Section 1 in Three of Four State Championship Games Today

It's the final day of high school basketball in Minnesota and that means four state champions will be crowned today at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Southeastern Minnesota has once again proven it's the hotbed of good basketball in the state with three of the four section representatives playing for a title today.

In Class A, the Goodhue Wildcats have been rated No. 1 virtually all season and have proven they are worthy of that lofty ranking by defeating their first two state tournament opponents with running time in each game.

I don't think there will be running time today. Maranatha Christian Academy of Brooklyn Park was the top seed in last year's tournament and the No. 3 seed was rated No. 3 in the final Minnesota Basketball News Coaches Poll.

The Mustangs are a scoring machine, averaging 79 points a game coming into the  tournament, and rolling up 91 in their first contest before their amazing come-from-behind buzzer beater overtime win over Mountain Iron-Buhl yesterday.

Maranatha Christian is fun to watch because everyone can score the ball and they share it very well. The Mustangs average 22 assists a game and are also a very good rebounding team.

It's the Mustangs' seventh straight trip to state and they have a 78-game winning streak over their Minnesota Christian Athletic Association opponents.

Senior Alaina Jarnot has more than 2,000 and a state record of more than 1,050 assists, and Lexi Lee has more than 1,000 career points. Lee is a Miss Basketball candidate.

The Mustangs are 26-6, with losses to Mountain Iron-Buhl, Academy of Holy Angels (playing for the 3A title tonight), New Life Academy of Woodbury, Lyle-Pacelli, New Prague, Wayzata and Minneapolis DeLaSalle.

Maranatha Christian had back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.

Goodhue has never won a state title in girls basketball.

The Wildcats have made six trips to state, five of them in the past eight years under head coach Josh Wieme. This is the seventh straight year they've won 20-plus games.

Coverage of the game on KDHL 920AM, www.kdhlradio.com, and RadioPup begins at 11:45AM. I'm pumped to broadcast the game exactly one week after the Goodhue boys took on Minneapolis North for the boys title and finished second in that tournament.

In Class 2A, the No. 1 rated and No. 1 seed Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs survived a scare in the semifinal before eventually pulling away from the No. 4 seed and unranked Roseau Rams 87-78.

The Bulldogs had to pull out the win with their best player, senior Sarah Hart, on the bench after fouling out with plenty of time left in the game.

The Three Rivers Conference champions will play New London-Spicer for the title, and that could be a very good game.

New London-Spicer head coach Mike Dreier has won the most games in Minnesota High School girls basketball history, with 865 wins heading into the title tilt with a PEM team that is making their first trip to the big show.

It is the 16th trip for the Wildcats and they are seeking their third title (1997, 2002). They have been runner-up five times and placed third twice.

In Class 3A, the Big Nine Conference Winona Winhawks (25-6) are the No. 2 seed and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the state.

Winona rolled past Grand Rapids in their tournament opener 76-56 and got by a very good Becker Bulldog team 37-33 in the semifinals. This is the Winhawks' second trip to state and they have never won the championship.

The Faribault Falcons were one of the six teams to defeat Winona this season (62-55).

The Holy Angels Academy Stars (24-5) are the No. 5 seed and were ranked No. 7 in Class 3A in the final Minnesota Basketball News Coaches Poll.

The Stars defeated No. 4 seed Marshall 69-47 in their first game and scored a 55-42 win in the semis.

Academy of Holy Angels is making their fourth appearance at state and it's been a long time since they won a title (1975).

The 4A title game features two neighbors with No. 1 seed and No. 1 rated Hopkins (29-2) going for a repeat championship and fifth in the past six years.

The Minnetonka Skippers (24-4) are their opponent and are making just their second appearance at the state tournament. They have never won a girls basketball title.