Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Girls’ B-Ball Makes History with 1st State Tournament Berth

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley girls’ basketball made history last Friday when they beat Braham in the Section 5A championship, punching their first ever ticket to the Class A state tournament.

“We’ve wanted this for so long and it’s just kind of fun to kind of make history for our school,” said junior forward Ava Welk. “We put a lot of work in through the summer, thinking, and wanting to go to the state tournament for so long and now that we finally have and it’s great.”

Head coach Jim Lien shared his praises for the young ladies. “These kids have spent a lot of time in the gym shooting and working on their skills, I’m so proud of them, I can’t say enough,” said Lien, who also emphasized the difficulty in making it this far. “It’s hard to explain for me, I’ve been doing this 45 years and it’s the first time I’ve been there.”

This year’s squad believes the secret to their success rests with their togetherness. “We’ve been playing together since we were really young and we’re all just best friends,” explained junior guard Aubrey Morrison, “so we spend a lot of time together, a lot of time in the gym together, so our chemistry overall is really good.”

There is also something unique about this year’s team, and it’s that they don’t have any seniors on their roster, meaning the entire roster will return for one more season, but that hasn’t changed their mindset as they get ready for their quarterfinal matchup.

“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said junior guard Avery Morrison, “We want to get back [to state], hopefully, but, you know, got to live it up while you’re there.”

W-H-A drew 2-seed Mountain Iron-Buhl in their quarterfinal matchup. That game will be played at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 14 at the University of Minnesota in Maturi Pavilion. The Rangers are ranked #3 in the state in Class A and beat the Wolves back in mid-December.