It’s David vs Goliath at Pacesetter’s Sweet 16

<p>David vs Goliath: That&#39;s the premise behind Pacesetter&#39;s Sweet 16 tournament, a fun event that provides smaller high schools the opportunity to face some of Minnesota&#39;s big 3A and 4A powers in a two-day extravaganza that began Saturday at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph. The tournament features plenty of marquee programs – Hopkins, De la Salle, Maranatha and St. Michael-Albertville for example – along with some high quality small schools such as La Qui Parle Valley, Bigfork and Eden Valley-Watkins. So, inquiring minds want to know, were there any Davids who knocked off any Goliaths in the round of 16? The answer is… Almost.</p> <p>David in this case was Lac Qui Parle Valley, a 1A school from Southwestern Minnesota with an official Minnesota State High School League enrollment of 61. Goliath was STMA – enrollment 1,618 – which had to face the upstart Eagles without the services of its two best young starters, point guard <strong>Kenzie Kramer</strong> (#2 in the Class of 2020) and <strong>Kendal Cox</strong>, who will surely be near the top of the list when the first 2021 rankings come out soon. With the game a dead heat at halftime, word spread quickly that there just might be an upset in the making. <strong>Kelsea Lund</strong>, a 5&#39;3" dynamo at point guard for LQPV, was doing the most damage along with her cousin <strong>Haley Wollschager</strong> at the 2 guard spot. Sometimes it was hard to tell the two apart. Both are blessed with outstanding skills – ball handling in particular – and they were playing at a very fast pace. Lund, who averaged 20 ppg last season, hit a pair of free throws with just over six minutes left on the clock to tie the game at 39.</p> <p>The next basket didn&#39;t come until three more minutes had elapsed as STMA pulled ahead when senior <strong>Riley Carlson</strong> (North Tartan Nike Elite) made a pair of free throws. The Eagles then committed a costly turnover in their own end of the floor to fall behind by two. STMA did a nice job killing time until Lund forced a turnover at mid court with 20 seconds remaining. She immediately fired a hard pass up the floor to her sister, freshman <strong>Maci Lund</strong>, who drove to the basket, put up a relatively straightforward layup and somehow missed. LQPV immediately fouled but Carlson calmly put away a pair of free throws to seal the deal. LQPV made a basket at the buzzer but it wasn&#39;t enough as STMA hung on for the 48-46 victory. Sorry David. Maybe next year.</p> <p><strong><span style="color:black">Bigfork vs Maranatha Christian Academy</span></strong></p> <p>Another enticing matchup featured Class A Bigfork against 2A Maranatha, a game that was difficult to handicap. We knew coming in that Bigfork was a rising power in Class A. Maranatha has been a regular state tournament participant in 1A but has now been bumped up to 2A. Bigfork is led by <strong>Kia Tower</strong>, a highly skilled point guard with quick feet. Ranked 59th in the class of 2019, Tower is a great ball handler who is fully capable of doing things at warp speed, not surprising considering she plays AAU ball with the run-and-gun Hi Impact squad out of Mountain Iron Buhl. Tower, who had 15 ppg last year, demonstrated her ability to distribute the ball effectively, and was also impressive on defense.</p> <p>The Huskies&#39; other threat is power forward <strong>Haley Grover</strong>, who was a handful inside for Maranatha. Grover is strong and powerful, and she isn&#39;t shy about driving to the basket and leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. Watching the two of them work together, it&#39;s not surprising that Bigfork started last season with a 25-game win streak. Maranatha could have used the services of senior guard <strong>Kiley Post</strong>, who was out with an ankle injury. Post, who is one of the state&#39;s best defenders, is ranked 60th in the senior class.</p> <p>Bigfork was mostly in control and built a comfortable lead, before doing a nice job milking the clock down the stretch for an impressive 74-64 win. The Huskies reward for the victory? A date with six-time state 4A champion Hopkins later in the day. The outcome of that one was never in doubt, but this kind of matchup is what the Sweet 16 is all about. Tower was fired up before the contest, talking about how excited she was to play against the state&#39;s best player <strong>Paige Bueckers</strong>. "I&#39;m sure we will be watching her on TV someday," Tower said, "and I will be able to say I guarded her in high school." Hopkins won the game 80-55 but Bigfork left the gym with some great memories. It doesn&#39;t get any easier on Sunday as they&#39;ll play 4A Moorhead in the 5th place bracket.</p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>Saturday&#39;s results</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Round of 16</strong></p> <ul> <li>(4A) STMA def. (1A) LQPV 48-46</li> <li>(3A) De la Salle def. (2A) Minnehaha 44-33</li> <li>(4A) Wayzata def. Norwood-Young America 71-48</li> <li>(3A) Grand Rapids def. B-G-MR 62-59</li> <li>(4A) Hopkins def. (3A) Waseca 72-50</li> <li>Bigfork def. (2A) Maranatha 74-64</li> <li>(3A) Cooper def. Eden Valley-Watkins 56-43</li> <li>(4A) Moorhead def. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 53-28</li> </ul> <p><strong>Quarterfinals</strong></p> <ul> <li>STMA def. De la Salle 64-59</li> <li>Wayzata def. Grand Rapids 67-51</li> <li>Hopkins def. Bigfork 80-55</li> <li>Cooper def. Moorhead 59-51</li> </ul> <p><strong>Sunday&#39;s Semifinals</strong></p> <ul> <li>STMA vs Wayzata at 11:40 a.m.</li> <li>Hopkins vs Cooper at 1:00 p.m.</li> <li>Championship game will be  at 5:10 p.m.</li> </ul>