Girls' basketball state tournament - and a busy weekend locally!

At the Class 1A state girls' basketball tournament today, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart defeated Underwood 66-49 in the third-place game. In the consolation championship, Mayer Lutheran leveled Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 70-38 to take fifth place.

In the state title game, top-seeded Goodhue is holding a 39-29 halftime lead over defending state champion Mountain Iron-Buhl. Goodhue Wildcats senior Elisabeth Gadient, who surpassed 2,000 points in her career yesterday in the semifinals, leads the way out of all players with 20 points. The Wildcats (27-5) shot an insane 7-of-15 from the three-point line. Gadient's final made three-pointer of the half was launched at least 5 feet beyond the arc at the top of the key.

Final: Goodhue 70, Mountain Iron-Buhl 65. This was MI-B's second straight appearance in the state title game and fourth straight trip to the state tournament.

Last night in the Section 6A finals, West Central Area's boys' basketball team defeated Ada-Borup West 60-56 to advance to the Class 1A state tournament for the first time in school history. The Knights are 27-3 overall.

In 2022, the Knights finished as runners-up in Sub-Section 3AA-North to Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta in a 22-5 season. A year earlier in the pandemic season, the Knights went 15-5 and were runners-up in Sub-Section 6A-South behind Hancock; they lost in the finals in overtime, and the Owls went on to take second at the state tournament. Both teams shared the Pheasant Conference title in the regular season.

On March 12, 2020, the WCA Knights played in the Section 6A finals against Henning and lost 57-45. The next day, the world lost its collective mind as governments across the globe took the bait from China and started implementing China-like COVID measures that in some cases lasted two years or more. Here in Jaguar Country, we ditched nearly all COVID measures on May 14, 2021 while holding a mask-free Class of 2021 graduation in the high school gymnasium with a packed house!

On the home front...
Tonight, I encourage everyone to attend the Belgrade Lions chili cook-off! It runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Belgrade V.F.W., and chili will be offered until it runs out. I would arrive between 5:30 and 6:30 to make sure you get enough chances to try each chili. It is a do-not-miss event! Tomorrow we've got the Brooten Ambulance pancake breakfast (8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Brooten American Legion) plus the St. Patrick's Day parade in Padua at 1 p.m. Also! This entire weekend, the Padua Pub will be offering two days of St. Patrick's Day fun! Read more about that on page 12 of this week's Voice or by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/ltzDQ.

Tiyana Schwinghammer's team will tip-off at about 2:25 p.m. in the NJCAA national tournament third-place game. After tip-off...Schwinghammer has 6 early points while her squad holds a 9-6 lead in the first quarter. Through 6 minutes in the first quarter...the game is tied 13-13, and Schwinghammer has 8 points. An incredible, tough baseline shot by Schwinghammer tied the game at 15-15 with 1:40 left in the first quarter; she now has 10 points.

In the final seconds of the first quarter, Schwinghammer attempted an off-balance paint shot as time was about to expire and was fouled. She proceeded to knock down both free throws, getting her to 12 points and making the first quarter score as follows: Cedar Valley of Dallas 19, Northland 17.

In the second quarter...Cedar Valley holds a 25-19 lead.

Bang! Bang! Back-to-back three-pointers by Northland's Emma Osborne has lifted the Pioneers on top 27-25 with 4:41 to go in the second quarter.

After trailing 25-19 early in the second quarter, Northland has gone on a tear with a 19-6 run that's put them ahead 38-31 at halftime. Schwinghammer is leading the way with 17 points. The Pioneers took 7 fewer shots than the Suns, but the Pioneers are shooting 50 percent from the floor. The Suns have 13 points off of turnovers compared to just 5 for Northland.

After three quarters of play...Northland now holds a 60-38 lead. Final: Northland Community and Technical College 79, Cedar Valley Dallas 64. Schwinghammer led her team with 21 points. The Pioneers finish the season 24-6 overall in an incredible year after they missed out on nationals a year ago. This was Northland's 13th overall appearance in the NJCAA national tournament.

Back to state tournament news...the Albany Huskies girls' basketball team played a magnificent game against No. 1-ranked Providence Academy in the Class 2A state title game today. The Lions, however, won 81-78 to claim their third straight state championship. The Huskies, who finish 30-2 overall, had defeated two other powerhouse private school programs to get to the state finals (Rochester Lourdes and Minnehaha Academy)...this was a rematch of last year's Class 2A state title game, which Providence Academy won 70-64. In the 2022 state tournament, Providence Academy beat Albany 55-48 in the state semifinals before edging out Fergus Falls 55-53 for the state title. In the 2021 COVID state tournament, Providence Academy lost to Albany 57-43 in the state title game. Back in 2020, Albany lost 54-38 to Sauk Centre in the Section 6AA championship. Sauk Centre then lost twice at the COVID-shortened state tournament before everything was shut down the following day - Friday, March 13, 2020. Do you remember that day? I do.