2019 State Class A Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

                                     2019 STATE CLASS A GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
                                             (Games played Thursday, March 14 at Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis)

11:00:  Red Lake vs. Minneota (Seed 1)
  1:00:  Ada-Borup (Seed 5) vs. Heritage Christian Academy (Seed 4)
  3:00:  Mountain Iron-Buhl vs. Goodhue (Seed 2)
  5:00:  BOLD vs. Menagha (Seed 3)

                                     EXAMINING THE FIELD
Just before the Class AAA semifinal session begins next door at Williams Arena, the first of four Class A quarterfinal games gets underway at Maturi Pavilion with the Red Lake Warriors facing the top seeded Minneota Vikings.  The Warriors got back on track after losing their last two regular season games to Roseau and Pine River-Backus and make their first trip to state since 2017.  They have a tough task ahead against the top seeded Vikings, who are in their eight state tournament appearance and have been a dominant force in Class A girls basketball season.  Their only loss was on February 5 to Brandon Valley of South Dakota.  It's been five years since Minneota played in the Class A title game.  Can head coach Chad Johnston bring home another state title in girls basketball as well as football?

The  fifth seeded Ada-Borup Cougars head to Minneapolis for the 11th time and fourth in their last five years.  They clinched the Section 6 title with a 49-46 win over the top seeded Pelican Rapids Vikings.  Fans in attendance will get to he one of the state's best pep bands under the direction of Richard Tuttle.  The cougars face one of the top teams a lot of people haven't heard of, the fourth seeded Heritage Christian Academy Eagles.  The Maple Grove based school makes their second straight trip to state and has not lost a game since Maranatha Christian Academy beat them 58-46 on January 22.  It has the makings of an interesting match up.

They're back!  The Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers return to Minneapolis for the ninth consecutive year but head coach Jeff Buffeta has not taken any title trophies to the Iron Range.  But it won't be an easy task for the Rangers as they battle the second seeded Goodhue Wildcats, who head up Highway 52 for the eighth time and go for their first state title since 2017.  Goodhue is a team that will probably head back to the Twin Cities in the next few years since their roster has five sophomores and four freshmen.  Will Goodhue's future begin in the present with a possible state title run?

The last quarterfinal game pits the BOLD Warriors and the third seeded Menagha Braves.  The Warriors have won five straight games since they lost to Sauk Centre 68-51 on February 18.  The Braves are back in the Class A field for the second straight year and have only lost one game, falling to Eden Valley Watkins 53-42 on February 9.  They have a really good chance to set up a possible semifinal showdown with Goodhue.

Lots of exciting girls basketball action coming up at the University of Minnesota.  It all begins Wednesday morning.

Bloggers Note:  Research information from mshsl.org and minnesota-scores.net.