, #5 Southwest Christian Chaska 60

6

#1 Milaca 51, #9 Royalton 47

#2 Foley 56, #7 Albany 47

#3 Sauk Centre 58, #6 Kimball 40

#5 Pine City 63, #4 Legacy Christian 46

7

#1 Crosby-Ironton 104, Aitkin 31

#2 Duluth Marshall 70, #7 Pierz 34

#3 Proctor 70, #6 Esko 32

#4 Pequot Lakes 63, #5 Mesabi East 40

8

#1 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 74, #8 Hawley 67

#2 Perham 89, #7 Wadena-Deer Creek 44

#3 Frazee 77, #6 East Grand Forks 68

#4 Menahaga 44, #5 Pelican Rapids 30

A

1

#1 NRHEG 79, #4 Lewiston-Altura 47

#2 Hayfield/Schaeffer Academy 61, #3 Southland 51

4

#1 Mayer Lutheran 88, #8 Lester Prairie 42

#2 West Lutheran 79, #7 North Lakes 21

#3 Hope Academy 76, #6 International School 49

#4 United Christian 54, #5 Heritage Christian 39

5E

#1 Braham 67, # 4 Upsala 39

#2 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 51, #3 Swanville 39

5W

#1 Pine River-Backus 70, #5 Bertha-Hewitt 54

#2 Cass Lake-Bena 52, #6 Sebeka 45

6

#1 Hillcrest Lutheran 80, #8 Hancock 44

#2 Breckenridge 86, #7 Lake Park-Audubon  53

#3 Underwood 59, #6 Park Christian 51

#4 Rothsay 58, #5 West Central 56

7

#1 Mountain Iron-Buhl 81, #8 Cherry 32

#3 Chisholm 53, #6 Barnum 32

#4 Cromwell-Wright 47, #5 Floodwood 31

#7 Ely 51, #2 Deer River 50

Nk        90         8

#1E Northome/Kelliher 90, #5W Climax/Fisher 52

#2W Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 72, #6 Bagley 23

#1W EGF Sacred Heart 63, #5 Mahnomen/Waubun 23

#3W Kittson County Central 65, #2E Lake of the Woods 24

RANKED RESULTS

Winner High 113 Providence

Winner Low 44 Menahga

Loser High 74 Edina, New Ulm

Loser Low 19 Minneapolis Roosevelt

Biggest Margin 77 Providence v Rockford

Smallest Margin 1 St. Croix Lutheran v St. Croix Prep; Ely v Deer River

Most Combined: 175 Wayzata v Edina

Least combined: 74 Menahga v Pelican Rapids

Margins 30 or more 25 (35.714%)

Margins 5 or less 13 (18.571%)

Average 57.743

Winner Average 69.694

Loser Average 45.792

Ranked Average 76.182

Nonranked Average 52.261

Average margin 23.903

Average combined: 115.49

Ranked Losses: two

Section upsets: nine

AAAA Ave 64.125

AAA Ave 58.844

AA Ave 57.136

A Ave 54.068

POINT PARADE

AAAA

Maggie Dyer, Rochester Mayo 29

Amelia Mills, Rochester Mayo 27

AAA

Maggie Joyce, New Ulm 33

Abie Pietila, Delano 29

Madison Ohm, Byron 27

Sydney Friedly, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 25

SECTION MATRIX

What gives? Usually there the first Saturday features upsets, if not galore, some headscratchers with headlines the next day: Saturday Night Massacre. After one week all #1s in AAAA, AAA and A are resting ready for week two. Only one #1 (St. Clair in 2AA) fell by the wayside, but that was Thursday. Yesterday was no massacre by any stretch, but….perhaps the headline should be Saturday Night narrow escapes. Minnetonka; Eastview; Byron, Rochester Lourdes survived nailbiters. Centennial; Roseville, Hermantown, Fergus Falls did not. These all involved 2s v 3s (exception Minnetonka’s two point win over #4 Prior Lake). The seeds that are not 1-2-3 or 4 to advance on Saturday included #5 Pine City in 6AA; #6 St. Croix Lutheran in 4AA and #7 Ely in 7A. The last two teams won by one single solitary point.

CLASS Highest seed out 1st #1 seed out 1st ranked team out #1 Seeds alive Highest QRF Out
AAAA #2s in 1, 4, 5, 7 None None All #20 Lakeville South
AAA #2s in 7, 8 None #7 Delano All #14 Delano
AA 2: #1 St. Clair St. Clair (2) None 7 #79 Goodhue
A #2s in 3N, 3S, 7 None None All #164 Deer River

ABOUT LAST NIGHT…BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’S V DELANO

One ranked team was going to go down Saturday at Benilde and it turned out to be #7AAA Delano. The host #3AAA ranked Red Knights now have a third date with #1 Orono at the Spartans home on Thursday.

Delano played BSM fairly even up in the early portion of the game, but underlying trends would prove fatal eventually. And that eventually caught up with the Tigers the last 4:30 of the first half as a 12 possession drought put them in a hole which they could not escape. The last Tiger lead came at 28-27 after a triple by Abbie Pietila. After that it was 17 unanswered BSM points leading to a 44-28 Red Knight advantage at half. One reason for that BSM surge was the foul situation for Lexi Champeau who sat down with three fouls at the 3:01 mark of the first half, but by then the drought was in full string.

The trajectory did not vary much in the second half. Another Pietila 3 cut the deficit to 54-41, but that was as close as it was going to be. BSM finished the next 10:30 on a 24-10 run.

BSM had more bodies (and legs), longer bodies (and arms) which played a role in the victory. The guard triumvirate of Alivia Bell, Sydney Fiedly and Pressly Watkins more than offset the play of Abbie Pietila.

Fatigue also played a huge part in this. Early on the offensive rebound rate for BSM was only 14.3%. It grew to 50% after the last Delano lead. For the game it ended up to be 38.095. Delano’s o board rate for the game was 23.810.

Team Pt PP100 OR/DR FTM/a 2M/A 3M/A TO/TpTO LEAD
Benilde-SM 78 106.8 16/32 11/14 23/41 7/27 17/ 17.59 26
Delano 52 71.2 10/26 10/15 12/38 6/21 16/22.44 6

Pietila cashed in four 3s in eleven tries and was flawless with zero turnovers in 107 touches. She led both squad with 29 points and her team with 11 d stops. She also attempted to set up her teammates 21 times, but they only found the mark four times. Those numbers pushed her up one level to the 41 Club with three to spare.

Sydney Friedly led BSM with 25 points including two back-to-back 3s late in the first half which made the score a prohibitive 39-28 lead. Pressley Watkins led both teams with 13 d stops, nine on the d boards. She also topped both teams with 9 distributions. She had the best touches per turnover for BSM at 48. Bell was one off her mark in distributions but tied Pietila with 21 set up passes.  Bell had 13 points.

Player School 31Club PP100
Abbie Pietila Delano 44 138.1
Sydney Friedly BSM 37 119.0
Alivia Bell BSM 31 118.2
Pressley Watkins BSM 31 90.0

THE WEEK THAT WAS

For one more week Menahga was undefeated. It will come to an end this week either in the semis against #1 seed DGF in section 8AA or they sill get stung in finals with either Perham or Frazee.

Total undefeated left: 1

AAAA: 0

AAA: 0

AA: 1 Menahga

A: 0

Once Menahga falls I will list the one loss teams.

What about the flip side of this? The winless? Nine ended 2025-26 0-season.

Just in the nick of time two schools put one in the left hand column. And it was killer Bs getting it done. Browerville-Eagle Valley escaped the list. They got a first round 50-37 section win over Verndale on Tuesday. Bigfork kept Fond du Lac Ojibwe winless in a 70-23 section 7 first round win on Monday.

AAAA: 0

AAA: 2 North Branch; Sauk Rapids-Rice

AA: 1 Albert Lea

A: 6 Ortonville and smaller charter/privates Lincoln International; MN Transitions; St. John’s Prep (now missing from the MN Scores website); Fond du Lac Ojibwe, and Community School of Excellence

STREAKING

Kelliher/Northome joins the 20 straight win club.

AAAA: 25 Rochester Mayo

AAA: 25 Stewartville

AA: 28 Menahga

A: 20 Kelliher/Northome

Can these four be state champs? Best bet? Stewartville, but I would not bet the house.

PROLIFIC OFFENSE

a list of high scoring offenses (and below that stingy defenses)

What was interesting about last week was three of the leaders increased their average (again). Yes it was small but up is up.

AAAA 82.5 Rochester Mayo up 0.2

AAA 85.1 Hill-Murray down 0.8

AA 95.0 Providence up 0.7

A: 87.8 Kelliher/Northome up 0.6

The best chance for state titles? Providence easily. Next best chance? Kelliher/Northome, but doubtful.

AIR TIGHT DEFENSE

Mayo is no longer sharing with Owatonna as they win the trifecta of streak/offense/defense. The other change came in A with MN Transitions joining Metro School College Prep at 30.2. They both jumped 2.5 points. The group as a whole split with two risers, two fallers.

But if you notice three of the classes will not be playing again in 2025-26. Mayo is the last team standing in this list.

AAAA 42.7 Rochester Mayo down 0.8

AAA 40.0 Northfield up 1.0

AA 32.9 High School Recording Arts down 0.9

A  30.2 Metro School College Prep up 2.5

QUEST FOR…

QRF

The only new teams to come off the  list came on Friday’s journey to Granite Falls to see #124 Central MN Christian v #167 MACCRAY. Tuesday I was at St. Michael-Albertville; Saturday at Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

Biggest fish not seen? Still Minneapolis North at #48. Last week they were at #40.

10: 10/10—-1.000

25: 25/25—1.000

50: 49/50—.980

75: 68/75—.907

100: 82/100—.820

125: 88/125—.704

150: 92/150—.613

175: 94/175—.537

200: 94/200—.470

TOP 10S

Ties in the polls increased the amount of teams.

AAAA: 10/10-1.000

AAA: 10/10-1.000

AA: 9/11 .818

A: 7/11-.636

Overall, it is 36/42 or .857

#1S IN EACH SECTION

The addition of Central MN Christian bumps up the totals.

AAAA: 8/8-1.000

AAA: 8/8-1.000

AA: 6/9-.778

A: 7/11-.636

Grand totals: 29/36-.805.

SEEDING THE STATE

Mayo moves ahead of Minnetonka in AAAA.

Looking at the potential for a state tournament the most interesting tournament will be in A followed by AAA. Quarters in AAAA will be brutal (with one exception I believe). AA is a forgone conclusion.

AAAA

  1. Hopkins (6)
  2. Maple Grove (5)
  3. Rosemount (3)
  4. Rochester Mayo (1)
  5. Minnetonka (2)
  6. Monticello (8)
  7. East Ridge (4)
  8. Forest Lake (7)

AAA

  1. Orono (6)
  2. Stewartville (1)
  3. Marshall (2)
  4. Hill-Murray (4)
  5. Cretin-Derham Hall (3)
  6. Becker (5)
  7. Rock Ridge (7)
  8. Little Falls (8)

AA

  1. Providence (5)
  2. Crosby-Ironton (7)
  3. Red Wing (1)
  4. New London-Spicer (3)
  5. Minnehaha (4)
  6. Sauk Centre (6)
  7. DGF (8)
  8. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (2)

A

  1. Mountain Iron-Buhl (7)
  2. Kelliher-Northome (8)
  3. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (2)
  4. NRHEG (1)
  5. Hillcrest Lutheran (6)
  6. Central MN Christian (3)
  7. Mayer Lutheran (4)
  8. Braham (5)

THE WEEK THAT WILL BE

The big question heading into the final week of sections is: will any class get all eight #1s across the finish line? AA is out of that race. To survive any tournament a team has to survive a bad half (Glaesser’s theorem). And we are not talking 18 straight minutes of misery. Some some lull. Some teams have yet to experience that stretch.

Also two teams are looking to break a state tournament drought. Could East Ridge and Chanhassen get to the dance? (you can add Kelliher-Northome and Hillcrest Lutheran to that mix.

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