Red Lake unseeded, draws No. 1 Minneota in state opener

RED LAKE -- A familiar opponent awaits the Red Lake girls basketball team at the state tournament.

The Warriors were unseeded during Saturday's reveal of the Class A bracket, and they'll be tested against No. 1 seed Minneota in the first round. The Vikings (30-1) enter in as the defending state champs, in part to a 66-46 win over Red Lake in the opening round last season.

Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, at Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.

Thursday's winner will face either No. 4 seed Waterville-Elysian-Morristown or No. 5 seed Heritage Christian at noon on Friday, March 13, at Williams Arena in the semifinals. The losers will meet up in the consolation bracket on Friday at Concordia-St. Paul.

On the other half of the bracket, No. 2 Cromwell-Wright plays Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the opening round, and No. 3 Henning plays Fillmore Central.

The Class A state championship game is scheduled for noon on Saturday, March 14, at Williams Arena.

The Warriors reached the state tournament with a 64-54 win over Badger/Greenbush-Middle River in Friday's Section 8A championship in Thief River Falls, their third section title in four years.