Girls Basketball State Tournament: 2024 Advance Release

Seedings have been completed and pairings set for the Minnesota State High School League’s 2024 Girls Basketball State Tournament. The four-day event begins on Wednesday, March 13 and concludes with a crescendo on Championship Saturday when championship games in four enrollment classifications will be played.

A common question asked of the League is if there has ever been a season when all No. 1 seeds won their respective classes. The answer is, yes, but just once. In 2018:

• Class A --- Lyle-Pacelli
• Class AA --- Sauk Centre
• Class AAA --- Robbinsdale Cooper
• Class AAAA --- Eastview

Only Class AAAA and Class AAA were seeded when the process began in 2007. That season, the seeding played out with St. Paul Central winning in Class AAAA and Becker doing the same in Class AAA.

Here is a look at the tournaments in each class:

Wednesday, March 13

At Willams Arena

Class AAAA quarterfinals

• White Bear Lake (21-7) vs. No. 1 Hopkins (25-3), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 Lakeville North (24-5) vs. No. 4 Maple Grove (24-4), noon
• Andover (24-4) vs. No. 2 Minnetonka (26-2), 2 p.m.
• Rosemount (22-6) vs. No. 3 St. Michael-Albertville (22-7), 4 p.m.

Class AA quarterfinals

• Perham (26-3) vs. No. 1 Providence Academy (25-4), 6 p.m.
• No. 5 Crosby-Ironton (24-6) vs. No. 4 New London-Spicer (28-2), 8 p.m.

At Maturi Pavilion

Class AAA quarterfinals

• Minneapolis Roosevelt (23-7) vs. No. 1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s (24-5), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 Stewartville (21-8) vs. No. 4 St. Peter (27-2), noon
• Totino-Grace (17-11) vs. No. 2 DeLaSalle (25-3), 2 p.m.
• Rock Ridge (26-3) vs. No. 3 Alexandria Area (24-4), 4 p.m.

Class AA quarterfinals

• Rochester Lourdes (21-9) vs. No. 2 Albany (28-1), 6 p.m.
• Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (19-11) vs. No. 3 Minnehaha Academy (26-3), 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 14

At Maturi Pavilion

Class A quarterfinals

• Mayer Lutheran (19-10) vs. No. 1 Goodhue (25-5), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 Southwest Minnesota Christian (28-2) vs. No. 4 Underwood (27-3), noon
• Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (24-6) vs. No. 2 Mountain Iron-Buhl (27-3), 2 p.m.
• Fosston (29-2) vs. No. 3 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (27-3), 5 p.m.

Spotlight

Class AAAA

White Bear Lake opened the season 2-3, but then used surges throughout the season to make its 10^th state tournament appearance. Bears coach Jeremy Post has been selected for induction into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Hopkins is the No. 1 seed for the 11^th time in program history. The Royals haven’t forgotten a one-point setback to St. Michael-Albertville in the Class AAAA championship game a year ago. Senior guard Liv McGill, a University of Florida recruit, runs the Royals’ attack and averages 22.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. Lakeville North returns to the state tournament behind head coach Andy Berkvam. He led the Panthers to state titles in 2001 and 2002. Maple Grove returns for the first time since 2019. Junior guard Jordan Ode, who has committed to Michigan State, averages 21.5 points per game and shoots 43 percent from three-point range. Andover is on a seven-game winning streak entering its first state trip since 2017 and fourth overall.  Minnetonka had consecutive losses to Minnetonka and Wayzata, respectively, in the Lake Conference schedule, but has since assembled an eight-game winning streak. Junior guard Aaliyah Crump and senior guard Tori McKinney provide a potent one-two punch for the Skippers. Crump is Minnesota’s top-ranked player in the junior class and played with the U.S. Under-16 national team. McKinney has signed with the Gophers. Rosemount returns for the third time in four seasons. In 2021, the Irish had a fun run to runner-up honors in Class AAAA. St. Michael-Albertville is a formidable No. 3 seed. Hopkins needed overtime to defeat the Knights 80-78 on Feb. 20. Senior guard Ja’Kahla Craft, a Seton Hall recruit, averages 25.7 points per game.

Class AAA

Minneapolis Roosevelt is making its state tournament debut. The Teddies have won 10 of their past 11 games entering this week’s state tournament. Benilde-St. Margaret’s is the defending Class AAA champion. The Red Knights won the Class AAA crown last year as the No. 2 seed. Senior guard Olivia Olson, a University of Michigan recruit, is Minnesota’s top-ranked senior player. She has scored 2,522 career points and has 1,048 rebounds. She also missed seven games this season after suffering a broken bone in her left hand. The Red Knights are on a 21-game winning streak. Stewartville is back after finishing runner-up to Benilde-St. Margaret’s a year ago. The Tigers are 12-2 over their past 14 games and on a six-game winning streak. St. Peter topped traditional Section 2 power, Marshall, in the section final to make its first state trip since 2019. Two seasons ago, Totino-Grace won the Class AAA crown. The Eagles lost 7 of 8 to Class AAA schools in the Northwest Suburban Conference but then rattled off three consecutive wins to capture the Section 5AAA crown. DeLaSalle is a seeded team in Class AAA for a record 10^th time. Junior guard Aneisha Scott leads the Islanders from the point. Rock Ridge is also a state tournament rookie. Rock Ridge, a newly formed school blending the communities of Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert, did qualify for the state tournament as Virginia in 1990 and 1992, respectively. Rock Ridge has two 1,000-point scorers in junior guard Anna Westby and sophomore guard Maija Lamppa. Alexandria makes a return trip as the No. 3 seed. A year ago, the Cardinals finished fourth.  

Class AA

Perham is the Section 8AA champion for the second consecutive season. The Yellowjackets are on a nine-game winning streak. Providence Academy is the defending Class AA champion and is favored to win a third consecutive title. Three of Providence Academy’s losses are to Class AAAA schools. The only other was to Albany on Dec. 19. Sophomore guard Maddyn Greenway averages 34.1 points, nine rebounds and more than seven assists per game. Crosby-Ironton features another Minnesota scoring phenom in sophomore guard Tori Oehrlein. She has scored more than 3,300 career points and grabbed 1,400 rebounds. New London-Spicer is no stranger to the state tournament. Longtime head coach Mike Dreier has 1,060 career victories. Rochester Lourdes is a longtime Section 1AA power. The Eagles are a 20-time state entrant and last won a crown in 2005. Albany, the runner-up to Providence Academy a season ago, is on a 20-game winning streak. Its only loss this season is to Mountain Iron-Buhl, an entrant in the Class A field. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown won 7 of 8 en route to capturing the Section 2AA crown. Two of Minnehaha Academy’s losses came to Providence Academy in high-scoring affairs. Redhawks junior guard Addi Mack has surpassed 3,000 career points. She averaged 31.4 and has three games of at least 40 points this season.

Class A

Mayer Lutheran has won six in a row to qualify for the first time since 2021. Goodhue earns the top seed, in part on the strength of doing well with a strong schedule. Two of the Wildcats’ losses are to Stewartville of Class AAA. Southwest Minnesota Christian, the Section 3A champion, is on a Class A-best 10-game winning streak. Underwood avenged two losses to Hancock during the regular season and defeated the Owls in the section final. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley is a first-timer in Class A. Mountain Iron-Buhl is the defending Class A champion and seeded second. Perhaps in preparation for a potential matchup in the Class A tournament, the Rangers played No. 1 Goodhue on Dec. 29 and lost 67-62. Fosston returns for the first time since 2006. The Greyhounds captured championships in 2000, 2001 and 2003. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart is the Section 3A champion. The Mustangs, on a five-game winning streak, opened the season with two losses. The only setback since was to Hancock on Feb. 17.