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Saturday Results
Section 7AAA Girls Basketball Semifinals
No. 1 Rock Ridge 68, No. 4 Cloquet 34
No. 2 Hermantown 78, No. 3 North Branch 45
Tourney Notes: The 7AAA final is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Duluth Denfeld. Said Hawks first-year coach Eric Borndal: "Simply, I can't express how proud I am of the girls and the way they played this past week. Our goal was to win the week to give us a chance to play for a section title and the girls rose up to that challenge. Specifically on Saturday we were able to see us put two solid halves together by trusting one another on both ends of the floor. We had three people (Bailey Hermanson, Aurora Decker, and Annika Nelson) in double figures while Danika Bolf and Olivia Johnson were right there with eight points each. That kind of trust in each other will be vital as we prepare to take on Rock Ridge on Thursday. It is fun to see the girls supporting each other so well and I certainly hope we are able to use the confidence gained on Saturday and carry it over onto Thursday. It's been our mantra our year even when the going was tough, but we'll try it one more time. Win the week."
Section 7AA Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
No. 1 Crosby-Ironton 83, No. 8 Esko 44
No. 4 Pequot Lakes 64, No. 5 Mesabi East 32
No. 2 Proctor 68, No. 7 Aitkin 28
No. 3 Duluth Marshall 93, N0. 6 Barnum 27
Tourney Notes: 7AA semifinals (Crosby-Ironton vs. Pequot Lakes and Proctor vs. Duluth Marshall) Wednesday at Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota 2A, No. 2-ranked Crosby-Ironton (28-0), led by Gophers recruit Tori Oehrlein (junior guard-forward, 31.0 points and 16.3 rebounds per game), is the heavy favorite. 2A, No. 7-ranked Duluth Marshall (21-7) boasts ultra-elite 6-foot freshman guard Chloe Johnson (29.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game), one of the nation's top college prospects in the Class of 2028. No. 9-ranked Proctor (25-3), led by guard Chloe Carlson (18.1 ppg), could bump off Duluth Marshall, who defeated the visiting Rails 69-65 on Jan. 22. Proctor lost to Crosby-Ironton 51-40 on Feb. 13 in Proctor.
Upcoming Tourney Games
Section 7AAAA Boys Basketball Quarterfinals
All games Wednesday at 6 p.m., hosted by the highest seed (Bracket)
No. 6 Forest Lake vs. No. 3 Centennial
No. 7 Duluth East at No. 2 Blaine
No. 5 Coon Rapids at No. 4 Andover
No. 8 Cambridge-Isanti at No. 1 Anoka
Tournament Notes: Semifinals Friday at 6 p.m., doubleheader hosted by highest remaining seed. Championship Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at highest remaining seed.
Section 7AAA Boys Basketball Quarterfinals
All games Wednesday at 6 p.m., hosted by the high seed (Bracket)
No. 1 Duluth Denfeld vs. No. 8 Chisago Lakes
No. 4 Grand Rapids vs. No. 5 Rock Ridge
No. 3 Cloquet vs. No. 6 Hermantown. Said Jacks coach Steve Battaglia: "There will be a lot of scoreboard watching – even in round 1. Anybody who thinks they know how this will play out is lying. We're confident after beating everybody in our section during the regular season, but we're also humble in knowing that any of them can also beat us. We're finally fully healthy and with a team full of seniors, we're ready to lay in all on the line and see what happens. Hopefully we get a little luck and find a way to win this thing. Fun time of the year."
No. 7 North Branch Area vs. No. 2 Hibbing
Tournament Notes: Semifinals Friday at 6 p.m., hosted by high seed. Championship Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at Duluth East.
Section 7AAA Boys Basketball Play-In Games
All games Tuesday at 6 p.m., hosted by the high seed (Bracket)
No. 16 International Falls at No. 1 Esko
No. 9 Proctor at No. 8 Pillager
No. 13 Aitkin at No. 4 Pierz
No. 12 Two Harbors at No. 5 Moose Lake-Willow River
No. 15 Hinckley-Finlayson at No. 2 Pequot Lakes
No. 10 Crosby-Ironton at No. 7 Duluth Marshall
No. 14 Mesabi East at No. 3 Barnum
No. 11 Greenway at No. 6 Staples-Motley
Tournament Notes: Quarterfinals Saturday in Hermantown. Semifinals Wednesday, March 12 at Minnesota Duluth. Championship Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at Minnesota Duluth.
2025 Minnesota Class A Boys Hockey State Tournament Pairings
Wednesday Quarterfinals
All games Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul
No. 7 Mahtomedi vs. No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral, 11 a.m.
No. 6 Orono vs. No. 3 Northfield, 1 p.m.
No. 8 Luverne vs. No. 1 Hibbing/Chisholm, 6 p.m.
No. 5 Northern Lakes vs. No. 4 East Grand Forks, 8 p.m.
Winners advance to semifinals Friday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Championship Saturday at noon.
