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Section tournaments get started Tuesday

By Brian Stensaas, Star Tribune, 02/28/11, 10:05PM CST

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Hopkins not invincible in Class 4A

It’s officially March, which means we’re no longer looking ahead to March Madness; it’s here. Section tournaments in girls’ basketball begin Tuesday, with likely contenders and those with upsets on their minds both in the mix. Here are some story lines to consider:

A full house

Hopkins appeared to be in the driver’s seat all season in Class 4A, but the awe-inspiring Royals proved they are beatable with losses to Eden Prairie and Minnetonka in the past month. The latter came by three points Friday in the regular-season finale, which gives the Skippers, a fellow Section 6 foe, some added momentum heading into the postseason.

“We needed to beat a top team to get some of our confidence back,” said Bart Inniger, whose Minnetonka team, the No. 3 seed in Section 6, lost to top-seed Hopkins by 32 points earlier in the season.

Also slammed into the mix in Section 6 are No. 2 seed Minneapolis South, No. 4 seed Wayzata — which advanced to the state tournament out of this spot a year ago — and No. 5 Robbinsdale Cooper, a team that has won 12 of its past 13 games.

“Each game and team presents different challenges and talent,” Inniger said. “The team that meets those challenges and can handle the pressure of three games of intense basketball will be deserving of the state berth.”

Preller’s last stand

Win or lose in the Class 4A, Section 4 tournament, veteran Woodbury coach Dave Preller will retire after 24 years.

“It’s time,” he said in a statement.

His Royals, the No. 2 seed behind White Bear Lake, are led by Michelle Young’s 22.4 points per game. During his career, Preller has a 531-142 record with 16 conference titles, 10 section titles and the 2003 Class 4A state championship. He was elected into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002.

Pioneers power

Hill-Murray has needed some late-game heroics to win down the stretch, but the bottom line is the team continues to be red hot.

In completing an undefeated regular season, the Pioneers won eight of their 14 Classic Suburban Conference games by at least 20 points. Hill-Murray, the top seed in Class 3A, Section 4, also defeated Eden Prairie and Edina, the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in Class 4A, Section 2, respectively, early in the season.

The Pioneers are led by the dynamic 1-2 punch of Tessa Cichy and Bethany Doolittle, who combine to score more than 36 points per game.

Red Knights well-tested

Don’t sleep on defending Class 3A champion Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

The No. 1-seeded Red Knights enter Section 6 play with four losses, only one to a team in their class: by four points last month to Section 3 No. 1 seed DeLaSalle.

BSM’s road back to Target Center will not be easy, with No. 2-seeded Richfield (and metro-leading scorer Jessica January) and Orono in the same section.

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