Girls playoffs seedings, locations are set

The girls high school section basketball tournaments opened Monday across Minnesota. In Section 7A the first-round games featured Wrenshall at Littlefork-Big Falls, while Fond du Lac was scheduled to play at Nashwauk-Keewatin.

Nashwauk-Keewatin was a forfeit winner when Fond du Lac was unable to field a complete team. The Spartans moved to the second round on Thursday at Cromwell-Wright.

Wrenshall struggled to find an answer to Kora Gustafson of Littlefork-Big Falls, who pumped in 34 points toward a 58-30 victory over the Wrens. The Wrens were without leading scorer Janae Sjodin, who was injured. Frenchie Klimek did her best to pick up the scoring slack by putting up 19 points. Eighth-grader Julieauna Johnson added seven points and Laura Rubesh, a ninth-grader, finished with four points for the Wrens. The Vikings moved to Round 2 on Thursday to take on top seed Mt. Iron-Buhl.

Other local teams in Section 7A playoffs Wednesday (with results too late for this issue of the Pine Knot) included South Ridge hosting Hill City and Carlton traveling to Chisholm. All the winners of the second round will move on to play at Hibbing Memorial Arena on Saturday, March 4 in the quarterfinal round. The semifinal round will also take place in Hibbing on Tuesday, March 7, with the championship to be played Friday, March 10 in Hibbing.

Section 5A

The 5A tournament features only one local team, Barnum. The Bombers received the No. 2 seed in the east and played Thursday at home against the No. 7 Mille Lacs.

Section 7AA

Both Moose Lake/Willow River and Esko will play in the Section 7AA tournament. Esko opened play on Thursday, hosting Hinckley-Finlayson. ML/WR traveled to top-seed Pequot Lakes on Thursday.

Section 7AAA

Cloquet picked up the No. 2 seed and received a first-round bye in Section 7AAA. The Lumberjacks will face Hermantown in Cloquet on Friday, March 3. Grand Rapids is the top seed. The section championship is scheduled for March 8 at Duluth Denfeld.

Boys

Boys basketball playoffs begin March 7-8, with games yet to be determined.