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DETROIT LAKES – March is a day away, which means section basketball tournaments are ready to roll.
Area girls basketball teams are gearing up to make a run for section championships and a chance to play in the state tournament. Here’s a look at each area team’s section tournament.
Section 8 2-A
Perham (19-7) is having one of its best seasons in over a decade. With its first conference championship in its back pocket since 2008-09, the Yellowjackets are primed for a deep tournament run as the third seed in Section 8-2A.
Perham finished with a section record of 15-2, with losses against top-seeded Fergus Falls (19-5, 3-2) and Hawley (19-4, 13-3).
The Yellowjackets will host No. 14 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (5-17, 3-11) in the first round on Thursday night. The winner will take on the victory between sixth-seeded Roseau (19-7, 6-2) and 11th-seeded Thief River Falls (11-13, 4-10) on Saturday. The high seeds host the first two rounds before moving to Lakeshirts Fieldhouse in Detroit Lakes on Mar. 9.
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The Frazee Hornets (7-17) have a tough road ahead of them as the 15th-seed in the bracket. They travel to second-seeded Menahga (23-2, 5-2) on Thursday in hopes of pulling off a first-round upset. The Hornets did not play Menahga during the regular season.
Section 8-3A
Detroit Lakes (11-12) will play the first playoff basketball game of the season at Lakeshirts Fieldhouse on Thursday night when it hosts sixth-seeded Little Falls (5-20, 0-2).
In both their overall and section records, the Lakers finished the regular season one game under .500. Top-seeded Willmar (18-8, 7-0) and second-seeded Alexandria (12-12, 5-2) each got first-round byes.
Detroit Lakes takes a 1-2 section record into the postseason, with that one win coming in the season-opener over the Flyers. Detroit Lakes dominated Little Falls 65-15 for its line section win this season. No. 4 Rocori and No. 5 Sauk-Rapids-Rice will play in the other first-round matchup on Thursday night.
If Detroit Lakes takes care of business against Little Falls, it will play Alexandria on Saturday on the road. The Cardinals beat the Lakers 54-41 in the only meeting between the two teams this season. The Lakers have won 5-of-6 games heading into the playoffs.
Section 8A
Mahnomen-Waubun (15-8) is the East’s sixth seed in the Section 8A tournament, and will look to knock off third-seeded Fertile-Beltram (20-6, 16-6) for a second time on Thursday night.
The Thunderbirds picked up the win in the regular-season meeting on Jan. 14 by a score of 59-55. Mahnomen-Waubun is 7-5 in section play this season.
Cass-Lake Bena (24-2, 8-0) earned the top seed in the section, while Fosston (19-4, 14-3) is No. 2. The high seed hosts the first two rounds of the section tournament in each matchup before moving to the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.
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Section 6A
The Section 6A tournament kicks off on Monday night, where the Lake Park-Audubon Raiders (13-12, 8-8) host Park Christian (7-17, 2-10).
LPA is riding a three-game skid heading into sections but is 2-0 against Park Christian this season. The Raiders picked up a 37-34 win on Dec. 16 on the road before sweeping the season series with a 58-37 victory at home on Feb. 4. LPA is the sixth seed in the North, while Park Christian is No. 11.
The North’s third seed is New York Mills, who earned a first-round bye with a record of 15-9. The Eagles were 6-4 in section play and will take on the winner of LPA and Park Christian. The sub-section semifinals through the section championship will be played in Perham at The Hive and Fergus Falls.
