section playoffs

It might not have been pretty, but Owatonna will happily take the victory in the Section 1AAAA quarterfinals 56-48 over New Prague Wednesday at Owatonna High School. OHS missed some makeable shots early and was held 17 points below its average, but several players made big plays late to pull out the win.

The Medford and Blooming Prairie boys' basketball teams each fell behind early in the section playoff games Tuesday and could not climb out of the hole, bringing their seasons to an end. Medford lost at St. Peter 90-35. Blooming Prairie fell to Rushford-Peterson 56-33 at the Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester.

The Owatonna High School boys' basketball team is on a season-long roll heading into Wednesday's Section 1AAAA playoff opener against New Prague at the OHS gym. Since a 3-4 start to the season, the Huskies have won 17 of their last 19 games. The streak includes a sweep of top-five ranked Mankato East and a win over Big Nine co-champ Austin.

A stellar season ended for the Owatonna High School girls' basketball team with a 73-55 loss to top-seed Lakeville North Saturday in the Section 1AAAA semifinals at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Nine seniors played their final game for the Huskies. The defending section champion Panthers will face Farmington in Thursday's finals.

Hopes for an all-Gopher Conference subsection final in 2AA girls' basketball were dashed by the Big South Conference as Blue Earth Area beat NRHEG 52-45 and St. Peter topped Medford 59-26 Friday night at Mankato East High School. The Bucs and Saints will play for the south subsection title Tuesday at Minnesota State-Mankato. NRHEG won the section crown in 2017.

Lakeville North eliminated Owatonna from the Section 1AA boys' hockey playoffs for the second straight year, winning 6-0 Tuesday at the Rec Center in Rochester. The Panthers scored twice in each period to advance to the section finals for the 13th consecutive season. They will play Lakeville South in Thursday's finals. Owatonna ends their season with a 13-12-2 record.

The Blooming Prairie girls' basketball had No. 2 seed Hayfield beaten, twice, on Monday night, but the top-five ranked Vikings pulled out the 67-63 double-overtime victory to advance to the Section 1A semifinals. Just two weeks prior, the Awesome Blossoms dropped a 30-point decision to Hayfield. BP coach John Bruns said on Saturday's KRFO coaches show that the regular season game came during a busy stretch for Blooming Prairie and they had more time to prepare for the playoff rematch.

Owatonna edged Farmington 3-2 in the quarterfinal round of the Section 1AA boys' hockey playoffs Thursday night at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna. The Huskies advance to the semifinals at 5:30PM Saturday, February 24 against top-seed Lakeville North at the Rec Center in Rochester with coverage on Kat Kountry 105FM.

The Triton and Blooming Prairie girls' basketball teams open the playoffs at home this week. The Cobras entertain La Crescent Tuesday, February 20 at 7PM in Dodge Center in Section 1AA. The Awesome Blossoms host Wabasha-Kellog Thursday at 7PM in the ultra-competitive Section 1A tournament.

The Owatonna boys' hockey team will open the playoffs at home Thursday, February 22. The Huskies face Farmington at 7PM at Four Seasons Centre in the Section 1AA quarterfinals on KRFO AM1390. The teams did not play this season. OHS beat the Tigers 3-2 last winter in a regular season game.