Champ STMA arrives as ‘the hunted’ in the girls basketball state tournament

St. Michael-Albertville sits atop the mountain. It isn’t easy staying there.

“Getting on top is hard work and fun,” St. Michael-Albertville coach Kent Hamre said. “Trying to stay there is tough, because everyone is trying to knock you off.”

St. Michael-Albertville (22-7) will begin defense of its Class 4A girls basketball state title Wednesday against Rosemount (22-6) at Williams Arena. The Knights are seeded third behind fellow Lake Conference powers Hopkins (25-3), the top seed, and Minnetonka (26-2).

“It has been a fun, tough year trying to defend a state title,” Hamre said. “You are the other team’s motivation. They can knock off the champs. You become the hunted.”

With it comes extra stress, especially when the team goes through an eight-game stretch with only three wins.

“There were times this year when the girls and coaches felt the added pressure of being the defending champs, and the expectation to win every game was a grind,” Hamre said. “We lost a game to Benilde-St. Margaret’s [76-63] in late January, and there was a lot of doubt in this team, not from the players and coaches but the outside.”

The Knights were without their leading scorer, senior guard Ja’Kahla Craft, for part of that stretch. Craft, headed to Seton Hall for college and averaging 25.7 points per game, was sidelined for six games because of a dislocated right pinkie finger.

Another factor also came into play: a grueling conference schedule. The Knights lost to Minnetonka twice, to Hopkins and to Eden Prairie (20-9). Five teams from the conference wound up playing for section championships, the other being Wayzata (20-8). Hopkins eliminated Wayzata, and Minnetonka eliminated Eden Prairie.

“I really believe the Lake conference is the toughest in the state,” Hamre said.

Hopkins and Rochester Lourdes (21-9) in Class 2A each have won a state-record eight championships. Both will be looking for No. 9.

The Royals will begin their 4A trek against White Bear Lake (21-7); the Eagles (21-9) will face second-seeded Albany (28-1) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Hopkins won state titles in 2004, ‘06, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘15, ‘19 and ‘22; Rochester Lourdes won in 1987, ‘90, ‘91, ‘93, ‘95, 2000, ‘03 and ‘05.

The Royals also are appearing in their state-record 10th consecutive tournament. They previously shared the mark of nine with three other schools -- Maranatha, Minneapolis North and Mountain Iron-Buhl.

Three programs will make their initial state tournament appearances this week: Minneapolis Roosevelt and Rock Ridge in Class 3A and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in Class 1A.

“This is super exciting, because it’s history,” Minneapolis Roosevelt coach Tyesha Wright said. “Our team worked hard the last three years, and we all had one goal: Get to the state tournament. It’s an unbelievable and remarkable memory that these girls will always have a spot with their names here at Minneapolis Roosevelt.”

Rock Ridge is a new Iron Range school -- a combination of Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert. Virginia last appeared in the state tournament in 1992, and Eveleth-Gilbert never made a state trip.

“One thing about the Iron Range is their loyalty and pride in what they do,” Rock Ridge coach Byron Negen said. “It has been amazing to see these three communities support not only our program but every Rock Ridge program from youth up through varsity. These communities are so excited to be put on the map as Rock Ridge.”

Tournament brackets: Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A | Class 1A

Perham coach T.J. Super is ready for the field to be seeded one through eight, not one through five with three random draw positions.

His Yellow Jackets must play two-time defending state champion Providence Academy (25-4) in the Class 2A quarterfinals Wednesday. Perham (26-3) drew state tournament runner-up Albany (28-1) a year ago.

“The fact the tourney isn’t seeded one through eight is kind of wild,” Super said. “To have a team that is a seven seed [19-11 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown] in their own section tourney be a six seed in the state tournament because of luck, I mean ...

“Last year, we knew we probably weren’t going to be seeded, but this year it is disappointing not to be. Our strength of schedule and body of work is really good. That being said, we know we must beat everyone to accomplish our mission. This just puts things in a different order.”

Five coaches in the field rank among the top 14 in career girls basketball wins.

Mike Dreier of Class 2A New London-Spicer (28-2) heads the list with a career record of 1,067-191. He will make his state-record 21st appearance at state.

He’s the state’s all-time leader in coaching victories, boys or girls, and is in his 46th season at the helm of the Wildcats. His only losing season came in his initial year. The fourth-seeded Wildcats will face Crosby-Ironton (24-6) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Wendy Kohler of Alexandria is third on the win list with a career record of 700-310. Jim Lien (615-343) of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, Brian Cosgriff (612-80) of Minnetonka and Jeff Buffetta (584-157) of Mountain Iron-Buhl continue to climb the chart. Lien also had 119 wins as the boys basketball coach. Buffetta is currently doubling up and in his fifth season as the Rangers’ boys basketball coach, where he has an additional 87 wins. His boys squad plays in the Section 7 semifinals Wednesday night, and then he will make a quick transition to Minneapolis for the girls Class 1A quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Thursday.