2017 Class AAAA State Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

        2017 CLASS AAAA STATE GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
                       Games played Tuesday, March 14 at Target Center, Minneapolis

10:00:  Minnetonka vs. Hopkins (Seed 1)
12:00:  Park Center (Seed 5) vs. Eastview (Seed 4)
2:00:  White Bear Lake vs. Elk River (Seed 2)
4:00:  Andover vs. Lakeville North (Seed 3)

Examining the Field:  The 2017 edition of the Minnesota State High School Girls Basketball Tournament gets underway with a rematch of last year's Class AAAA final between the Minnetonka Skippers and the top seeded and unbeaten Hopkins Royals.  Last year, the Skippers beat their Lake Conference rivals to win their first state title.  But things are different this year.  Minnetonka lost a number of top players o graduation and they have only one senior on their roster Kelsey Schmitz.  In their two regular season meetings, the Royals won decisively by an average margin of 27 points.  Hopkins is led by one of the best underclass players in Minnesota, freshman Paige Bueckers and junior Raena Suggs,  They are the favorites to win the AAAA title and head coach Brian Cosgriff is three games away from bringing another championship trophy back to Lindbergh Center.

The fifth seeded Park Center Pirates are back in the AAAA field and they are on a roll with a 14 game winning streak.  Head coach Chris VanderHyde is looking for his first state title as a AAAA school after winning two straight in Class AAA from 2014 to 2015.  The Pirates have tournament experience in Danielle Schaub and Ann Simonet as well as Mikayla Hayes, who will be playing next season for the Florida Gators.  The fourth seeded Eastview Lightning are back for the fifth straight year, their second under Molly Kasper, who took over for Melissa Guebert.  But wait, there's another Guebert on the roster.  Her name is Macy and she's a sophomore and younger sister of Madison, who is now at South Dakota State.  Last year Eastview took home the third place trophy.  Can they head back to Apple Valley with another trophy?

The good news for the White Bear Lake Bears is they return to state after finishing fourth last year.  The bad news is they go up against the other unbeaten team in Class AAAA, the second seeded Elk River Elks.  The Elks are led by Sidney Wentland and Gabi Haack and have the talent to return to the AAAA final for the first time since 20001 when they lost to the Lakeville Panthers.  The Northstar Commuter Rail will probably be busy with Elks fans headed for the University of Minnesota this week.

Wrapping up the Class AAAA quarterfinals will be the Andover Huskies and the third seeded Lakeville North Panthers.  The Panthers have won 21 straight games since they lost to Apple Valley on December 20 and beat their South Suburban Conference rival Eastview twice.  Can the Panthers qualify for their first AAAA title berth since winning the 2010 championship?