No. 1-2A NRHEG at No. 15-1A Blooming Prairie
7:15 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14

The entire Gopher Conference — and all of Class 2A — has been looking up at Carlie Wagner and NRHEG for the past two seasons. Behind Wagner’s record-setting state tournament scoring outburst, the Panthers earned their first state championship last year and are rolling right along at a perfect 21-0 this winter. Wagner, a University of Minnesota commit, is as aggressive and talented a scorer as the state has seen. She’s quick and can get into the paint and muscle up a shot or get fouled. Her 50 points in the state final against Braham is unlikely to be repeated — unless Wagner has an encore in her this winter. No team has come close to beating NRHEG this year and Blooming Prairie already dropped a 64-36 decision on Jan. 17. But the Awesome Blossoms are talented, led by junior center Taylor Hagen and junior guard Madison Worke. Hagen set a school scoring record last year as a sophomore and has already verbally committed to Northern Iowa.