(KWMN)- Section tournaments across the state of Minnesota are in full force, with many section championships on the horizon.
For most area teams, the season has come to an end, for a couple of others, they’re still trying to outlast the competition.
Girls Basketball
Cotter
-The Cotter girls basketball team knew that if they were to keep winning, they’d eventually meet top seeded Goodhue in the Section 1AA semifinals. Cotter zoomed by their first-round opponent in St. Charles, 49-34. They followed it up with an impressive performance against P.E.M in which they held the Bulldogs to a mere 43 points, winning the Quarterfinal bout 48-43, setting up the daunting matchup with Goodhue. Head Coach for the Ramblers, Pat Bowlin, knew it was going to be a tall order to beat the top team in the section who only had three losses coming into the semi-final, having a “anything can happen” mentality heading into the game. The Rambler’s made it close, but the talent of Goodhue was too much for Cotter, as they fell 57-53. It ends what was without question an impressive and brilliant season from the Ramblers. After losing four starters from the year before, including their best player in Megan Morgan, the Ramblers still managed to reach the final four in the section tournament. Albeit an early end to the season, the Ramblers still shocked many in their run. They’ll lose talented guard Alyssa Williams to graduation, but welcome back leading scorer Clarissa Sauer, amongst others. Regardless of who is on the team, Pat Bowlin will have them ready to compete.
Rushford-Peterson
-The Trojan girls had a season where the Trojan faithful saw the team improve night in and night out. After starting the year 3-5, they found a rhythm, chemistry and an identity, winning 14 of their last 20 games in route to the sixth seed in the 1A section tournament. They smashed their first-round opponent in Glenville-Emmons, 71-38, getting the right amount of momentum ahead of a tough matchup with third seeded Randolph. The momentum wasn’t enough, as they fell in the quarterfinals, 48-40. Regardless of the early exit, the Trojan Girls exceeded expectations. They’ll lose the likes of Kaylee Ruberg and Hannah Ronnenburg to graduation, but Head Coach Joe Hatch and company still bring back plenty of talent as they look ahead to the 2023-24 season.
Winona Senior High School
-The Winona Senior High Girls basketball team was one of the youngest teams in the section this season. They only had three seniors on the roster, and only one of which found consistent minutes. More impressive is that they were led by the talented Alivia Bell, who will graduate 8th grade this spring. The youth was certainly a hurdle they had to overcome, but they finally found a groove late in the season where they won their final six games. It was a good enough run to catapult the Winhawks to the fifth seed in the section, setting up a matchup with the Byron Bears. They controlled the game for most of the 36 minutes, but the inexperience reared its ugly head in the final moments as the Winhawks let it slip, falling to the Bears, 73-62. Head Coach Tim Gleason, although upset after the loss, has everything he needs from a talent perspective to lead this team back to the state tournament in the coming years. Gleason will have Alivia Bell for the next four seasons, in which she will continue to improve. He will also welcome back the complete starting five from the Byron loss.
Boys Basketball
Cotter
-The Rambler Boys basketball team welcomed back a familiar face to take the reins of the program in Head Coach Michael Costello this season. Costello was the Head Coach for the Ramblers from 1993-2007 before taking a sabbatical from coaching in order to be with his family more. Now, with his children grown up, he returned, hopefully to bring the program to the top. It won’t happen overnight of course, and we saw a young Ramblers team go through a plethora of growing pains. After a rocky season, they earned the 13 seed in the 1AA section tournament. They faced a tough opponent in Canon Falls and they were knocked out in the first round, losing 79-53. Although the tough season, Costello will welcome back each member of their usual starting five while only losing three seniors to graduation. It will take hard work throughout the summer, but this Ramblers team is poised to bounce back come next season.
Rushford-Peterson
-The Trojan Boys basketball team, similar to their football team, lost loads of talent from the season prior. For the first half of the season, the Trojans had to figure out their new identity, with the new players replacing minutes of Justin Ruberg and Malachi Bunke to name a few. They finished the year good enough to earn an #8 seed in the section tournament, setting up a matchup with Lanesboro in round one. The Trojans, led by star guard Grady Hengel, dominated, topping the burrows, 60-45. The unfortunate circumstance is, the Trojans will now have to face #1 Goodhue in the section quarterfinals. Goodhue is a team that comes into the game with a mere three losses on the year, with two of their three coming from Lake City, the best team in all of Minnesota in AA. It won’t be easy, but it’s March for a reason, and anything can happen at the Civic Center. We’ll have coverage of the quarterfinal matchup TONIGHT, March 6, from the Civic Center in Rochester, Tip scheduled for 6:00 p.m. only on the Winona Sports Network or right here on winonaradio.com.
Winona Senior High School
-The Winhawk Boys basketball team had one of the unluckier seasons a high school team can have. Dealing with injuries from jump street, the injuries continued to mount up game by game. Halfway through the season, Head Coach for the Winhawks, Kyle Martin, hadn’t seen his team at full strength yet. Which is a reason he remained calm and confident throughout the struggles early on. He told the Winona Sports Network after a mid-season loss, “We just gotta be patient, we gotta be playing our best ball in March, that’s all I’m worried about.” That’s exactly what’s happened. After starting the month of February with a 6-10 record, the Winhawks won 7 of their last 10. Including huge wins over Austin, Owatonna and Northfield. They exploded up the section standings and earned the #3 seed in the bracket. They’ll face the sixth seeded team in Kasson-Mantorville come Tuesday Night, March 7, with a trip to the section semifinals on the line, and more than likely, a rubber match with Austin High. We’ll have the coverage of the first-round game on Real Country 101.5 FM 1380 AM and online at winonaradio.com.
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