Photos by Samantha Davis: Minneota junior Jaylyn Coequyt (2) posts up and begins to go up for a basket in the first half against Canby Saturday afternoon in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals at Montevideo High School. The Vikings defeated the Lancers 56-45, who ends their season 12-14 overall.

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MONTEVIDEO — The fourth-seeded Minneota girls basketball team is moving on after prevailing for a 56-45 win over No. 5 Canby in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals Saturday afternoon in a competitive fight. The Lancers finish their season 12-14 overall, and graduate four seniors.

Canby went into the break with a 21-20 halftime lead following a back-and-forth defensive battle in the opening half, where the Lancers led a majority of the time. But, Minneota turned things around offensively in the second half to take the lead and continued to chip away down the stretch.

Minneota began to swing the momentum its way almost midway through the second half after the Vikings and Lancers traded baskets to open the half, following an Eden Meagher offensive putback and a Jaylyn Coequyt midrange for a 34-33 edge with 10:15 left to play.

The Vikings never lost sight of their lead from there.

Ava Rost caught fire and scored a quick 5 points within seconds with a 3-pointer, followed by a steal and fastbreak layup to put Minneota ahead 39-33.

Addison Driessen stopped the Vikings from putting together a larger run with a field goal, yet Rost came up big again with a corner 3 for a Vikings’ 42-35 edge with nine minutes to play.

Minneota found some rhythm from the perimeter throughout the second half, with Autum Anderson hitting two, along with one from Sarah Gruenes to help take a 47-39 lead with 6:30 to play.

A pump fake and drive to the basket from Meagher then gave the Vikings a little breathing room with about four minutes to play with a 10-point lead, 49-39, while the Lancers remained scoreless for a string of consecutive possessions.

But, Canby wasn’t done fighting with 4 quick points with just over two minutes to go with a bucket from Ava Danielson, and Jordyn Jostock immediately after with a steal and basket off Minneota’s inbound to cut into a 49-43 deficit.

Minneota, however, hung on for the victory at the foul line in the final minute with two free throws each from Coequyt and Rost.

Canby head coach Jeff Thovson subbed out each of his seniors in the final minute, as they hugged the coaching staff and each teammate down the line.

The Lancers were able to hang onto a slight lead throughout most of the first half, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Rachel Jelen and Jostock to take a 6-4 edge after the Vikings scored the first 4 points of the game and forced two defensive stops on Canby’s first posessions.

Coequyt got some Vikings’ momentum going in the final minute of the half with a fastbreak layup and a post-up for a 20-19 Minneota lead, the first lead since its 4-0 start, before Danielson put the Lancers right back on top to end the half with a pair of free throws.

The fight to keep their seasons alive was bound to be down to the wire for both the Lancers and Vikings, who tend to meet in competitive atmospheres in both basketball and volleyball.

Minneota and Canby opened the 2025-26 basketball season with one another, where the Vikings ultimately came away with a 1-point victory, 61-60, in the final seconds. Minneota also took the second matchup on Jan. 27 53-49, where the two fed off one another once again.

Several of the players on each squad also play on their respective volleyball teams, which has continued to build the competiveness between the Vikings and Lancers, who have been two of the top Section 3A teams over the past years.

Canby graduates a strong group of core seniors in Emily Nelson, Driessen, Brynn Kockelman and Ella Thovson.

Minneota moves to 19-8 on the season, and will next take on top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian (24-3) in the subsection semifinals on Tuesday, back at Montevideo High School with a 5:45 p.m. tip off.

The Bluejays were ranked sixth in Class A in the state in the final regular-season coaches poll, and defeated No. 8 Wabasso 74-32 in Saturday’s quarterfinals.