1A STORY LINES
1 most intriguing openers
The first-round matchups at Williams Arena are the most intriguing of the four classes. The eight-team field includes seven teams ranked in the top 10 in the final regular-season poll by Minnesota Basketball News. Top-ranked Mountain Iron-Buhl heads the group, followed by No. 2 Maranatha, No. 3 Bethlehem Academy, No. 4 Minneota, No. 8 Ada-Borup, No. 9 Upsala and No. 10 Win-E-Mac.
2 POINT (GUARD) OF EMPHASIS The two best point guards in Class 1A — Upsala senior Aimee Pelzer and Bethlehem Academy junior Jessie Mathews — play each other in the opening game. Pelzer averages 22.4 points, seven rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. Mathews averages 18.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists. Pelzer has a chance to become the first girl in state history to reach the 1,000 mark in career points (she has 2,590), rebounds (975) and assists (999) .
3 LOOKING TO BREAK A TREND
Minneota is in its third consecutive state tournament. In its previous two trips, the Section 3 champion Vikings have lost in the quarterfinals. This year's first-round game is against No. 1 Mountain Iron-Buhl. Last year Minneota lost to eventual third-place finisher Ada-Borup. In 2011, the Vikings fell to eventual state champion Maranatha.
RON HAGGSTROM
