2013 STATE CLASS AAA GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
GAMES PLAYED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 AT WILLIAMS ARENA
10:00: Hill-Murray vs. Richfield (Seed 1)
12:00: Red Wing (Seed 5) vs. New Prague (Seed 4)
2:00: Chisago Lakes vs. DeLaSalle (Seed 2)
4:00: Monticello vs. Fergus Falls (Seed 3)
Examining the field: In the opening quarterfinal game, it will be a Classic Suburban Conference battle as the Hill-Murray Pioneers battle the top seeded Richfield Spartans. The Pioneers lost twice to the Spartans in the regular season and had a tough road to returning to The Barn as they beat the Simley Spartans in triple overtime to win the Section 4AAA title. They will have their hands full once again as they go up against the athletic Jessica January, who will be headed for DePaul next season. She was also the state 100 meter hurdle champion in 2011. Can January bring March Madness to Richfield and bring home a state title?
The second game is another conference showdown as two Missota rivals the fifth seeded Red Wingers take on the fourth seeded New Prague Trojans. The Wingers beat the Trojans twice in regular season play. New Prague head coach Ron Gunderson got his 600th career win this season and could could tack on three more to earn the school's first state title since 2000.
In the third game, the Chisago Lakes Wildcats will be leaving the North Suburban Conference on a high note before playing in the Mississippi 8 net season but they have to get past the two time Class AAA champion DeLaSalle Islanders. The Wildcats are led by 6'5" junior center Bryanna Fernstrom. As for DeLaSalle, they are 14-1 since they lost to Hopkins on Jan. 10 and they have a couple of tournament tested players in Allina Starr and Tyseanna Johnson. Could Faith Johnson Patterson make history as the first coach to win three straight championships with two different schools? First., they have to beat the Wildcats.
Concluding the Class AAA quarterfinals will be the Monticello magic and the only unbeaten team the to ranked and third seeded Fergus Falls Otter. No, this is not a typo The Otters have the third seed. Fergus Falls are probably wondering"Why the low seed?" Here's a short and to the point answer. They only played one ranked team in the regular season, Thief River Falls. If you look at successful programs like Hopkins and DeLaSalle, they play a lot of tough non conference opponents in order to get ready for the rigorous post season. But look at the Otters schedule, they did not play any powerhouses or make a trip to the Twin Cities. Can Fergus Falls prove that they can win their first state title by playing tougher competition? The answer comes up at approximately 6 PM Wednesday.
The Class AA preview is next.
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