Marshall Tiger Randi Wendorff (44) goes up strong for a basket early in the first half against the St.Peter Saints on Friday March 10, 2023. The tigers captured the Section 2AAA championship in a 61-45 victory.

MARSHALL– The Marshall girls’ basketball team is out for revenge when they kick off the Class AAA tournament against No. 1 Becker at 10 a.m. today in the Maturi Pavilion.

Despite being on opposite sides of the state, Becker is a team that Marshall has become familiar with over the last several seasons. They lost to Becker in the quarterfinals of the 2019 state tournament and suffered the same fate in the 2021 championship game.

“They’ve got [Bri] Simpson, who we played in the state championship when she was a sophomore, and she was a handful back then. Now, as a senior, she’s really a handful, so we know what we’re facing,” Becker head coach Dan Baird said.

Simpson has been the spark plug for the Tiger offense all season. Marshall has been primarily a defense-oriented team, but Simpson’s ability to cut to the basket has paid off in a big way for the Tigers, especially during the postseason. She scored 25 points in the Section 2AAA finals against St. Peter and scored the game-winning layup after Randi Wendorff’s clutch steal in the section semifinals against top-seeded Jordan.

Lexie Bednarek’s season-ending knee injury hurt Marshall’s ability to space the floor with perimeter shooting, but the Tigers have still found ways to score throughout the season. The main thing has been their ability to force turnovers and turn defense into offense. With Simpson and Bigler holding down the perimeter and Wendorff, Leah Jones, and Brooke Andries anchoring the interior, the Tigers have been a difficult team to score against, particularly in the clutch. Notably, Andries made a game-winning block to steal a win over Montevideo in January.

Still, the Tigers will have their hands full with the Becker offense. Despite a season-ending injury in the sixth game of the season to Lexi Rose–arguably the Bulldogs’ most versatile defender and a player who was averaging 13 points per game going into her last game of the season–the Bulldogs still have three guards averaging over 15 points per game.

Ayla Brown leads Becker with 18.9 PPG while Danielle Nuest and Maren Westin average 16.6 and 15.8 respectively. Perhaps more important is the fact that all three can score on three levels. Westin shoots 42% from long range, Brown shoots 40% and Westin shoots 38%.

“We dictate pretty much everything. Teams aren’t going to dictate the tempo. We’re just really really good at not turning the ball over and playing the way we want to play,” Baird said. “The experience these girls have had is big, the fact that [our guards] are really skilled, and then our posts have just bought into the way we play.

“They come in, they rebound, they play defense. They’re not going to take 10 shots a game, everybody knows that. We’re going to work the ball around until one of those three girls gets a good shot, and they’re gym rats, so the ball is most likely going to go in.”

While the playing field is level now, Becker and Marshall made their way to the state tournament in very different ways. Becker rolled through the season to a 25-3 record and finished without a loss against a Class AAA opponent.

Marshall, on the other hand, had its struggles early. The Tigers finished the season with a 21-9 record to a slow 6-4 start. They lost to St. Peter twice in a row–including in the Big South Conference Championship–but stepped up when it mattered to defeat the Saints in the section championship.

While the Bulldogs have blown out opponents, winning each of their past five games by double digits and four of their past five by 25 or more points, the Tigers’ defense-first style has led to some photo finishes. Marshall defeated New Ulm by 5 points in the section quarterfinals, Jordan by 1 in the semifinals, and trailed by 9 points at halftime against St. Peter before storming back for a 16-point win. While the close finishes look less impressive on paper, they show grit and resilience.

“We know their style, they’re just bruisers. That Wendorff is a really tough kid,” Baird said.

For all that can be said about Marshall’s ability to force turnovers, Becker is one of the few teams that have the defensive power to keep up with Marshall. With a pair of six-footers in Evelyn Kreft and Elizabeth Mackedanz, it won’t be easy for Marshall to slash to the rim.

The quarterfinal matchup is available to watch online at https://nspn.tv/MSHSL/GameStream/17923