John's Journal
In The Wake Of Tragedy, Redhawks Stick Together 3/24/2018
Minnehaha Academy repeated as the Class 2A boys basketball state champion Saturday at Target Center, defeating Caledonia 73-60 in the title game. The Redhawks had a record of 26-5 last season and 28-4 this time around, but what happened in between those two sets of numbers was horrible, remarkable, and changed everything.

On the second day of August, Minnehaha Academy was rocked by a natural-gas explosion. Receptionist Ruth Berg, 47, and custodian John Carlson, 82, were killed and nine people were injured in the explosion on the schools’ upper campus in Minneapolis (the upper campus serves grades 9-12 and the lower campus, a mile and a half away, serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade).

The buildings that were destroyed included the gymnasium. That left the school’s basketball teams without a home for the entire season. The Redhawks boys were the most well-traveled team in the Twin Cities, for games and practices.

They played “home” games at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Trinity School at River Ridge in Eagan and Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul. One of their practice sites was the gymnasium at Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station (connected to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport), where all the players and coaches had to go through a full military security clearance. There were bus rides and car pools to practices and games, often at odd hours. They had T-shirts made that read “No Gym. No Problem.”

“We had to sit around after school for about three hours (before practice),” Redhawks sophomore guard Jalen Suggs said after Saturday’s game. “We would group up and a lot of us would do homework. We’ve spent a lot more time together than we did last year, and you could tell, just by the way we played on the court. Everyone’s had each other’s backs since day one and it’s led to this moment.”

The explosion put basketball into perspective for everyone. Life is precious and basketball is a game.

“This is just basketball,” Suggs said. “There were people in the building that exploded who went through far, far worse than we did, just having late practices.”

Senior JaVonni Bickham said, “It’s bigger than just basketball, it’s bigger than all of us. We knew that and we just came out with everything we got for this season. We’re thankful that we got the chance to win the state championship for our community.”

Hustle-Smile-Ruthless Is 1A Champ

When I gave the team from Russell-Tyler-Ruthton the nickname Hustle-Smile-Ruthless in the previous installment of John’s Journal, some witty folks from those little towns ran with it. There were three signs in the stands during the Class 1A championship game -- reading “Hustle” “Smile” and “Ruthless” – and they were held up as the R-T-R fans chanted those three words several times.

The Knights defeated North Woods 59-55 to capture their third title in six state appearances. North Woods has been to state twice – last year and this year – and has finished second both times.

After the game, someone texted me a photo of the R-T-R team posing with the three signs. I love small towns.

Unseeded Delano Wins 3A Championship

On Feb. 8, the Delano basketball team had a record of 10-9. They ended the season with a record of 21-11 and owners of the Class 3A state championship. The Tigers defeated Columbia Heights 64-61 Saturday night to win their first title in three trips to state, the last one in 2013.

Their 11 defeats ties the tournament record for the most losses by a state champion. Austin Pacelli won the 1992 Class 1A title with 11 losses.

Cretin-Derham Hall Is 4A Champion

In a game that can only be described as an instant classic, the basketball season closed with Cretin-Derham Hall claiming a 79-78 victory over Apple Valley in the 4A title game. Both teams shot better than 56 percent, with Apple Valley’s Tre Jones scoring a game-high 35 points in his final high school game.

It was Cretin-Derham Hall’s third state title and first since 1993, when current coach Jerry Kline Jr. was a team member.

Tournament Tidbits

--At halftime of the Class 1A championship game, eight individuals were honored with awards by the MSHSL for their decades of service and commitment to officiating. Those honored with distinguished service awards were Becker’s Tracy Bertram, Jack Coombe of Tower, Tom Goetz from Bloomington, Bill Hafner of Maplewood, Roseville’s Roy Tutt, Jim Weinzierl from Park Rapids, Pat Whalen of New Brighton and Clark Worthington of St. Louis Park.

--At halftime of the Class 3A game, Bill Bentson of KFIL Radio in Preston and John Sherman of Sun Newspapers in the Twin Cities were honored as recipients of the 2018 MSHSL Outstanding Media Service Awards.

Wells Fargo All-Tournament Teams

Class 1A:
Travis Visser, Hinckley-Finlayson; Noah DeLapaz, Cass Lake-Bena; Garrett Tjernagel, Baden Noennig, Mayer Lutheran; Westin Kirk, Garrett Kern, Carter Hansen, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton; Cade Goggleye, Trevor Morrison, Tate Olson, North Woods.

Class 2A: Quinn Fischer, Esko; Lu’cye Patterson, Brooklyn Center; Mitchell Plombon, Michael Schaefer, St. Cloud Cathedral; Martin Morem, Owen King, Noah King, Caledonia; Jalen Suggs, Terry Lockett, JaVonni Bickham, Minnehaha Academy.

Class 3A: Sam Vascellaro, St. Thomas Academy; Duoth Gach, Austin; Tyrell Terry, Gabe Kalscheur, DeLaSalle; Calvin Wishart, Derek Techam, Keegan O’Neill, Delano; Wendell Matthews, Quentin Hardrict, Deundra Roberson, Columbia Heights.

Class 4A: Zach Theisen, Osseo; Connor Christensen, Eden Prairie; Tyler Wall, Tommy Jensen, Lakeville North; Jacob Prince, Ryan Larson, Sy Chatman, Cretin-Derham Hall; Tre Jones, Luke Martens, Zach Korba, Apple Valley.

Boys State Basketball Tournament

Class 1A

Fifth-place game: Hinckley-Finlayson 56, Rushford-Peterson 49
Third-place game: Mayer Lutheran 67, Cass Lake-Bena 51
Championship game: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 59, North Woods 55

Class 2A
Fifth-place game: Esko 57, Breckenridge 46
Third-place game: St. Cloud Cathedral 75, Brooklyn Center 70
Championship game: Minnehaha Academy 73, Caledonia 60

Class 3A
Fifth-place game: St. Thomas Academy 68, Mankato East 62
Third-place game: DeLaSalle 82, Austin 61
Championship game: Delano 64, Columbia Heights 61

Class 4A
Fifth-place game: Osseo 64, Forest Lake 61
Third-place game: Lakeville North 63, Eden Prairie 52
Championship game: Cretin-Derham Hall 79, Apple Valley 78

Follow John on Twitter: @MSHSLjohn
Hustle-Smile-Ruthless Makes An Impression In Class 1A3/23/2018
A number of basketball fans, me included, looked at the teams warming up before Friday afternoon’s Class 1A boys state semifinals at Target Center and made a statement that was worded along these lines: “Oh geez I don’t know if R-T-R can stay with those tall guys from Mayer Lutheran.”

R-T-R is Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, but you can also refer to them as Hustle-Smile-Ruthless. The Knights, champions of Section 3 in southwest Minnesota, indeed hustle, they smile when you least expect it and they play ruthless defense. They proved it by defeating Mayer Lutheran 49-38 during a tactical game in which both teams made fewer than 30 percent of their shots.

Mayer Lutheran is the top seed in Class 1A with a record of 28-3 before Friday. Hustle-Smile-Ruthless is the No. 4 seed and will take a record of 32-1 into Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game against No. 2 seed North Woods (31-1).

The Knights outrebounded the taller Crusaders 52-33, which is a mark of how little height meant in the game. And R-T-R played hardnosed defense from one end of the court to the other, disrupting Mayer Lutheran’s ability to work the ball inside. The Crusaders averaged almost 70 points this season, so seeing them score barely half that was quite something.

“R-T-R is a great team, a lot of credit to them,” Crusaders coach Patrick Buchanan said. “They did a lot of things to stagnate our offense, slow us down from what we like to do.”

Mayer Lutheran’s Baden Noennig, a 6-foot-6 junior, said “They played with so much hustle, so much heart.” And Garrett Tjernagel, a 6-foot-7 senior, added, “It seemed like they were always in the right spot. Wrong spot for us, right spot for them.”

That was the plan for the boys from Hustle-Smile-Ruthless. They knew if they could keep the basketball away from the big fellas and play scrap-iron defense everywhere, they had a chance.

“Defensively, you can’t change what got you here,” said R-T-R coach Ted Kern. “We’re a pressure team. We rebounded extremely well, and we’re not big but we work hard. We’re not always the most talented team on the floor, but given the chance we’ll work even with you or outwork you.”

They also might out-smile you. There was some minor confusion among the officials at one point in the first half. While two officials met with the table crew, official M.J. Wagenson held the ball at the spot where it would soon be inbounded and clarified to a few players from both teams what was being discussed.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton’s Carter Hansen, a 6-foot, zero-inch junior, said with a smile, “Thanks for explaining it to us.”

In the postgame news conference, Kern and Hansen sat at a raised table in front of the gathered media. There was a pause before the first question was posed, which Carter filled by waving, grinning and saying, “Hey guys!”

Hustle-Smile-Ruthless is the smallest school in the tournament with an enrollment of 130 in grades nine through 12. There must be some manner of mathematical equation afoot: Small school x small players = big success and big fun.

--North Woods, last year’s Class 1A runner-up, has won its first two games at state by margins of 38 and 20 points; including Friday's 67-47 win over Cass Lake-Bena. Cass Lake-Bena had played a double-overtime game against Rushford-Peterson in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Panthers coach John Wind said that lengthy game affected his players’ stamina against North Woods.

“We didn’t play very well. … I think yesterday’s game probably took more out of our legs than we thought.”

Class 2A: Minnehaha Academy and Caledonia Advance

Defending state champion Minnehaha Academy will play for a repeat title after the Redhawks defeated St. Cloud Cathedral 77-51 in Friday night’s Class 2A semifinals. Minnehaha is at state for the sixth time, winning the championship in 2013 as well as last year.

Their opponent in Saturday’s 5 p.m. championship game will be Caledonia, which defeated Brooklyn Center 73-67. Caledonia is playing at state for the fourth time in five years and trying to win its second state title. The Warriors were 2A champs in 1997 and finished second in 2015.

Tournament Tidbits

--Mementos and memories are a wonderful part of high school activities, including state tournaments. Someone on Twitter posted to my attention a great piece of history Friday from the 1988 boys state basketball tournament.

Jerry Chiabotti was the coach of the Bigfork High School team that went to state that year; Jerry is now an assistant coach at North Woods. Posted was a sheet of paper, with instructions for the team during the tournament (pictured here as sent to me from a player on that team).

It started with “6:30 a.m. Pack at school” and included details such as “Free Time” and “Lights Out – Bed Check.”

Listed under “PERSONAL” on the packing list: “Shirt, tie, dress pants … Toiletries … Extra jocks and game socks.”

--Here’s a salute and a big thank you to KDHL Radio, the Mighty 920 in Faribault, for 70 years of broadcasting the boys state basketball tournament. Since the station first went on the air in 1948, listeners have heard games involving teams from all over the state on KDHL and its sister stations.

The list of sports directors over 70 years is legendary: Tom Bachrach, Jim Lundquist, Tom Hartman, Tom Albrecht, Steve Skogen, Mike Morrissey and current sports director Gordy Kosfeld. The late Mike Morrissey called state tourney games for 44 years until retiring in 2013, Gordy has been working the tournament for 30 years and Roy Koenigsberg is in his sixth year.

Boys State Basketball Tournament

Class 1A


Friday’s semifinals at Target Center
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 49, Mayer Lutheran 38
North Woods 67, Cass Lake-Bena 47

Saturday’s championship game
11 a.m.: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton vs. North Woods

Class 2A

Friday’s semifinals at Target Center
Minnehaha Academy 77, St. Cloud Cathedral 51
Brooklyn Center vs. Caledonia

Saturday’s championship game
1 p.m.: Minnehaha Academy vs. Caledonia

Class 3A

Saturday’s championship game
5 p.m. at Target Center
Columbia Heights vs. Delano

Class 4A

Saturday’s championship game
8 p.m. at Target Center
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Apple Valley

Follow John on Twitter: @MSHSLjohn
From Way Up North, North Woods Is Back At State 3/22/2018
One of my winter excursions took me way up north for a boys basketball game at North Woods school, which is a few miles northwest of Cook in the sprawling wilderness of St. Louis County. The Grizzlies were one of the stars of the state tournament last year, qualifying for the big show for the first time and advancing to the Class 1A state championship game before falling short against Minneapolis North.

North Woods is no short hike from the Twin Cities; it’s much closer to the Canadian border (73 miles) than downtown Minneapolis (232 miles). The Grizzlies defeated International Falls on the night I spent in their spectacular, brightly-lit gym. One of the issues all season was keeping their fans calm, fans who were absolutely sure that the team – with four starters back – would return to state.

“The expectations are so high, it’s unbelievable,” coach Will Kleppe (pictured) told me that night. “It’s been kind of surprising, all the talk of getting back to where we were.”

Current junior Cade Goggleye became a star one year ago when he made a half-court shot at the buzzer to beat Central Minnesota Christian in the quarterfinals at Williams Arena. When I spoke with Cade on that bitter February night in the North Woods gym, he said the players felt like they were underdogs, just as they had during the 2016-17 season.

“We don’t feel pressure because we think we’re still the underdog, because we’re from up north,” he said after the win over International Falls. “We’ve just got to get down there and play hard again.”

Down here they are, defeating Heritage Christian 74-36 Thursday in the 1A quarterfinals at Williams Arena. The Grizzlies will face Cass Lake-Bena in Friday afternoon’s semifinals at Target Center. The Panthers advanced with a 63-61 double-overtime win over Rushford-Peterson.

Goggleye had a game-high 23 points Thursday, making eight of 11 shots (four of six from three-point range) and picking up eight assists. After the game, Kleppe made a reference to Cade’s comments in mid-February.

“I think Cade summed it best up earlier this season,” the coach said. “We still felt like underdogs through this season, knowing when we get down here there are not a lot of representatives from the north. So we still feel like we kind of have that role. Even with the expectations; we haven’t played a game this year without people saying, ‘You’re going back to state.’ That’s never a guarantee and I believe the boys believed firmly that there was a lot of work to be done to get a chance to come back here.”

--Cass Lake-Bena’s quarterfinal victory came after Rushford-Peterson forced the first and second overtimes on last-second shots. Payton Hahn hit a three-pointer as regulation ended and Ben Ansell scored on a rebound as the horn sounded to end the first overtime.

--There are no unbeaten teams in the tournament, and three teams with just one loss; all three are in Class 1A, which will make for some interesting semifinal games. Top-seeded Mayer Lutheran (28-3) will meet fourth-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (31-1) and second-seeded North Woods (30-1) will face No. 3 seed Cass Lake-Bena (30-1).

Fashion, Part II

Following up on yesterday’s story about well-dressed Hermantown coach Andy Fenske, let’s talk about shoes. Specifically, the shoes worn by Mayer Lutheran coach Patrick Buchanan.

They are black and red, which also happen to be Crusaders school colors. Buchanan, in his first year coaching at Mayer Lutheran, last wore the shoes at his wedding. Yes, his wedding. On that day four and a half years ago when he married Staci, he also wore a black suit with a red vest and red tie.

After the Crusaders defeated Springfield in last week’s Section 2 championship game, Buchanan pulled the shoes out of a bag and told the players he was going to wear them at state.

“They think they’re cool. They like them,” he said. “They had asked me right away, ‘Coach what’s your favorite color?’ and I said you may not believe this but it is red. So this was my proof in the pudding, my red and black shoes.

“Four and a half years ago I got these bad boys, and I wore them on the happiest day of my life. And right now, this is a joy for me to be with these young men.”

Tournament Tidbits

--Streaks are made to be broken, and DeLaSalle’s run of six consecutive Class 3A state championship came to an end Thursday when the Islanders lost to Columbia Heights 71-69 in the semifinals at Target Center. At state a year ago, DeLaSalle defeated the Highlanders 86-60 in the semifinals. And during Tri-Metro Conference play this season, the Islanders beat Columbia Heights by 36 and 15 points. The Highlanders will meet Delano in Saturday’s 5 p.m. championship game.

--Delano is the surprise team of the tournament, coming in unseeded with an 18-11 record and knocking off third seed Mankato East 79-64 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 seed Austin 80-68 in Thursday’s semifinals.

--Quote of the day: Heritage Christian Academy came to state with a record of 13-17 before losing to North Woods. Afterwards, Heritage coach Tim Herman said, “The last Cinderella has died. So go get ‘em North Woods.”

--There was news on the girls basketball front Thursday when Minnehaha Academy head coach Josh Thurow stepped down after 14 years. He coached 11 teams to state tournaments, including the 2010 2A state champs and the 2011 runner-up team. Minnehaha Academy alum Matt Pryor, who has been the head coach at Concordia Academy for last four years, is the new Redhawks coach.

Boys State Basketball Tournament

Class 1A

Quarterfinals
Mayer Lutheran 71, Mahnomen/Waubun 40
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 87, Hinckley-Finlayson 70
North Woods 74, Heritage Christian 36
Cass Lake-Bena 63, Rushford-Peterson 61 (2 OT)

Friday’s semifinals at Target Center
Noon: Mayer Lutheran vs. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton
2 p.m.: North Woods vs. Cass Lake-Bena

Class 2A
Quarterfinals
Minnehaha Academy 65, Jordan 45
St. Cloud Cathedral 64, Esko 60 (3OT)
Brooklyn Center 63, Breckenridge 48
Caledonia 80, Minnewaska 41

Friday’s semifinals at Target Center
6 p.m.: Minnehaha Academy vs. St. Cloud Cathedral
8 p.m.: Brooklyn Center vs. Caledonia

Class 3A
Quarterfinals
Columbia Heights 75, St. Thomas Academy 62
Austin 64, Sauk Rapids-Rice 55
Delano 79, Mankato East 64

Semifinals
Columbia Heights 71, DeLaSalle 71-69
Delano 80, Austin 68

Saturday’s championship game
5 p.m. at Target Center
Columbia Heights vs. Delano

Class 4A
Quarterfinals
Cretin-Derham Hall 70, Wayzata 48
Eden Prairie 65, Osseo 38
Apple Valley 67, Forest Lake 60
Lakeville North 89, Maple Grove 71

Semifinals
Cretin-Derham Hall 60, Eden Prairie 56
Apple Valley 58, Lakeville North 45

Saturday’s championship game
8 p.m. at Target Center
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Apple Valley

Follow John on Twitter: @MSHSLjohn
Hermantown Hawks Coach Dresses For Success 3/21/2018
When I walked into Williams Arena on Wednesday morning for a day of boys state basketball tournament games, one of the first people I saw was Hermantown head coach Andy Fenske.

Three years ago, Fenske was the coach of the girls basketball team from Princeton High School when the Tigers made the school’s first trip to that state tournament. Princeton was a one-and-done team that year, falling to Marshall (Fenske’s alma mater) in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

Andy was very well-dressed during the 2015 tournament. In fact, I Tweeted a photo of him during that game against Marshall, when he wore a sharp three-piece suit and striped tie. When we met Wednesday morning, it was clear that he still knew how to dress well. He was in a dark three-piece suit, including a bow tie and a pocket square (pictured). During the Hawks’ game with DeLaSalle, I Tweeted photographic evidence with these words: “Hermantown coach Andy Fenske takes a commanding early lead in Best-Dressed Coach in the State Tournament contest.”

Of course, being dressed well doesn’t necessarily translate to coming out ahead on the court, and top-seeded DeLaSalle advanced to the semifinals with a 90-63 win over the Hawks. The postgame news conference focused on things that matter.

“We obviously don’t have a team of that caliber up in the northland,” Fenske said. “There’s a reason DeLaSalle is a six-time defending champ. They’re always geared up, ready to go. And our boys came out hot out of the gate. We came out like we wanted to. We weren’t able to withstand their runs and everything else that they threw at us.”

The coach talked about an up-and-down season that brought the Hawks to state, for the second time in history, with a record of 14-15. And he said he hoped that getting to state would provide inspiration.

“I’m proud of these boys,” he said. “They came out and battled, they competed, they did everything they could. Hopefully it’s a good experience for our younger boys, that we’ve got to get back. This is the level where we’ve got to be. If we want to be competing with the best, we have to be ready to play at this level.”

Fenske is a coaching rarity, having brought both girls and boys teams to state. And he knows how fortunate he is.

“There are coaches greater than I who will never have the opportunity to be here once, let alone twice,” he said. “It’s no different (from girls to boys), though. You get on the big stage and the kids are in awe a little bit. … it’s always a special moment. There’s never a dull time to be able to to be coaching this late. I guess the biggest difference, thinking back on it, is we have a consolation bracket this time around so we get to have least one more game.”

That’s true. The Hawks will meet St. Thomas Academy in Thursday’s consolation bracket at Concordia University in St. Paul, with the winner playing for fifth place on Friday.

The final question of the news conference concerned Andy’s attire. What was the motivation for the formal look?

“That goes back to 2015 when I got a nice Tweet from Mr. Millea commenting on my apparel,” he said with a smile. “So I had to step it up a little bit more for this one. As a coaching staff we always dress to impress. If the college coaches dress up for all the big games, why shouldn’t we? While this isn’t quite the end of the road yet, we wanted to make sure if we were going to go down, we were going to go down swinging, and go down in style, too.”

Tournament Tidbits

--With one exception, higher-seeded teams came out on top in Wednesday’s Class 3A and 4A state quarterfinal games. In 3A, No. 1 seed DeLaSalle topped Hermantown, No. 2 seed Austin beat Sauk Rapids-Rice 64-55, unseeded Delano beat No. 3 seed Mankato East 79-64 and No. 4 seed Columbia Heights beat No. 5 seed St. Thomas Academy 75-62.

In 4A, top seed Cretin-Derham Hall beat Wayzata 70-48, No. 2 seed Apple Valley beat Forest Lake 67-60, No. 3 seed Lakeville North beat Maple Grove 89-71 and No. 4 seed Eden Prairie beat Osso 65-38.

--DeLaSalle, six-time defending champion in 3A, and Columbia Heights will meet in Thursday’s semifinals at Target Center. Both teams are in the Tri-Metro Conference, and DeLaSalle won their two regular-season meetings by scores of 94-58 and 82-67.

“I’ve nicknamed them The Machine because they continue to reload,” Columbia Heights coach Willie Braziel said of the Islanders. “They are a very disciplined basketball team, they play defense a lot like us. And they have some very intelligent basketball players. For us, we have to raise to their level of play. … DeLaSalle is a very, very good basketball team and an outstanding program. The rest of us strive to be that.”

--During last week’s girls state basketball tournament, I wrote about an official named Josh Lamppa who worked a game at Target Center, marking his fifth time at a state tournament. He’s the guy who played at the boys state basketball tournament for Bigfork in 1994 and coached the Nashwauk-Keewatin boys basketball team at the state tournament in 2004, giving him the player/coach/official trifecta.

Josh is one three dedicated officials named Lamppa who live on the Iron Range. His brother Davis also worked a game at the girls state tournament, and their cousin Kyle was on the court at Williams Arena for a boys game on Wednesday.

--Kudos to the fans from Sauk Rapids-Rice, especially the students, for exhibiting superior sportsmanship during the Storm’s game with Austin on Wednesday. As I posted on Twitter: “The student section from Sauk Rapids-Rice is absolutely sensational. Everybody standing the whole game, cheering loudly for their team, everything is positive and fun. How it should be done. Great job Storm.”

Boys State Basketball Tournament

Class 1A

Thursday’s quarterfinals at Williams Arena
11 a.m.: Mahnomen/Waubun vs. #1 Mayer Lutheran
1 p.m.: #5 Hinckley-Finlayson vs. #4 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton
3 p.m.: Heritage Christian vs. #2 North Woods
5 p.m.: Rushford-Peterson vs. #3 Cass Lake-Bena

Class 2A
Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Target Center
Minnehaha Academy 65, Jordan 45
St. Cloud Cathedral 64, Esko 60 (3OT)
Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Williams Arena
Brooklyn Center 63, Breckenridge 48
Caledonia 80, Minnewaska 41

Friday’s semifinals at Target Center
6 p.m.: Minnehaha Academy vs. St. Cloud Cathedral
8 p.m.: Brooklyn Center vs. Caledonia

Class 3A
Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Williams Arena
DeLaSalle 90, Hermantown 63
Columbia Heights 75, St. Thomas Academy 62
Austin 64, Sauk Rapids-Rice 55
Delano 79, Mankato East 64

Thursday’s semifinals at Target Center
Noon: DeLaSalle vs. Columbia Heights
2 p.m.: Austin vs. Delano

Class 4A
Wednesday at Target Center
Cretin-Derham Hall 70, Wayzata 48
Eden Prairie 65, Osseo 38
Apple Valley 67, Forest Lake 60
Lakeville North 89, Maple Grove 71

Thursday’s semifinals at Target Center
6 p.m.: Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Eden Prairie
8 p.m.: Apple Valley vs. Lakeville North

Follow John on Twitter: @MSHSLjohn
The Team? The Experience? It’s Everything3/17/2018
This weekend was remarkable for several reasons, most of them – but not all of them -- having to do with high school girls basketball in Minnesota. Let’s start, however, with what took place Friday evening far away in Charlotte, North Carolina.

That’s where the University of Virginia, a top seed in the NCAA men’s tournament, lost by 20 points to No. 16 seed Maryland-Baltimore County, becoming the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed in the tournament. Virginia coach Tony Bennett said all the right things afterwards…

“I told the guys, this is life. It can’t define you. You enjoyed the good times and you gotta be able to take the bad times. When you step into the arena, the consequences can be historic losses, tough losses, great wins, and you have to deal with it. That’s the job.”

Now, let’s delve into what took place Saturday at Target Center, where the MSHSL girls basketball state championship games were held. One possible headline could read like this: “Three Teams Win First State Titles.” Indeed, Lyle-Pacelli in Class 1A, Sauk Centre in 2A and Cooper in 3A took home first-place hardware for the first time. In Class 4A, Eastview added to its previous championship collection.

The games are televised and everyone sees what happens on the court in the big NBA arena. Behind the scenes are quieter moments, and they can be heartbreaking as well as inspiring. Such as …

--In a corridor, members of the Roseau band quietly saying, “You guys were great” and “We’re so proud of you” as athletes, exiting the court after coming up short in the championship game, sob, their shoulders heaving.

--A few hours later, players from Northfield applauding for their band members as they cross paths backstage after the Raiders lost to Cooper.

And then there are moments that make you smile in appreciation for kids who understand that being part of a team is a special thing, and when that experience comes to an end – whether in victory or defeat – it can hit them hard.

Madi Heiderscheidt, a senior from Sleepy Eye, and Abigail Bollinberg, a junior from Lyle-Pacelli, exemplified that sense of loss following Lyle-Pacelli’s 57-33 victory over Sleepy Eye in the 1A title game.

Both girls wiped tears from their eyes as they talked about the season, and the team, and the journey, coming to an end.

Madi, who will play basketball at the College of Saint Benedict, said, “I’m not as upset about second place as I am that my career is over.”

Lyle-Pacelli coach Justin Morris (who lives in Omaha, as noted previously in John’s Journal) coached his final game with the Athletics Saturday, and that added to Abigail’s feelings, despite the gold medal hanging around her neck.

“I’m kind of sad,” she said as the tears flowed. “I won’t get to play with these seniors again. I won’t get to play for our coach again.”

Kristi Fett, Lyle-Pacelli’s 6-foot-5 center who has signed with Minnesota State Mankato, had 30 points and 16 rebounds against Sleepy Eye. After three games in three days facing defenders who tried to outmuscle her under the basket, Kristi said, “We always talk about bumps and bruises being temporary but memories like these last a lifetime. You’ll remember the faces when you look around the team circle for the rest of your life.”

Following the Class 3A game, senior Annika Hoff of Northfield (who will play in the Ivy League at Cornell) was asked about the experience of wearing the Raiders uniform. She began to speak, saying “It’s been awesome,” and then broke down in tears.

The team? The experience? It’s everything. That’s the job.

Familiar Foes, New Final Result In Class 2A

Sauk Centre and Roseau have faced off at state for three years in a row now; in 2016 Roseau beat the Mainstreeters 94-82 in the third-place game and last season the Rams beat Sauk Centre 75-64 in the championship game. This time, the Mainstreeters came out on top 63-52.

Sauk Centre, making its eighth trip to state, ended a string of second-place finishes from 2012, 2015 and 2017.

Cooper Makes History In Class 3A

The Cooper Hawks capped their state tournament debut in grand style, defeating Northfield 49-37 for the school’s first team state title since 1985, when the softball team won the Class 2A championship.

Northfield also was seeking its first title in its third trip to state. The Raiders received flowers earlier in the week from the 1979 team, which also was a state runner-up. The Raiders’ most recent state appearance came in 2010.

In Class 4A, Eastview Stays Unbeaten

Eastview closed its season with a 32-0 record, joining Sauk Centre (33-0) as the state’s only undefeated teams. The Lightning, who won their first state title in 2014, defeated Hopkins 68-63 in the championship game. Hopkins, which has won six titles and finished second three times since 2004, was led by sophomore Paige Bueckers with a tournament-high 37 points.

Wells Fargo All-Tournament Teams

Class 1A

Kora Kritzberger, Ada-Borup/Norman County West; Mary Burke, Mountain Iron-Buhl; Lydia Sussner, Abby Hennen, Minneota; Madi Heiderscheidt, Sarah Ibarra, Brianna Polesky, Sleepy Eye; Olivia Christianson, Kristi Fett, Brooke Walter, Lyle-Pacelli.

Class 2A Kaylee Kirk, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton; Jaclyn Jarnot, Maranatha Christian; Bren Fox, Abby Mackenthun, Norwood-Young America; Katie Borowicz, Kacie Borowicz, Victoria Johnson, Roseau; Kelsey Peschel, Tori Peschel, Maesyn Thiesen, Sauk Centre.

Class 3A Destinee Oberg, Holy Angels; Cayle Hovland, Willmar; Heaven Hamling, Hannah DeMars, Grand Rapids; Annika Hoff, Grace Touchette, Rachel Kelly, Northfield; Aja Wheeler, Kierra Wheeler, Andrea Tribble, Cooper.

Class 4A Frannie Hottinger, Cretin-Derham Hall; Jayda Johnston, Roseville; Lauren Jensen, Ke James, Lakeville North; Paige Bueckers, Dlayla Chakolis, Raena Suggs, Hopkins; Megan Walstad, Mariah Alipate, Andrea Abrams, Eastview.

Girls State Basketball Tournament

Class 1A

Fifth place: Ada-Borup/Norman County West 63, Heritage Christian 47
Third place: Minneota 74, Mountain Iron-Buhl 56
Championship: Lyle-Pacelli 57, Sleepy Eye 33

Class 2A
Fifth place: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 64, Byron 32
Third place: Norwood-Young America 64, Maranatha Christian 54
Championship: Sauk Centre 63, Roseau 52

Class 3A
Fifth place: Holy Angels 56, Alexandria 46
Third place: Grand Rapids 51, Willmar 42
Championship: Cooper 49, Northfield 37

Class 4A
Fifth place: Cretin-Derham Hall 64, Maple Grove 57
Third place: Lakeville North 51, Roseville 46
Championship: Eastview 68, Hopkins 63

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