CASS LAKE -- The Cass Lake-Bena girls basketball team is heading into unfamiliar territory against a familiar foe.
The Panthers, fresh off their first section championship in 16 years with Friday’s 65-55 win over Stephen-Argyle , earned the North No. 3 seed for the Class A state tournament.
CLB will face North No. 2 seed Mountain Iron-Buhl in the quarterfinals. The Rangers, out of Section 7A, won both regular season meetings between the two schools, both by 74-64 scores in Mountain Iron on Jan. 18 and March 15.
The latest installment will at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, in Pequot Lakes.
The winner will advance to the state semifinals at the Target Center in Minneapolis for a noon tipoff on April 6, playing against the winner of South No. 1 Minneota and South No. 4 Houston. The Class A state championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on April 9 at the Target Center.
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Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa earned the No. 1 seed in the North, while West Central Area was the fourth seed. Those two will face each other, with the winner advancing to play either South No. 2 Mayer Lutheran or South No. 3 Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s.
This year’s tournament format is different than usual, with Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 making up the North division and Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 completing the South division. The divisions cross for the semifinals.
There will be no consolation games this year.
The Panthers enter into the state tournament 17-5 on the season, with two of those losses coming to MIB and another two via forfeit, and are ranked No. 10 in the QRF. The Rangers are 18-4 and rank fourth in the QRF.
Tickets will not be available to the general public, according to the Minnesota State High School League guidelines. Each participating team will receive a limited number of tickets.
