With Fosston out, Kittson Central eyes title

Tuesday

CLASS A

QUARTERFINALS

At Farmington High School

Elgin-Millville v. St. Bernard's, 8 p.m.

At Southwest State University, Marshall

Springfield v. Fulda, 8 p.m.

At Concordia College, Moorhead

Hancock v. Kittson Central, 8 p.m.

At Bemidji High School

Hawley v. Barnum, 8 p.m.

CLASS AA

QUARTERFINALS

At Mayo Civic Center, Rochester

Rochester Lourdes v. Breck, 8 p.m.

At Minnesota State University, Mankato

Montgomery-Lonsdale v. Yellow Medicine E. 8 p.m.

At Apollo High School, St. Cloud

New London-Spicer v. Staples-Motley, 8 p.m.

At Brainerd High School

Foley v. Esko, 8 p.m.

CLASS AAA

QUARTERFINALS

At Hastings High School

Rosemount v. Prior Lake, 8 p.m.

At Gustavus Adolphus, St. Peter

Marshall v. Hill-Murray, 8 p.m.

At Halenbeck Hall, St. Cloud State University

Minneapolis North v. Alexandria, 8 p.m.

At Cambridge-Isanti High School

Totino-Grace v. Duluth East, 8 p.m.

CLASS AAAA

QUARTERFINALS

At Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis

Lakeville v. Edina, 8 p.m.

At Concordia University, St. Paul

Cretin-Derham Hall v. Woodbury, 8 p.m.

At Monticello High School

Hopkins v. Elk River, 8 p.m.

At Eden Prairie High School

Irondale v. Blaine, 8 p.m.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- It had been more than two years since Kittson Central defeated Fosston. During that time, Fosston won 78 straight games and two consecutive state titles.

So you'd think after the Wolfpack ended the Greyhounds' streak with a 63-58 win in the Section 8A title game Friday, Kittson Central would finally feel relieved. But they're still not satisfied.

"I think it was a feeling that, 'Yes, we finally beat them.' But our goal was to win the section and now there's more to accomplish," Wolfpack coach Carol Visness said. "I think it was a feeling that we got one job done and now we have to move on to another one."

Kittson Central faces Hancock in the 2002 Minnesota girls state basketball tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday at Concordia College in Moorhead. In other 1A games: Elgin-Millville plays St. Bernard's, Springfield takes on Fulda and Hawley is pitted against Barnum.

With Fosston eliminated, the Wolfpack and Elgin-Millville are viewed as the favorites.

Visness said her team's ability to push the ball up and down the court will be critical against Hancock's pressing defense. The Wolfpack are led by seniors Karie Visness and Beth Blomquist, who've been hooping it up together since the second grade.

Blomquist plays John Stockton to Visness' Karl Malone. Like the NBA duo, Blomquist is known for her ability to distribute the ball and rack up assists while Visness gets most of her points in the paint but can also shoot the ball from the outside. Blomquist set a school single-season record with 210 assists this year.

"She sees the floor as well as any point guard we've ever had," Carol Visness said.

Meanwhile, in Class 3A, Marshall's Shannon Bolden hopes to squeeze in one last trip to Williams Arena as a high-schooler before she steps onto the University of Minnesota campus as a Golden Gopher in the fall.

Bolden, who'll play for Brenda Oldfield at Minnesota next season, and the Tigers open defense of their 3A state title against Hill-Murray at the Gustavus Adolphus College campus in St. Peter.

"We aren't really trying to look at it as defending a title," Tigers coach Terry Culhane said. "We're trying to look at last year as a done deal and just trying to win a title this year."

The 5-11 Bolden leads the team, averaging about 23 points per game.

But the Tigers will have to cope with the loss of post Laura Van Overbeke, who was diagnosed with mononucleosis last week, Culhane said. Averaging about four points per game, Van Overbeke didn't provide much scoring this season but was one of the team's leading rebounders and a strong defender.

"We didn't need her to be a scorer, she was physical. We didn't have a lot of size to start with," Tigers coach Terry Culhane said.

The impact of Van Overbeke's loss will be immediately tested when the Tigers face Hill-Murray in the quarterfinals. Culhane characterized the Pioneers as a team that's very physical around the basket.

"We certainly have a concern about that," he said.

Marshall, which still has a strong inside presence with Bolden in the middle, will try to fill Van Overbeke's void by starting Stacia McKe in her spot.