Follow the Minnesota girls' basketball semifinals here

Five days of high school basketball tournament games began Tuesday morning with girls' semifinal games at Target Center.

Star Tribune girls' basketball hub

The game set up championships in Class 1A, 2A and 3A. Class 4A semifinals will be played Wednesday, along with a full slate of boys' games. Click on links for score updates and postgame reports:

1A:

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 51, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 50

Playing in the semifinals of the state tournament for the first time, poised Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa held on for a 51-50 victory over Sleepy Eye St. Mary's on Tuesday at Target Center.

The Jaguars, led by seniors Alissa Knight and Josie Knutson, withstood a comeback by Sleepy Eye St. Mary's in the final three minutes to advance to the state championship game for the first time.

For more on this game and a box score, click here.

Minneota 54, Mountain Iron-Buhl 53

Abby Hennen and Natalee Rolbiecki combined to rescue Minneota on Tuesday.

Hennen, a 5-9 senior guard playing in her fourth state tournament, and Rolbiecki, a 5-11 junior forward, combined for all but three of Minneota's second-half points as the Vikings rallied late for a 54-53 victory over Mountain Iron-Buhl in a Class 1A semifinal at Target Center.

Hennen's free throw with 2.1 seconds left capped a game-ending 7-0 run for the Vikings (24-0), who trailed 53-47 with 2:30 left.

2A:

Albany 72, Glencoe-Silver Lake 49

Paige Meyer is one of the best kept girls' basketball secrets in the state.

Albany's 5-6 senior guard methodically picked apart Glencoe-Silver Lake's defense, igniting a 20-2 run late in the first half en route to a 72-49 victory in a Class 2A semifinal Tuesday at Target Center.

Albany (23-1) held a 26-24 lead nearing the six-minute mark of the first half when Meyer took over the game. The South Dakota State recruit had 11 points, two assists and two steals during the spurt, capping it with an old-fashioned three-point play with four seconds left in the half.

For more on this game and a box score, click here.

Providence Academy 58, New London-Spicer 54

Grace Counts was having a fairly quiet day for Providence Academy. That was until the game was on the line.

The sophomore forward blocked a potential go-ahead three-pointer in the waning seconds, helping Providence Academy knock off No. 1-ranked New London-Spicer 58-54 in the Class 2A girls' basketball state tournament semifinals at Target Center.

Counts stayed in good position and didn't leave her feet before using her height advantage to block Mackenzie Rich's three-pointer with six seconds left, and the Lions (22-1) holding a 56-54 lead. Rich had a game-high 18 points, including three three-pointers. She then sank two game-sealing free throws with 2.4 seconds left.

For more on this game and a box score, click here.

3A:

Marshall 75, Holy Angels 58

Marshall guard Jordyn Hilgemann found her game after halftime, scoring 25 of her game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the undefeated Tigers.

Marshall struggled with its shooting well into the second half, but started finding the range midway through. Trailing 45-38, Hilgemann keyed a 17-1 run, turning a seven-point deficit into 55-46 advantage. She had 10 points in the pivotal run.

Senior Frankie Vascellaro led Holy Angels, which was making its sixth consecutive state tournament appearance, with 19 points.

For more on this game and a box score, click here.

Becker 84, Hill-Murray 51

Becker ran around and through No. 1-ranked Hill-Murray from the opening tipoff, jumping out to a 16-0 lead and never let Pioneers see a glimmer of hope in cruising to a 84-51 victory in a Class 3A semifinal at Target Center.

Julia Bengtson had 19 points and Adeline Kent 18 for Becker, which qualified for the Class 3A championship game for the third consecutive season. The Bulldogs lost to DeLaSalle in the finals in 2019 and didn't get the opportunity to play for a title in 2020 before the pandemic shut down the tournament a day before they would have played.

For more on this game and a box score, click here.

More on the tournament:

Which teams will be playing for the titles? Ron Haggstrom calls the tournament

Holy Angels star Vascallero won't pack basketball shoes for life's next journey

Podcast: Better than Bueckers? Former Hopkins coach on the next girls prep superstar

Commitment to greatness: Maya Nnaji of Hopkins is metro player of the year

Ten things to know about the girls' state tournament

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