Saturday night is the opening round of the Section 3AA girls basketball playoffs. Teams will begin to make a push for the top prize -- a trip to Minneapolis to compete for a state championship.
Section 3AA South
No. 8 Windom at No. 1 Pipestone Area, 7 p.m.
Both head coaches agree that dictating the tempo will be important tonight. The Arrows would much prefer a quick pace, while the Eagles will look to slow things down.
"We need to play consistent and try to dictate the tempo with good defense and control of the boards," Windom head coach Sheryl Hanefeld said. "If we can do that, we can come within striking distance."
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While the Arrows (7-5, 17-8) have had an outstanding season and have beaten the Eagles (1-10, 4-19) twice, Pipestone Area head coach Jay Johnson has a lot of respect for Windom.
"Sheryl does a good job of disrupting our rhythm," Johnson said. "We have a couple of trick in our bag, but we won't look to change anything drastic. We need to play good defense and put the ball in the hole."
No. 6 Redwood Valley at No. 3 Luverne, 7 p.m.
Luverne (6-6, 13-10) has played well of late, posting recent victories over Pipestone Area (overtime), Adrian and Jackson County Central. Playing on its home court will help Luverne overcome any early playoff jitters.
"We are going to feel much more comfortable playing at home," Luverne head coach Jason Phelps said. "We've been getting up and down the court much better the second half of the season."
For Luverne, who split regular season games with RV (4-8, 8-16), to get going, it will have to have a good start on the inside from Samantha Gacke and Mindy Nieuwboer.
No. 5 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at No. 4 JCC, 7 p.m.
Both coaches are expecting a physical and aggressive battle.
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The Huskies (2-10, 7-17) tend to use their size and strength to their advantage, especially down low with junior Angie Oelke and Tracy Fransen.
"We know that Jackson is a physical, aggressive team," T-M-B head coach Rick Haberman said. "We have to match that. Going in soft won't be to our advantage. We need to play our game -- a balanced game."
The Panthers (3-7, 8-16) will look to get that balanced game from their primary shooters, 3-point specialist Alyssa Kirk, Ashlee Domine and Emily Miller.
"Tracy has some great players," JCC head coach Stephanie Bot said. "Kirk is tough from 3-point range and we have to know where their shooters are at all times."
The play of Margret Rubis, Anna Meneely, Megan Bezdicek and Brooke Burmeister will be a key for the Huskies.
