𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑮𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑨𝑵𝑺❗ As @BriarCliffWBB prepares for the opening round of the National Tournament, Townhouse Pizza and Lounge in Sioux City will stream round 1 and 2 for fans who can't make the trip to Wichita. 🗞️ : bit.ly/3IBBOj5 #BattleOn

Minnesota Predictions: [Click "show more" to see more about my favorite, leading contenders, sleepers, and young guns teams for Class AA.] Class AA: Favorite: Providence Academy (@PA_GirlsHoops ) Providence Academy (30-2, #1) beat Albany (30-2, #2) in the state championship game to win their 2nd straight title. [They also finished as runner-up (to Albany) in 2021.] They graduated their 2nd leading scorer in current UM-Duluth fr Grace Counts, but return 5 of their top 6, including soph @maddyngreenway (5'8"--31.8ppg, 7.0rpg, 7.3apg, 4.6spg), sr @TommieWXCTF commit @bhohenecker3 (5'5"--11.0ppg), jr @hopecounts2025 (6'2"--9.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 2.5bpg), fr @EmmaMillerbernd (5'8"--6.5ppg), & 8th grader Arianna Flies-Peterson (5'11"--5.8ppg). [Greenway earned MGBCA AA All-State.] Leading Contenders: Albany (@GirlsHuskies ) Albany (30-2, #2) fell to Providence Academy (30-2, #1) in the state title game to finish as runner-up. They return their top 6 scorers and will have a veteran group w/ srs @TommieWBBall commit @AlyssaSand24 (6'2"--17.8ppg), @SCSUHuskies_WBB commit @gerads_kylan (5'11"--15.7ppg), @TatumFindley (5'8"--13.8ppg), & @savannapelzer (5'4"--8.6ppg) leading the way. [Sand & Gerads earned MGBCA AA All-State.] Minnehaha Academy (@RedhawksGBB ) Minnehaha Academy (23-9, #7) lost to Providence Academy (30-2, #1) in a state semifinal and then Goodhue (29-4, #3) to finish 4th in Class AA. They return 8 of their top 9 scorers, including their top 5. Top returners include srs @4AngelHill (5'9"--15.1ppg, 5.4rpg, 3.6spg), jrs @addimackk (5'8"--28.8ppg, 5.0rpg, 3.5apg, 4.1spg) & @Amina_Allen2025 (5'7"--9.7ppg), soph @Sinaehill4 (5'9"--6.9ppg, 5.0rpg), & fr @avacupito3 (5'9"--9.5ppg, 4.0apg) & @IsaGrief (5'9"--3.3ppg). [Mack earned MGBCA AA All-State.] Duluth Marshall (@DuluthMarshall ) Duluth Marshall (19-10) lost in a sectional semifinal to Pequot Lakes (25-4, #8). They return their entire roster headlined by jr @ReganJuenemann (5'9"--19.0ppg, 6.5rpg) & 8th grader @ChloeJohnsonMN (5'9"--19.0ppg, 8.0rpg, 5.4apg). They had 5 other players average between 4.4ppg & 8.6ppg, 4 of whom will be sophs or fr this year, led by soph @annabellesaari (5'3"--8.6ppg). [Juenemann earned MGBCA AA All-State.] Sleepers: [Teams that were unranked at the end of last year that could reach the sectional semifinal level and have a shot at reaching state.] Southwest Christian (@SWCHS_GBB ) Southwest Christian (18-11) dropped a 48-40 decision to Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (29-3, #9) in a sectional final last year. They lose their #1 & #3 scorer from last year, but return the rest of their top 7, including @burkhart_aubrey (5'5", 11.6ppg, 3.4apg) & @HallieGreer34 (5'11"--6.6ppg, 6.1rpg). Their lineup will also receive a major boost from jr Minnetonka transfer Maddy Hamdorf (5'9") & fr Maranatha Christian transfers @kajanash1 (5'8"--14.0ppg at MCA) & @GigiColeman13 (5'5"--6.5ppg at MCA). Perham (@PerhamGBB ) Perham (27-5) lost to Albany (30-2, #2) in a state quarterfinal before beating Crosby-Ironton (23-9, #10) and losing to New London-Spicer (30-2, #4) to finish 6th. They lost current Valley City State fr Mya Morris to graduation, but return @UMNCrookstonWBB commit @willow_thiel (5'11"--19.7ppg, 10.8rpg, 1.0bpg), scrappy hustler Cora Grismer (5'4") & athletic wing @KaiaAnderson23 (5'10"). [Thiel earned MGBCA AA All-State.] Minnewaska (@LakerGBB ) Minnewaska (12-13) started last season 0-7 before going 12-6 the rest of the way, including a 7-game winning streak to end the regular season, before dropping a sectional round of 16 game to West Central (10-14), whom they had beaten twice in conference play. I have no stats for Minnewaska, but they return 3 key jrs in @sydneydahl1220 (6'0"), @MeganThorfinns1 (5'9"), & @Addykath7 (5'10") as wing/forwards. Their biggest obstacle in sectional play will likely be traditional power New London-Spicer (30-2, #4), who finished 5th at state, but Minnewaska could be poised for a much deeper playoff run. Young Guns Team: Mesabi East (@mesabieast2711 ) Mesabi East (17-11) lost to Proctor (20-9) in a sectional quarterfinal. They return all but 1 player, including a high-scoring duo in soph @MartaForsline (6'0"--216.ppg, 10.9rpg, 2.7bpg) & jr @alyssaproph (5'8"--16.9ppg, 5.9rpg, 4.1apg, 3.3spg). ME may struggle to get more than 1 step deeper into sectionals this year w/ Pequot Lakes (25-4, #8), Crosby-Ironton (23-9, #10), & Duluth Marshall (19-10) all in section 7, but should accumulate a lot of wins over the next 2 years. YGT HM: St. James (@sjagbb ) St. James (16-12) lost to Luverne (25-4) in a sectional quarterfinal last year. I have no stats for St. James, but they return all but 2 players from last years team, including a young core in jr @MadelynMalmgren (6'0"), & sophs @SwansonJourney (5'9") & @JaceySwanson (5'6") to build around for the next 2 years. Stats Source: mngirlsbasketballhub.com