Minnehaha Academy is getting it rematch with Crosby-Ironton in the semifinal round of the Class 2A tournament.

The difference this time around will be the matchup of two of the best players in Minnesota, Minnehaha Academy's Addi Mack and Crosby-Ironton's Tori Oehrlein, each averaging more than 30 points a game.

Mack, committed to Maryland, missed the game when the teams met Feb. 1 because she was ill.

She will not miss it this time.

“I’m playing. I’m here,” Mack said. “I’m so excited. Sitting out last time we played them was one of the hardest decisions ever. I was sitting on my bed crying just thinking about it.”

The Rangers got the better of the Redhawks just over a month ago, 85-65. Redhawks coach Kendall Givens believes Mack's presence can make up the 20-point difference.

“We’re really looking forward to the matchup, as a competitor,” he said. “You’ve got to go through the best to be the best. This is a great opportunity to showcase that we’ve gotten a lot better at the end of the year.”

Oehrlein, committed to the Gophers, scored 40 points and added 15 rebounds and eight assists in the previous matchup.

The Redhawks were not willing to give away any game plans for defending her this time. Maybe the stars match up?

“You never know,” Mack said. “Last year, I guarded her for a fair amount.”

The last time they faced each other on the court, Mack’s Redhawks defeated Oehrlein’s Rangers 104-86 in last season’s state tournament third-place game. Next is Thursday at Williams Arena.

“Addie is a great player,” Oehrlein said. “I love playing [against] top competition. ...

“[We] have played each other since my eighth-grade year and even longer in AAU. It will be nice to play her one last time before she heads off to college.”

Minnehaha Academy and Caledonia played at a frenetic pace throughout their Class 2A quarterfinal. It seemed like neither was in control, but both seemed to like it. 

Minnehaha Academy star Addi Mack, who scored 34 points and had five steals, four rebounds and four assists in her team's 68-63 victory, called the pace a boon.

“That’s where I think we are at our best," Mack said. "I think we can use that to our advantage.”

The Warriors trailed by 11 points early in the second half but tied it 52-52 with 7:57 left.

“We knew we [couldn’t[ back down from it. Yes, they have a lead at half,” senior Josie Foster said. “Why would we stop? We all came into this game knowing we have nothing to lose.”

Minnewaska's fans traveled deep to watch the No. 5 seed Lakers beat No. 4 Sauk Centre 60-53 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals. The Lakers, whose starting point is about two hours northwest of Minneapolis, hadn't been to state since 1999, so the community knew Wednesday night at Williams Arena would be something special.

"They've supported us all year, but it keeps getting more and more fans showing up," Lakers head coach Nick Danielson said. "These [players] do a good job defensively already, but when their fans get into it ... we really feed off it."

"It's been 27 years," he added. "Our fans are ready for this."

The fans didn't have to travel quite as far for these teams' two regular-season matchups, split one win each. The schools are 30 miles apart and share a conference — West Central — and a border rivalry, a rare occasion of conference opponents crossing paths in the state tournament.

"We've been playing with these same girls since we were in fourth grade," Sauk Centre senior Madelyn Schuster said. "We always want to beat each other, so it's just really a border battle."

Minnehaha Academy survived a second-half rally by Caledonia for a 68-63 win in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the Maturi Pavilion.

Addi Mack scored with 5:37 left to put the Redhawks (22-9) ahead for good. She went to score four more points to make it a two-possession game. Mack, committed to Maryland, led all scorers with 34 points. She also had five steals, four rebounds and four assists.

The Warriors (27-4) gained momentum and chipped away in the second half. They trailed by as much as 11 4:08 into the second half. They got the score tied 52-52 with 7:57 left.

Aubrie Klug led the Warriors with 25 points and eight rebounds. Nicole Banse had 15 points and Josie Foster had 10.

Amina Allen and Sinae Hill had 10 points each for the Redhawks. Allen made a three-point shot early in the second half to cross the 1,000-point plateau.

This game was everything you’d want out of a No. 4-No. 5 seed battle between two teams that share a conference and, thus, are extremely familiar with one another.

A tie game with four minutes left to play became a 60-53 Minnewaska victory after last-minute heroics from Lakers senior Sydney Dahl and junior Lauryn Ankley.

Senior Megan Thorfinnson led Minnewaska with 17 points, while Dahl had 13 and Ankeny 12.

Meanwhile, for Sauk Centre, 6-4 post player Victoria Jennissen dominated the paint, putting up 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cierra Kortan finished with a game-high 21 points for the Mainstreeters.

The teams shot identically from the field (48%)n but Minnewaska forced Sauk Centre into 15 turnovers, to the Lakers’ nine.

Caledonia has taken all the momentum. After a 21-10 run, the score is tied 52-52 with 6:27 left.

Sydney Dahl, an MSU Moorhead commit, gets a well-deserved roar from the Lakers crowd. She hit a three, then a contested two, to put Minnewaska up 55-50 with two minutes to play. 

All tied up 50-50 with five minutes left to play. Both teams’ fans traveled well, but Minnewaska’s side is especially rowdy and awash in Lakers blue, excited to pull for a team that hasn’t made it to state since 1999. The Lakers’ Victoria Jennissen is on double-double watch, with eight points and nine rebounds. She scored the bucket to tie the game before a Minnewaska timeout.

The Redhawks take a 37-26 lead into halftime. Addie Mack leads the Redhawks with 16 points. Aubrie Klug leads the Warriors with 10.

On her first shot of the game, the Redhawks' Amina Allen made a three-point shot to pass the 1,000-point mark in her career.

Minnewaska calls a timeout early, still down 38-33 but eyeing this chance to close the gap with 15:30 left to play. Junior guard Lauryn Ankeny hit a pull-up three to get the Lakers on the board this half.

These two teams come from around two hours northwest of Minneapolis, but they're only 35 minutes from each other, so they're familiar West Central Conference neighbors. Sauk Centre won 58-48 in their December meeting, then Minnewaska won 51-48 in January.