Standout junior guard Carlie Wagner, according to New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva basketball coach John Schultz, is “a fierce competitor [who] does not have an enemy in the world.”

Is such a dichotomy possible?

Wagner, who leads the second-ranked Panthers (29-1) into this week’s Class 2A state tournament, just laughs. She does that a lot. She scores (32.7 points per game), assists (5.7) rebounds (5.2) and steals (4.6) in bunches. Her 5-foot-10 frame and versatility attracted a great deal of college attention and she committed to the Gophers earlier this season.

Added notoriety awaits her this week. When fans last saw Wagner in Minneapolis, she upstaged Braham’s Rebekah Dahlman in a quarterfinal upset. She later broke records for points in a single-game (48) and an overall tournament (112), marks previously held by Minneapolis South’s Tayler Hill.

But Wagner, who scored 49 points and posted 10 assists and seven steals in the Section 2 championship game last week, laughed off the pressure of high expectations.

“I’m just the same old me,” Wagner said. “This year has been everything I’ve hoped for. We’re just having fun. I don’t think there’s really any pressure.”

Wagner does hope for a different outcome for the Panthers, who placed third last season to cap their first trip to the state tournament in eight years. A semifinal loss to Sauk Centre still burns. Those teams could meet in the second round again this week.

Stepping back to view the accomplished Class 2A field, Wagner is excited to help showcase the big-time talent throughout the second-smallest class.

A trio of college-bound seniors — Taylor Finley (Harvard), Leah Szabla (North Dakota) and Nathalie Ratliff (Colorado Christian) — lead top-ranked and defending champion Providence Academy. Shot-blocking ace Chase Coley helped Minneapolis Washburn back to state for the first time since 1984. And Dahlman, who signed with Vanderbilt, enters the tournament within 40 points of 5,000 for her career.

“It’s just crazy how much talent there is in Class 2A,” Wagner said.