The Final Top 10: Class A

In Class A, the 4 1st round winners are head and shoulders above the field, but what's the right order. How would it have played out if it had been played?

1. Minneota 31-1, #1 seed, 5-1 vs. the top 15. Minneota is of course the defending state champion. Their only loss was to Goodhue in a rematch of last year's Class A final, won by Minneota 40-31. But Goodhue is in Class AA now, and Goodhue beat state tournament entries Cromwell, BBE and Red Lake and beat Southwest Christian twice. You have to believe that Minneota was going to repeat.

2. Cromwell 29-2 and 7-2 vs. the top 15. Cromwell of course lost to Minneota just 49-47 and finally got that long-anticipated playoff win over Mountain Iron-Buhl. Taya Hakamaki scored 34 in the 1st round against BBE and Cromwell beat BBE a lot more easily than Minneota did. It's not a given that Cromwell would have beaten Henning, but they had a real shot at winning the title.

3. Henning 29-2 and 1-0 against the top 15. Didn't face the competition that Minneota and Cromwell played. That doesn't mean they couldn't win but it does mean that in the absence of results on the court, a person can't find enough evidence that they would.

4. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 27-4 and 4-0. Beat Blooming Prairie twice, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's and Heritage, but lost 3 straight in Jan.-Feb. Another team that could have gone all the way. This would have been a great couple of final rounds. But Minneota and Cromwell have a little better resume.

5. Mountain Iron-Buhl 23-7 and 4-6. Lost to Cromwell but beat Heritage.

6. Heritage Christian 22-8 and 2-5. Missed Taylie Scott even more than I would have thought.

7. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 27-3 and 2-1. Lost to BBE in the section final.

8. Mayer Lutheran 23-6 and 2-3.

9. Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 25-3 but 0-1.

10. Hills-Beaver Creek 22-3 and 2-1.

Class A Big 5

Taya Hakamaki, Cromwell, senior, guard
Ellie Dague, Henning, junior, guard
Madi Mathiowetz, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, sophomore, guard
Abby Hennen, Minneota, junior, guard
Shaily Hakamaki, Cromwell, senior, guard