The Grand Meadow and Hayfield girls basketball teams will play for the Class 1A, Section 1 championship Thursday at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
The game is a rematch of last year's section championship game, won 65-41 by Hayfield. The teams met earlier this season in Hayfield with Hayfield (27-3) winning 49-46 on Dec. 29.
Grand Meadow (27-2) is going for its first state tournament berth, but it's a program with significant girls basketball history. More than eight decades ago, in the first era of high school girls basketball in Minnesota, Grand Meadow went undefeated over an 11-year period. Playing 6-on-6 basketball, the Superlarks went 94-0 between 1929 and 1940. The record for longest winning streak in girls basketball during the modern era is 78, by Fosston and Hopkins.
More for New London-Spicer and its coach
New London-Spicer will play Luverne for the Class 2A, Section 3 championship Friday at Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall.
New London-Spicer (27-1) is bidding for its 20th state tournament appearance under coach Mike Dreier. Dreier's 19 state tournament appearances are the most for a girls basketball coach in Minnesota.
Dreier has a career record of 1,036-188.
Luverne (25-3) is playing for its first state tournament appearance since 1975.
Etc.
- Mountain Iron-Buhl junior Jordan Zubich, who has committed to play women's college basketball for North Carolina, made 18 of 20 field goal attempts — and seven of eight three-point attempts — while scoring 45 points in Mountain Iron-Buhl's 97-55 victory over Ogilvie on Feb. 18.
- Mahtomedi (23-3) will play host to Fridley in the Class 3A, Section 4 quarterfinals Wednesday. Zephyrs coach Keith Newman got his 300th career victory in the Zephyrs' 64-51 win over Tartan on Feb. 28.
- Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa senior Kaden Pieper scored 34 points in the Jaguars' 76-59 victory over Hancock on March 3. The Jaguars (22-4), runners-up in the Class 1A state tournament last year, will play their first section game Thursday. The Jaguars will play the winner of Monday's game between Benson and Ortonville.
- Hutchinson 6-3 senior forward Brynn Beffert scored a career-high 35 points in a 66-62 victory over Orono in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A, Section 6 girls basketball tournament. She had two of her three 30-point performances of the season in back-to-back games.
- Hill-Murray 6-1 sophomore guard Xavier Daniels scored a career-high 43 points in a 77-58 triumph over Eagle Ridge. He had a 38-point game earlier this season. The victory was only the second of the season for the Pioneers.
- Princeton 6-5 senior guard Cooper Drews scored a total of 108 points in the Tigers' final three regular-season boys basketball games. He scored a career-high 40 points in a 96-85 loss to Chisago Lakes in a Mississippi 8 Conference game during the span.
