National quarterfinals! Goes down to the wire (VIDEO)

At halftime, the Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team is in a 26-26 tie with the Anoka Ramsey Rams. This game is one of the NJCAA Division III national tournament quarterfinals. It has been an outstanding game mostly with halfcourt offensive sets. The Pioneers led 11-8 midway into the first quarter, but the Rams charged in front 16-11. The Pioneers then fought back, and a step back buzzer-beating three-pointer by Northland's Josie Iverson lifted her team on top 18-16 at the quarter break. Tiyana Schwinghammer scored the first bucket for her team, and she's had some great defensive plays to frustrate the Anoka Ramsey offense in the paint.

In the third quarter...with 4:08 to go during a media timeout, the Rams are holding a 38-28 lead. They have come alive with a 7-0 run in a span of just 2 minutes of the game. Overall, going back into the second quarter, Anoka-Ramsey is on a 15-2 run as they have at least for now taken over the game. Update: with 70 seconds left in the third, Anoka-Ramsey holds a 40-33 lead. At the end of three quarters: Anoka-Ramsey 42, Northland 37.

In the fourth quarter...the Rams hold a 47-43 lead with just over 5 minutes to go. At stake is a berth in the Final Four round of the NJCAA Division III tournament.

FINAL: Northland 54, Anoka-Ramsey 53. Tiyana Schwinghammer's three-point play in the final 3 seconds of the game won it for the Pioneers! It was absolutely crazy. One of the wildest finishes to a basketball game I've ever seen. 

Northland had to overcome a 50-43 deficit with 4:46 left in the fourth quarter. Up next for Northland: a national tournament semifinal game against Minnesota West of Worthington tomorrow back in Rochester, Minnesota. Tip-off for the Final Four game is 5 p.m.!

*Here's a not-so-hot video recorded of a replay of the buzzer-beating game-tying field goal by Schwinghammer:


More to come.

In Section 3AA...the championship game is being played tonight in Marshall. At halftime, the Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Tigers boys' basketball team holds a 29-27 lead against Jackson County Central. Out of the 10 starters between both teams, just one is a senior. JCC features an all-underclassmen starting lineup.

Final score: Jackson County Central 67, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 52. The Tigers finish 20-10 overall.

Class 1A state girls' basketball quarterfinal scores on March 14:
Goodhue 63, Mayer Lutheran 37 (Goodhue is the top seed)
Underwood 64, Southwest MN Christian 52
Mountain Iron-Buhl 71, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 36
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 72, Fosston 35

In the Class 2A state tournament consolation bracket, New London-Spicer defeated Perham 54-41.