Girls Playoff Roundup

Local girls basketball teams kicked off the start of section play Monday. Here’s a breakdown of how local teams have fared and what their future may hold in the postseason.

Section 7A

The 7A tournament opened with No. 14 seed Carlton downing No. 19 seed Fond du Lac 48-41. Carlton’s Eliza Decaigney poured in 20 points and Megan Matarelli added 18 points. Both Madison Asleson and Haley Ableiter finished with three points for the Bulldogs. Solai Mohr and Talayah Martineau led the Ogichidaa in scoring with 28 and 13 points.

The No. 15 seeded Wrenshall opened with a 78-63 win over No. 18 Nashwauk-Keewatin. The Wrens’ Janae Sjodin had a huge night with 35 points and seven rebounds. Liberty Bilges had 20 points and nine rebounds. Liz Johnson added nine points and 10 rebounds, Laura Rubesh finished with seven points and eight rebounds, Abby Resberg scored six points and had eight rebounds and Katie Line had 11 rebounds and also added a point.

The Wrens were set to travel to No. 2 seed Cromwell-Wright Thursday and Carlton to No. 3 South Ridge on Wednesday. Winners of those games, along with the other sectional games, will move on to play at the University of Minnesota Duluth on March 5.

Section 7AA

The Section 7AA tournament opened Tuesday with one play-in game, but the full tournament will get underway Thursday across the section. Pequot Lakes received the No. 1 seed with Esko, sporting an 18-7 record, clinching the No. 2 seed. Esko was scheduled to play the No. 15 seed Hinckley-Finlayson at home on Thursday. The other local team in AA is Moose Lake/Willow River with an 11-12 record. The Rebels received the No. 11 seed and were set to open on the road Thursday at No. 6 Crosby-Ironton.

Section 7AAA

The lone area team in Section 7AAA is Cloquet. The Lumberjacks enter the tournament having won five of their last six games. The Lumberjacks are 19-7, which was good enough to receive the No. 2 seed behind Grand Rapids. Cloquet received a first-round bye and will host No. 3 seeded Hermantown at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner will play in the championship on March 10.

Section 5A

Over in Section 5A, the Barnum Bombers were set to open their playoff run with a Thursday home game against Upsala. Barnum came in as the East No. 4 seed and Upsala is the East No. 5 seed. With a win on Thursday, the Bombers would most likely face Braham, the East No. 1 seed at 6 p.m. Saturday in Hinckley. Braham was hosting No. 8 East Central Thursday night.