Defending champs Lakeville, Marshall advance to finals

CLASS A

Friday, March 15

SEMIFINALS At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Elgin-Millville (27-0) vs. Fulda (21-4), 1 p.m.

Kittson Central (25-1) vs. Hawley (22-4), 3 p.m.

Saturday, March 16

THIRD PLACE At U of M Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis

Semifinal losers, 10 a.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Semifinal winners, 12 p.m.

CLASS AA

Friday, March 15

SEMIFINALS At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Breck (22-4) vs. Yellow Medicine East (22-4), 7 p.m.

New London-Spicer (26-2) vs. Esko (22-7), 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 16

THIRD PLACE At U of M Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis

Semifinal losers, noon

CHAMPIONSHIP At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.

CLASS AAA

Thursday, March 14

EMIFINALS

At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Marshall 73, Prior Lake 31

Minneapolis North 60, Totino-Grace 31

Saturday, March 16 THIRD PLACE At U of M Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis

Prior Lake (15-11) vs. Totino-Grace (20-9), 4:30 p.m. CHAMPIONSHIP At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Marshall (25-0) vs. Minneapolis North (26-3), 6:30 p.m.

CLASS AAAA

Thursday, March 14

SEMIFINALS At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Blaine 56, Hopkins 51

Lakeville 35, Woodbury 31

Saturday, March 16 THIRD PLACE At U of M Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis

Hopkins (27-2) vs. Woodbury (24-4), 6:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP At Williams Arena, Minneapolis

Lakeville (26-0) vs. Blaine (22-4), 8:30 p.m.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Woodbury fans inside Williams Arena were roaring.

Amanda Nisleit had just scored to give the Royals a 28-26 lead with 4:11 left in their Class 4A semifinal matchup Thursday against defending champion Lakeville. On top of that, the Panthers' star player, 6-2 center Liz Podominick, had been held to just two shots in the second half by a ferocious Woodbury defense.

So with the game on the line and his undefeated team huddling during the game's final television timeout, Lakeville coach Andy Berkvam did what he always does -- told the Panthers they would win.

"When were in the huddle, we took the attitude that we were going to win," he said after Lakeville (27-0) escaped with a 35-31 victory. "I'm not saying that we are unbeatable, but we always think we have a chance to win."

Blaine (23-4) earned the chance to face Lakeville, which has a 38-game winning streak, by defeating Hopkins (28-2) 56-51 in the other Class 4A semifinal. In Class 3A, defending champion Marshall (28-0) trounced Prior Lake (16-11) 73-31, while Minneapolis North (27-3) blew past Totino-Grace (21-9) 60-31. The Class 4A and 3A finals will be played on Saturday.

Along with telling his club they would pull out the victory on Thursday, Lakeville's Berkvam pointed out something even more important -- they had to get the ball inside to Podominick down the stretch.

"We said Liz has to touch the ball. She wants the ball in that situation," Berkvam said. "She wants to win."

Podominick, who scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, didn't disappoint, scoring Lakeville's final seven points, including a pair of free throws with eight seconds left that iced the game.

"I have to be very creative," she said. "Eventually I'll have that one second where defenses aren't paying attention and I'll be able to get a shot or rebound."

Woodbury (25-4), which shot just 33 percent from the field, kept the game close by holding onto the ball and keeping a watchful eye on Podominick.

"I was surprised that we could limit her like that," said Royals coach Dave Preller. "(But) they forced us to make some perfect plays, and we couldn't do it."

In the other semifinal, Hopkins couldn't come back against Blaine after shooting a miserable 25.9 percent from the field in the second half.

"According to the stats, we were 5 for 20 on layups for the game," Royals coach Brian Cosgriff said. "You play like that in a state semifinal game and you'll get beat."

After building a 32-27 halftime lead behind sophomore forward Leslie Knight, who led Hopkins with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, the Royals appeared to be in control.

But Blaine bounced back, outscoring Hopkins 19-9 in the third quarter to take a 46-41 lead.

The Bengals' Stephanie Westman led the way, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, many on the offensive end. She also helped out on defense, holding Knight to just seven points in the second half.

"The biggest adjustment was that we switched our defense," Blaine coach Steve Reiter said of his halftime talk. "We had to stay on Knight. So we put Westman on Knight ... That helped turn us around."

In Class 3A action, Marshall raced to a 23-7 first quarter lead against Prior Lake and never looked back. The Tigers' Shannon Bolden, who will play at the University of Minnesota next year, led the way with 35 points and 10 rebounds.

"One of our goals this year was to start strong," said Bolden, a 5-11 forward. "We knew that we were more comfortable than they were on the floor."

Prior Lake, making its first state tournament appearance, was nervous at the start, turning the ball over five times in the first three minutes.

"Bolden came out really aggressive and made difficult shots," said Prior Lake coach Paul Larson. "Our inexperience on this floor hurt us in the beginning."

Jackie Scheele led Prior Lake with 18 points.

In the other Class 3A semifinal, Minneapolis North had no problem with Totino-Grace, dominating the Eagles from the start.

Totino-Grace managed just five points in the first two quarters, shooting 6.7 percent from the field.

The Polars, who used a pressure defense to continually trap Totino-Grace and force turnovers, shot 60 percent from the field while building a 38-5 first half lead.

"We set our goals a little differently (in the second half)," Totino-Grace coach Mike Smith said. "We said,'Let's just go out and win a quarter."'

The Eagles did manage to outscore North 26-22 in the second half, making the final margin more respectable.

"We had higher expectations of Totino-Grace," said North's Mia Johnson, who led the Polars with 21 points. "We thought it would be a battle."

North's easy victory set up what should be a fantastic final game against Marshall, which is looking for its second straight championship.

"We tried to send a message tonight," Johnson said. "Marshall's real competitive."