Here’s the skinny on the Class 3A field, which begins Wednesday with quarterfinal games at Williams Arena.

1 Could Hill-Murray, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, be the best team in the state regardless of class? Many think that might be the case. With a peerless duo of junior guard Tessa Cichy and senior center Bethany Doolittle, the undefeated Pioneers have nine victories over Class 4A teams, including a convincing 59-45 defeat of Eden Prairie in December.

2 Is Benilde-St. Margaret’s getting enough love? The defending champion Red Knights — who beat Hill-Murray for the 2010 championship — finished undefeated in the North Suburban Conference and all five of their losses have been to teams ranked in their respective classes. The inside-outside duo of Khadijah Shumpert and Olivia Antilla can match up with Doolittle and Cichy.

3 Another year, another state tournament for Faith Johnson Patterson. The DeLaSalle head coach brought Minneapolis North to the state tournament 10 times before moving downtown to head the Islanders last year. DeLaSalle is making its second appearance in a row and Patterson her 12th overall, the third-highest total for a girls’ coach in state history.

4 The multi-sport athlete is alive and well in outstate Minnesota. No. 4 seed Alexandria has seven three-sport athlete on its roster. And Marshall has six players who played for their Class 2A consolation champion volleyball team last fall.

5 Rogers High School is only eight years old, but the athletic program is already establishing a reputation for quality. The Royals, runners-up to Class 4A tournament entrant Buffalo in the Mississippi 8 Conference, are the fifth state tournament team the school has produced this year. The others are girls’ soccer, football, gymnastics and dance team.