Last Friday night Minnehaha Academy girls' basketball fans carried coach Josh Thurow around the court like a trophy during the on-court celebration for winning the Class 2A, Section 4 final, clinching a spot at state.

Fifth time, apparently, is the charm.

"That was kind of fun," Thurow said with a chuckle. "I don't think I've ever been carried off of any field or court in my life."

The Redhawks are playing in the state tournament for the fifth consecutive year.

"I'm just ecstatic and happy for our girls," he said. "They've worked extremely hard, and they certainly deserve the honor of going to the state tournament."

The Redhawks (20-8) defeated Minneapolis Washburn 68-53 in the section final at Hamline University. Their strong defense allowed only 18 points in the second half.

"Since this is our fifth time in a row at the state tournament, it's a really big deal," said junior forward Nicole Nipper, who scored 28 points in the section final. "Five in a row is very difficult to do. For us to not go to state is not an option. We expect to get there."

Minnehaha Academy will play the Section 5 champions, No. 1-ranked Providence Academy (24-4) on Wednesday at Williams Arena. The Lions beat the Redhawks twice this season, 48-35 in early December and 41-24 in early February.

"They're bigger and stronger. They're a great team and well-coached," Thurow said. "We're going to have find a way to knock off a team that's bigger than us. You have to beat the best to be the best. So we're going to give it our best effort."

The Redhawks, who reached the state tournament finals in the past two seasons, are 7-1 since their February loss to Providence.

Minnehaha had nine losses two years ago when it won the state championship, defeating Braham 64-46 in the Class 2A final. Those schools met again for the title last year but the Bombers prevailed 68-61.

"We've won before, we've gotten second and we've gone out in the first round," senior guard Gabbi Stienstra said. "We've been through every match that you could get. We're going to take one game at a time, focus on those opponents and then after the first game, go to the second game and so on."

This year's squad hopes to use its experience to add more trophy-case hardware. Thurow said Nipper and the team's three senior captains -- Stienstra, Andrea Scharf and Natalie Stevens -- have excelled this year.

Nipper was an integral part of the Redhawks' section tournament run, averaging 22.3 points per game. The forward also led the team in scoring during the regular season at 16.2 points per game.

"Nicole is a great shooter for us," Thurow said. "Not only [has she] just been a shooter, but she also has gotten to the basket and played great defense [this season]."

Stienstra was the Redhawks' second-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game during the regular season. Stevens was third in scoring and Scharf was fourth.

"I would say that we don't have anyone who is extremely gifted in size or Division I athleticism," Thurow said. "But we do have a bunch of girls who know how to play the game the right way, who play well together and who are extremely unselfish and work hard for each other."

Calvin Swanson is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.