State Tournament Quarterfinals: Top 10 class A performers

The Class A State Tournament quarterfinals took place on Tuesday and Wednesday with four total games that would decide who moves on to the semifinals at the Target Center. Mountain Iron-Buhl and Cass Lake-Bena kicked it off at Pequot Lakes High School in a nail bitter that came down to a single possession. Following that game, the number one seeded team in the south, Minneota, played against Houston and took care of business in the first round at Mankato East High School to keep their undefeated season alive. The last game of the night including Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa and West Central Area went down to the wire but BBE held on. On Wednesday, in the only game of the day for Class A, we saw a big performance from Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, who took down the number two seed in the south. <strong>Mountain Iron-Buhl advances with a 49-50 win</strong> <strong>Hali Savela – freshman guard, Mountain Iron-Buhl</strong> Savela came off the bench ready to play! She did everything for the Rangers on Tuesday. On offense she was able to find holes against the 3-2 zone and hit the mid-range jumper. She also stepped out from deep to knock down the three. She scored 12 points in the second half which helped MIB keep the game close. Down the stretch Savela hit a quick two-pointer followed by a clutch three to bring them within one point. On defense she recovered the ball for a steal with 22 seconds left when the Rangers were still down one. Savela comes into the state tournament averaging 9.8 points per game and ended the game with a big 18. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109152" first="Lauren" last="Maki"] – junior forward, Mountain Iron-Buhl</strong> Maki did exactly what she needed to do on Tuesday. She spread the floor on offense and played good defense down low. She was able to play inside and out against the zone and even knock down a three. The junior comes in averaging 5.8 points a game but ended the night with 8. She hit the two game-winning free throws that put MIB up one, and helped them advance. <strong>Minneota advances with a 67-34 victory</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109764" first="Abby" last="Hennen"] – senior guard, Minneota</strong> The senior guard controlled the game from the tip. Hennen started the game off strong attacking the hoop and getting to the free throw line. She let it fly early and was able to knock down the deep three with ease. She got what she wanted and proved to be too much for the Houston Hurricanes. She played tough on defense, not allowing her person to get easy passes and got tips for fast break layups. Hennen comes in averaging 17.7 and ended the night with 21. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109147" first="Natalie" last="Rolbiecki"] – junior guard, Minneota</strong> Rolbiecki also played a great up and down game. She ran the floor well to get transition layups and also pushed the ball up to deliver the pass after a rebound. On the other end she played the top of the press and forced the other team to turn the ball over. On defense Rolbiecki was able to get her hands on the ball for steals. Against the zone, Natalie was often left open on the block, where all she had to do was turn and square up to the basket for a bucket. She had great length and size compared to her counterpart. Rolbiecki comes into the state tournament averaging 15.2 points per game but went off to end the game with 21. <strong>Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa advances to win 76-71</strong> <strong>Abby Berge – junior guard, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa</strong> I think Berge played every position this game and did it well. She is very multidimensional on offense. She started off the game more down low getting offensive rebounds and put-backs. In the second half no one could stop her. She was dribbling it the length of the floor in transition, stepping out to hit the three and attacking the hoop hard. She got to the line nine times and hit seven. The junior guard averages 15.8 points per game but went off for 27, against West Central. Down the wire Berge got back to back steals to help BBE close out the game. <strong>Josie Knutson – senior point guard, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa</strong> Josie plays fearless, She comes off the bench but I thought she really controlled the game. Her and Berge were both responsible for breaking the press and they did it well. She was not afraid to attack on offense and get to the line. She hassled the other team's point guard all game and picked her pocket a couple of times for fast break layups. Knutson's big 3 in the second half is what helped BBE secure the win. Knutson averages 7 a game but stepped up big to drop 13 on the night. <strong>Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s advances with a 78-67 win</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"] – junior guard, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s</strong> This was my first time watching Mathiowetz and I knew she was good coming into this game, just by looking at the stats, where she leads the team in almost everything and averages 33.5 points per game. She was hard for the other team to figure out because she’s more than a one-dimensional player. At one point they started face guarding her which didn’t faze Maddie at all. The junior has really good range and can hit the deep three even if someone is in her face. Against Mayer Lutheran's 1-3-1 she was all over the floor finding holes and creating opportunities for her teammates. On offense I call her a point guard but that’s mostly because she brings it up and controls the pace, but that’s not all she did. She also played down low and rebounded the ball. There were multiple occasions where I saw her post up or go to the elbow and knock down the midrange. It’s not only her offense, she also had quick hands on defense, stealing the ball from basically everyone on Mayer Lutheran for a fast break layup. She put the team on her back and finished the night with 44 points. <strong>Sydney Windschitl – senior guard, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s</strong> Windschitl plays like she’s Mathiowetz's partner in crime. They look for each other a lot. She attacked the rim really hard and crashed the boards hard. Just like her teammate she can play both inside and out. On the perimeter she knocked down the three and found cutters in the lane. When she played inside, she posted up strong which usually resulted in an and-1. Windschitl ended the night with a strong second half and 19 points. <strong>Side note:</strong> Junior [player_tooltip player_id="57955" first="Emma" last="Lade"] and <strong>Julia Carns</strong> from Mayer Lutheran, both put up 20 points in a good effort.