The first of two "Super Saturday" basketball quadrupleheaders arrives today as Worthington is the host of the Section 3A South quarterfinals.
Section 3A
No. 8 SV-RL-B vs.
No. 1 MCC, 1 p.m.
The first game of the day features the top-seeded, co-Red Rock Conference champions from Murray County Central (which tied Fulda for the RRC crown) against the Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster Raiders, who were seventh in the league.
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SV-RL-B (11-12) advanced with a 51-42 victory Thursday against Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin. Amanda Evans did the job on offense against the Wolverines, scoring 24 points, mostly cutting to the hoop.
MCC (20-4) bounced back from its showdown loss at Fulda Feb. 16 with a pair of victories over Windom Area and Hills-Beaver Creek. Rachel Christiansen scored 34 points to lead the Rebels against the Patriots, and will be looked to for offensive leadership again today.
Darielle Gengler and Janeane Robinsion will help to take some of the pressure off Christiansen early, and if the Rebels can get balanced scoring early in the game, they could get through to the semifinals rather comfortably.
No. 5 Adrian vs.
No. 4 SSC, 2:30 p.m.
These conference rivals met only once during the regular season, with Southwest Star Concept winning, 42-39.
Sam Lynn makes things go for the Dragons (12-12). She can take advantage of her speed to attack the basket, dish off to teammates, or she can step back and hit the long-range shot.
SSC head coach Les Knutson knows stopping Lynn is the key to the game if the Quasars (16-6) are to advance.
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Establishing the interior will be key on offense for SSC, which has three strong players on offense in Linnea Henkels, Brooke DeWall and Adri Rasche. Recently, Rasche has started to play stronger than at any other point in the season, averaging 13 points in her last four games.
Henkels has 20 double-figure scoring games this year, and is currently averaging 15.6 per game. DeWall is averaging 11.0 points per game.
No. 10 H-BC vs.
No. 2 Fulda, 4:30 p.m.
Hills-Beaver Creek needed double overtime before pulling off the upset of No. 7 Ellsworth Thursday, 82-81. The Patriots (6-19) will need more if they are to pull another big upset, this time of the defending 3A South champion Raiders (19-4).
Knocking off Fulda, of course, means trying to control the duo of Kaitlyn Kramer and Laura Kramer. It is a task that can be easier said than done.
"Kaitlyn is an extremely good player. She's very confident," H-BC head coach Jason Blosmo said. "She's very good offensively."
Laura, standing 6-foot-2, uses her height to her advantage on offense, making her a solid go-to player in the paint, especially when she runs the high-low game with Kaitlyn.
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If H-BC is to pull off the upset, the 3-pointers must be going down. The Patriots hit an average of eight per game, and are connecting on 33 percent of their shots per game.
Stacy Bush also has to stay on the floor for the Patriots, avoiding foul trouble. Any foul problems, especially from her, could spell the end very quickly for H-BC.
No. 6 Edgerton vs.
No. 3 SWC, 6 p.m.
The final game of the day is a battle of in-city rivals as Edgerton takes on Southwest Christian.
The Flying Dutchmen advanced to today's South quarterfinal with a 63-33 rout of Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Thursday. Amy Kallemeyn scored 25 points on the night and pulled down 11 rebounds, while teammate Heather Van Kley had 11 points and 12 boards.
Both players will be tough for SWC's defense to control, especially on the boards. SWC head coach Cal Hoekstra also knows, concerning Kallemeyn, that limiting her scoring will be very important.
"Amy's an outstanding player," he said. "She's very gifted, (an) outstanding shooter. We're going to have to play tough defense on her."
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On offense, SWC will look to establish the inside game early on against the Edgerton zone, freeing up 3-point threats Jenna Snyder, Darci Vander Woude and Katie Vis.
"If I can get something out of two of those three in any game," Hoekstra said, referring to their 3-point shooting, "we'll be competitive."
Section 3A North
No. 8 RRC vs. No. 1 Lakeview, at Marshall,
1 p.m.
Red Rock Central (9-15) gets the top-seeded Lakers (23-3) at Southwest Minnesota State University, this after taking care of Wabasso in Thursday's first round.
Krystle Sell will need a strong all-around performance in order for RRC to knock off Lakview. She scored 13 points, pulled down seven steals and recorded six assists Thursday. She will need even bigger numbers in order for the Falcons move forward.
