Goodhue was ranked No. 1 in the final regular season poll by Minnesota Basketball News. It was seeded No. 4 by opposing coaches in the Class 1A field. It didn’t quite understand the logic behind the disparity.

If the Wildcats were upset about the seeding process, what about their opposition, Ada-Borup? The Cougars were ranked No. 4, and wound up the fifth seed. Coach David Smart’s squad was making its seventh state tournament appearance in the past nine years, and had never been beaten in the quarterfinals over that period.

Back-to-back layups by Michelle Hadler and Mikayla Miller with just over three minutes to play broke a tie and propelled Goodhue to a thrilling 65-58 victory over Ada-Borup in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Mariucci Arena.

“We haven’t lost to a Class 1A team all year, and really didn’t understand it,” Miller said. “This is a great feeling, winning this game.”

It proved to be a championship game-magnitude battle from start to finish. Fans on both sides stood and cheered with each trip up-and-down the court over the final five minutes.

“I usually can push players around the court,” Miller said. “I couldn’t do that today. It was tough out there.”

The final outcome wasn’t decided until Goodhue’s Sydney Lodermeier scored on a breakaway layup with 11 seconds left. She made two free throws 13 seconds earlier to give the Wildcats a 61-57 lead.

“That was really nerve-wracking,” Lodermeier said. She finished with 14 points. “That was the most fun game I’ve ever played in.”

Miller had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (26-5). All five of their setbacks were to either Class 2A, 3A or 4A teams.

Shaina Stevenson and Monica Vega led the Cougars (28-2) with 13 points apiece.

“It was a war out there for a while,” Smart said. “It was bodies flying all over the place. The ball didn’t bounce our way a couple of times, and it bounced their way a couple of times, and that ends up being the difference.