Top Seed Goodhue Gets a Tough Draw in Girls State Tournament

The No. 1-rated Goodhue Wildcat girls basketball team is the top seed in the Class A tournament, which begins Thursday at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

The coaches in the tournament seed the top five teams and then there is a blind draw for the opponents of the top three seeds.

You could make the argument that Goodhue received the toughest draw.

They will play at 11AM Thursday against the Eagles of Sacred Heart out of East Grand Forks, Minn. Sacred Heart is a private Catholic high school in the Crookston Diocese and the Eagles have not lost to a Minnesota team this season. Their only loss was to Thompson, N.D., just before section play.

The Eagles beat a very good Stephen-Argyle team to get to state. However, this is their first trip to state and you never know how the bright lights and big arena will effect them.

Goodhue hopes the team that played in the section final will be the team that appears at the state tournament. The Wildcats did not play well in the previous games in the playoffs and had to pull off the miracle on Civic Center Drive in the subsection final. Goodhue was down by 10 with two minutes to go and somehow won the game in regulation at the Rochester Mayo Civic Center.

Wildcat head coach Josh Wieme told Power 96 Friday before the section final game when his team is locked in they are a very tough team.

Goodhue was clearly focused in their 85-52 win over Rushford-Peterson and did not take their foot off the gas when they achieved a convincing lead. The Wildcats (27-4) were up 49-27 at the half and 13 players scored in the game.

The No. 2 seed in Class A is Mountain Iron-Buhl, back after losing in the first round last year to Lyle/Pacelli 66-47. The Rangers (28-2) will play Sleepy Eye (28-2) at 3PM Thursday at Mariucci.

No. 3 seed Marantha Christian Academy of Brooklyn Park was the top seed in last year's tournament and lost in the finals to Ada-Borup. The Mustangs (24-8) play Southwest Minnesota Christian (27-1) at 5PM.

No. 4 seed Cromwell-Wright (27-3) faces No. 5 Wheaton (28-2) at 1PM.

The semifinals are Friday at noon and 2PM at Williams Arena.

The Class A championship will be played at noon Saturday at Williams Arena and the third-place game is at 10AM Saturday at Concordia University in St. Paul.

Here are the seeds in the other three classes this week.

In Class 2A, Section 1 champion Plainview-Elgin-Millville is also the top-rated team in the state and beat defending state champion Dover-Eyota in the section final in Rochester on Friday. The Bulldogs open with the Holy Family Catholic Fire (18-11) at 2PM Wednesday.

No. 4 seed Roseau (27-3) faces No. 5 Pequot Lakes (27-3) at 4PM Wednesday. No. 2 seed Sauk Centre (29-1) meets Section 2 champion Norwood Young America (26-3) at 6PM. No. 3 seed Minnehaha Academy (25-3) plays New London-Spicer (23-6) at 8PM.

All the Class 2A quarterfinal games are at Mariucci Arena.

Class 3A games are split between Tuesday and Wednesday.

No. 1 seed Hutchinson (23-5) plays Thief River Falls (25-3) at 6PM Tuesday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. No. 4 seed Marshall (23-6) faces No. 5 Academy of Holy Angels (22-5) at 8PM Tuesday at Target Center.

No,. 2 seed Winona (23-6), who lost to the Faribault Falcons during the regular season, will play Grand Rapids (22-7) at 10AM Wednesday at Mariucci Arena. No. 3 seed St. Paul Como Park (24-5) battles with Becker (19-9) at noon Wednesday in Mariucci.

The Class 4A tournament begins at Target Center on Tuesday with defending state champion Hopkins receiving the top seed and playing at 10AM Tuesday. The Royals (27-2) will be challenged by Park Center (22-7). The Pirates are the defending Class 3A champions.

At noon, Section 1 champions Lakeville North (23-5) will play South Suburban Conference foe Eastview (25-4). Eastview of Apple Valley is the No. 4 seed.

At 2PM, No. 2 seed St. Michael-Albertville (27-2) faces White Bear Lake Area (22-7). The 4PM Target Center game Tuesday features No. 3 seed Minnetonka (22-4) and Anoka (22-7).

The Class 2A championship will be played at 2PM Saturday. The Class 3A championship is at 6PM Saturday. The Class 4A championship will end the 2015-16 girls basketball season and begins at 8PM Saturday.

All the championship games will be at Williams Arena.