(undated) -- The Minnesota State High School League has announced the brackets for the 2025 State Girls' Basketball Tournament that starts Wednesday in Minneapolis.

Quarterfinals in Class AA, Class AAA, and Class AAAA are scheduled for Wednesday, March 12th at Williams Arena and the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. Class A Quarterfinals will take place on Thursday in Minneapolis at the Maturi Pavilion.

Alexandria, Brainerd, and Minnewaska among teams receiving fifth seeds: The Section 8 Champion Alexandria Cardinals were placed on the left side of the Class AAA bracket that includes defending State Champion Benilde-Saint Margaret's. The Red Knights have the tournament's top seed in Class AAA, followed by undefeated Monticello, Marshall, DeLaSalle, and Alexandria. Rounding out the field are the sixth seed, Rock Ridge, followed by Cretin-Derham Hall and Stewartville. Alexandria is scheduled to play DeLaSalle at 12 Noon Wednesday inside the Maturi Pavilion. The Islanders are 24-5, while the Cardinals enter the State Tournament at 25-3. The teams played at Williams Arena in the 2024 State Class AAA Tournament. DeLaSalle prevailed in that semifinal contest, 82-69.

Minnewaska is quite familiar with its Class AA Quarterfinal opponent: the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters. The teams shared the West Central Conference title at 11-1 on the season. Minnewaska and Sauk Centre split the two regular season games, with each winning on its home floor. The Streeters captured the 2018 Class AA Girls' Basketball Championship and have finished second three other times, all under veteran Head Coach Scott Bergman . Minnewaska returns to the Girls' Basketball State Tournament for the first time since 1999, when the Lakers placed second in Class AA to The Blake School. Head Coach Nick Danielson has guided the Lakers to a 27-3 record, and a stingy defense has played a role in the team's season-long success. Minnewaska allows an average of only 37.5 points per game. The Lakers performed even better in points yielded en route to the Section 3AA Championship. Minnewaska held four Section 3AA opponents to an average of just 33 points per contest. The Lakers held Fairmont scoreless for an eight-minute stretch of the second half while putting together a decisive 16-0 run that fueled the 53-38 victory at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall last Thursday. The Lakers and Mainstreeters will renew their rivalry on the raised floor at Williams Arena in Minneapolis Wednesday evening at 8:00. Both teams are on the same side of the bracket at three-time defending Class AA Champion Providence Academy, the top seed in Class AA.

After a Section 8AAAA Championship-clinching win over Saint Michael-Albertville at Sartell High School last Thursday, Brainerd makes a triumphant return to State for the first time since the tourney expanded to four classes 28 years ago. Troy Nelson has guided his Warriors to a 25-4 record. As the fifth seed in Class AAAA, Brainerd will face the Section 1 Champions from Lakeville North at Williams Arena Wednesday afternoon at 12:00. Both the Panthers and the Warriors have Section 8AAA Champion Alexandria as a common opponent. The Cardinals knocked off Lakeville North during the Granite City Classic in Saint Joseph back in December. Half of the Warriors' regular season defeats came to Alexandria. Brainerd finished as the Central Lakes Conference runner-up behind Alexandria.

Lady Knights start State Tourney play Thursday in Class A: The West Central Conference has plenty to be proud of, with three of its teams among the 32 heading to Minneapolis for the State Girls' Basketball Tournament. Coach Becca Holland is leading West Central Area to a second State Tournament appearance in program history. The Lady Knights downed Underwood 56-51 Friday night to capture the Section 6A Championship at Concordia College in Moorhead. West Central Area has excelled in this post-season at closing out tight games. Each of the last three victories in Section 6 have been by a margin of five points or less. During a 20-6 regular season, the Lady Knights finished third in the West Central Conference at 8-4, with two losses each to the other two conference qualifiers in the Class AA State Tournament: Minnewaska Area and Sauk Centre. West Central Area earned the fourth seed in Class A, and will match up against the Section 7 Champion, Cromwell-Wright in the quarterfinal round. The game will start Thursday afternoon at 1:00 inside the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. Defending Class A Champion Goodhue joins WCA and Cromwell on the left side of the bracket, along with New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

More information about the 2025 State Girls' Basketball Tournament can be accessed through the link below, which also includes ticket information, merchandise purchasing options, and more....

KXRA Radio will feature live broadcast coverage of the Alexandria Cardinal game Wednesday afternoon at the Maturi Pavilion. Prior to the 12 Noon tip-off, the pre-game show is set to air at approximately 11:40 AM. Wednesday's game, featuring the Lady Cards and the DeLaSalle Islanders, can also be accessed through the Voice of Alexandria app or by clicking on this link: https://player.listenlive.co/64521 .

The Minnesota State High School League provided content to this story.