W-H-A Girls’ B-Ball Takes Loss Against Mountain Iron-Buhl in Class A State Quarterfinals

The girls’ basketball state tournament continued Thursday with the Class A state quarterfinals, and two area teams were in the mix, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley and Fosston.

At the Maturi Pavilion on the campus of the University of Minnesota, W-H-A was making their first state appearance in school history, tipping off with the reigning state champs, Mountain Iron-Buhl. The Rangers couldn’t be stopped as they got the win 71-36 over the Wolves.

After the game, W-H-A players spoke about the opportunity to play on such a big stage.

“It’s really cool. It’s really special, especially with this group. We’ve always dreamed of it, so it’s cool to be here finally,” said junior guard Aubrey Morrison. “It’s amazing, the atmosphere, the environment is just so cool. I mean, it’s just a dream come true.”

“It means a lot, yeah. We’ve been wanting this for so long, and now that we finally got it, it’s great,” reflected junior forward Ava Welk. “We have great community support. They’ve been here all through playoffs, regular season. They come with a great fan section and yeah, they’re great.”

The Wolves will play on Friday in the consolation bracket and try to get their first win at the state tournament. They’ll face Fosston, who fell to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart in their quarterfinal matchup.