This is the second part of TWTW #15
REAR VIEW MIRROR
MONDAY: 2AN Quarterfinals: BOLD 57, ACGC 38
Originally, I was planning on going to another contest, but saw the biggest fish available that day was BOLD. Plans were changed. Last year BOLD was the A runner up. This year the Warriors were the #4 seed in the subsection. In this game they survived a sluggish start. Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes with visiting ACGC up 5-2 with 11:47 left in the half. BOLD snapped out of their slumber and led 23-20 at half. ACGC continued their struggles in the second half. BOLD got off to a 20-6 start in the first nine minutes.
WEDNESDAY: 1A Quarterfinals
Awesome Blossoms and Super Larks were just Blossoms and Larks on Wednesday.
GAME 1: Hayfield 71, Blooming Prairie 37
#2 seed Hayfield had no issues in taking down Gopher Conference rival Blooming Prairie. Hayfield cashed in eight 3s and was a healthy 17/21 at the free throw line. The Vikings had more offensive rebounds than BP had defensive rebounds (18-15).
GAME 2: Rushford-Peterson 57, Grand Meadow 38
#3 seed Rushford-Peterson ended Grand Meadow’s 2023-24 season. A quick 10-0 lead after the first five possessions set the trajectory for this game. The Trojans led by 20 at half. RP made nine 3s on 42% shooting and was equally as good at 2 range going 52%.
THURSDAY: 6AN Quarterfinals: Underwood 72, Battle Lake 31
This was the window available on Thursday. Was it the opponent I wanted? No. This was over quickly. Similar in some respects to last Saturday’s Southwest MN Christian win in the 3A South quarters. #2 seed Unerwood’s Elizabeth Lukken had 24 points, all in the first half as the Rockets zoomed to a 43-13 lead over the #10 Battlers. That was a dozen more than BL would score all night.
FRIDAY: 3A N Semifinals
GAME 1: Minneota 71, Lakeview 47
#1 seed Minneota finished the first half with a 21-7 run and their state tournament experience separated them from the Lakers. A big difference in 3s (10-1) helped the Vikings. Balance and depth helped. Five Minneota players had between nine and 21 points.
GAME 2: Central MN Christian 58, MACCRAY 43
The #2 seed Bluejays got off to a 9-0 start and MACCRAY had to play catch up the rest of the night. With 8:24 left in the game CMC led 47-22. The Wolverines scored almost as many points the remaining time as they had scored the first 27 minutes. CMC stayed stuck on 50 for about six minutes giving MACCRAY dreams of a possible comeback path. Down the stretch CMC cashed in at the free throw line a perfect 6/6 their last three possessions. Just as she did the week before Sienna Duininck led the way for CMC with 23 points and another entry into the 41 Club.
SATURDAY 8A E&W Semifinals
I was able to knock off six schools, but the sacrifice was to get up at 5:30 (after getting in after midnight on Friday). TRF is not next door. It was a good four hours and thirty minutes away. It was my first time at Engelstad Arena, a pretty nice hockey venue for a high school team. But today it was outfitted for basketball.
GAME 1: Kittson County Central 74, Climax-Fisher 44
#1 seed KCC survived a 52-48 win in the quarterfinal round, and played like a #1 seed in the win over Climax-Fisher. CF has a thousand-point scorer that is an eighth grader—Peyton Hoffman. Compared to the other eighth graders Hoffman is more post, but she did try a pair of 3s.
GAME 2: EGF Sacred Heart 61, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 52
Sacred Heart’s frosh crew (they start four) picked up an important win stopping the Ponies of WAO. Another eighth grader, Macey Boe of WAO, gave them a 45-42 lead with under ten minutes to go in the game on a 3. SH’s Finley Horken broke a 46 tie and that helped initiate a 15-6 finish the las 5:30 of the game.
GAME 3: Fosston 54, Mahnomen-Waubun 35
The Mahlen sisters combined for 28 points to help the #1 Greyhounds stop Mahnomen-Waubun. A strong 8-1 start helped.
GAME 4: Kelliher-Northome 73, Cass Lake-Bena 69
This is too bad this contest was a subsection semi. It was section final-worthy. With 44 fouls called in this contest you could feel the intensity and physicality from the stands. It also probably had an impact on the outcome. Two each from CLB and KN players fouled out. But CLB had two others dancing with four fouls. Gabrielle Fineday spent more time on the bench than she or her team would have wished. She still led both teams with 31 points. When she was sitting in the first half another 8th grader stepped up. Rayahna Staples-Franklin delivered three 3s to help close the gap to 36-33 at the break. CLB did take a 46-45 lead after a Fineday 3 in the second half. KN went on a 16-6 run to lead 67-57 with three minutes left. CLB kept battling despite the foul situation. KN’s margin was down to 71-66 with 34.9 left. Despite the KN coaching staff pleading with their players not to foul, they committed one with 0.5 left and Fineday added two more points to her totals to cut the deficit to four. The clock was not in favor of any more comebacks. The Thayer sisters had 43 points for KN with two more players in double digits.
OUT AND ALIVE (still)
| AAAA | AAA | AA | A | |
| First #1 Out | Becker (5) | Maple River (2S) | ||
| Lowest seed Left | 3: Anoka (7); Mounds View (5) | 4: Totino-Grace (5) | Annandale (6) | 4: New Life (4) |