Emma Grothaus leads top-seeded Mahtomedi as the Zephyrs begin play in the Class 1A, Section 4 playoffs. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine
With the girls' basketball regular season officially finished, teams can turned their attention toward the postseason. Several teams have already started (and ended) their postseason runs, while the rest take their shot at a state tournament bid this week. As the remaining highly anticipated section seedings have announced and brackets posted on the MN Girls' Basketball Hub, we want to take a look at a couple sections battles between top-ranked foes and fierce rivals are sure to garner interest.
Here are two sections we're keeping an eye on.
Class 3, Section 4
Mahtomedi, ranked No. 3 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, enters postseason looking strong after winning the Metro East Conference title by two games over Hastings. An impressive 23-2 record has helped the Zephyrs earn the top seed in Section 4.
A road to the title and a state bid won't be easy with a potential showdown against No. 2 seed DeLaSalle looming. The Islanders are ranked No. 4 in Class 3A and seem poised to be serious threat to reach their second consecutive state tournament appearance.
Mahtomedi (23-2) recorded a 51-36 win against DeLaSalle on Dec. 2, and the Zephyrs boast two senior forwards who could help secure a second victory. Emma Grothaus (22.6 points per game) and Annika Sougstad (12.9 ppg) lead the team in scoring and present a potent combo for opponents.
The Islanders (15-8) have their own pair of scorers in Nora Francois and Dacoda Speidel. They contributed last year when DeLaSalle finished fifth in the Class 3A state tournament, and both are factors this year as each averages more than 10 points per game in the regular season.
Hill-Murray (17-9) comes in as the No. 3 seed and has an opportunity to play spoiler. The No. 13-3A Pioneers were the only team to knock off Mahtomedi in league play, recording a 50-46 victory on Feb. 9.
St. Paul Como Park (18-8) is the No. 4 seed and are coming off an undefeated season (12-0) in St. Paul City Conference play. The Cougars can use that momentum to aid their goal of making a second trip to the state tournament. Their first came in 2016.
Class 4, Section 6
This section features two of Class 4A's top teams in Lake Conference rivals Hopkins and Wayzata. The foes split their two regular season meetings and certainly would relish an opportunity to play a third time, which would be in the section final if the bracket holds.
The No. 2-ranked Royals enter as the top seed after posting a 23-3 regular-season record that included a 69-38 throttling the Trojans on Feb. 16, the teams' second meeting of the season. Hopkins has three different players averaging at least 15 points per game, led by Paige Bueckers (22.7 ppg). The sophomore guard averaged 21.5 points in her two games against Wayzata this season.
The No. 6-ranked Trojans seemed destined for the top seed after winning the first 23 games of the regular season. However, losses to Hopkins and No. 13-4A Minnetonka knocked Wayzata (24-2) to the No. 2 seed. Junior forward Kallie Theisen leads the Trojans, averaging 14.1 points per game in the regular season.
Minneapolis South is the No. 3 seed and could be a worth adversary. The No. 12-ranked Tigers (21-5) were 12-0 in Minneapolis City Conference play and have played several of the state's top teams, including Wayzata, No. 9-4A Cretin-Derham Hall and NO. 1-3A Robbinsdale Cooper. South took its lumps against all three, going 0-3. But the Tigers can build off that experience to find success in section play, and the team has an outstanding scorer to lead the way in senior guard Morgan Hill, who is averaging 25.6 points per game.
St. Louis Park (17-9) is the No. 4 seed and has yet to face any of the top three seeds in the section. The Orioles open section play against No. 5 seed Bloomington Kennedy, a Metro West Conference rival that St. Louis Park defeated twice in the regular season.
The rest of the section brackets can be found by clicking here.
Girls' Basketball Hub Headlines
PHOTOS: Hayfield defeats Badger/Greenbush-Middle River in overtime for Class 1A quarterfinal victory
- By Aiyanna Taylor, SportsEngine 03/16/2023, 2:45pm CDT
PHOTOS: Benilde-St. Margaret's defeats Alexandria in Class 3A semifinal
- By Aiyanna Taylor, SportsEngine 03/16/2023, 2:00pm CDT
PHOTOS: Minnehaha Academy defeats New London-Spicer in Class 2A quarterfinal
- By Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine 03/15/2023, 7:45pm CDT
PHOTOS: Albany tops Perham in Class 2A quarterfinal
- By Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine 03/15/2023, 6:45pm CDT
PHOTOS: Goodhue uses strong second half to overtake Crosby-Ironton in Class 2A quarterfinal
- By Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine 03/15/2023, 5:30pm CDT
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