Class A Girls Basketball State Quarterfinal Recap

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Eight Class A-enrollment schools began their state tournament journey with quarterfinal play on Thursday, March 17, 2022 at the Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus. Unseeded Minneota made its way to the semifinals with a quarterfinal upset win over top-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl. The Vikings will take on another school with its nickname, Minneota. In the lower bracket semifinal, No. 2 Mayer Lutheran and No. 3 Hancock will meet after posting quarterfinal victories.

The Class A semifinals are Friday at noon and 2 p.m., and will be broadcast live on 45TV. The games are also streamed live at www.prep45.com. There is no charge to view the stream.

Here is a look at what happened in the quarterfinals:

• ·Unseeded Minneota outscored top-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl by three in the extra session to record a 51-48 victory in the first of four Class A quarterfinals at Maturi Pavilion. Senior guard McKenna Yost scored 24 points for the Vikings (27-4), including 4 of 9 from three-point range and making all of her six free throw attempts. Her last two free throws came with two seconds remaining in overtime. Senior forward Natalee Rolbiecki scored 12 points, including a putback layup with one second remaining in regulation time to force the extra session. Sophomore guard Jordan Zubich had 12 points for the Rangers (27-4).
• No. 5 Hayfield built a first-half lead of as many as 16 points en route to a 67-57 victory over No. 4 Cass Lake-Bena. Sophomore guard Kristen Watson led the Lady Vikings (32-0) with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Natalie Beaver added 22. Freshman guard Gabrielle Fineday had 17 points for Cass Lake-Bena (28-3).
• No. 2 Mayer Lutheran led from the early going in posting a 56-33 victory over United Christian Academy at the Maturi Pavilion. The Crusaders (27-4) scored 40 points in the paint and held a 33-20 advantage in rebounds. Junior forward Madeline Guetzkow led a balanced attack for Mayer Lutheran with 17 points. Senior forward Emma Lade chipped in 11. United Christian Academy (24-4), making its state tournament debut, was paced by sophomore Allie Vinar, who had 12 points.
• Hancock, the No. 3 seed, wrapped up the small-school quarterfinals with a 73-38 victory over Nevis at Maturi Pavilion. Senior guard Carlee Hanson scored 29 points and was 5 of 10 from three-point range for the Owls (28-1). Freshman Kaitlyn Rohloff added 13 points. Senior Ava Isaacson paced Nevis (19-9) with 14 points.