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Playoffs Offer New Start For The Lakers

By Tom Schardin, 02/23/20, 9:45PM CST

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The Prior Lake girls basketball team enters the postseason winning three of its last four games.

The Lakers had their three-game winning streak end Feb. 21 in an 83-60 South Suburban Conference home loss to Burnsville to end the regular season. Junior Emily Kulstad led the team with 17 points.

The Section 2AAAA tournament is next, and the Lakers earned the No. 6 seed in the field. Prior Lake (11-15 overall) will play at third-seeded Minnetonka (16-10) in the quarterfinals Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.

Fifth-ranked Chaska (22-4) earned the No. 1 seed and will play host to eighth-seeded Bloomington Jefferson (6-20) in the first round. Tenth-ranked Eden Prairie (15-11) is seeded No. 2 and gets seventh-seeded Chanhassen (12-13), while fourth-seeded Shakopee (16-10) gets fifth-seeded Edina (9-16).

The semifinals are Feb. 29 with the title game set for March 6. The higher seed is at home in all three rounds.

Prior Lake won the section crown in 2018 and lost in the semifinals last year at Eden Prairie.

In the loss to Burnsville, the Lakers struggled in the second half, getting outscored 48-28. Senior Haidyn Pitsch was also in double figures for Prior Lake with 14 points, while juniors Chanel Kallevig and Kate Trachsel both scored 8 points and junior Tatum Brostrom had 7.

The Lakers finished 8-10 in the conference standings. Second-ranked Farmington won the title (17-1).

Heading into the playoffs, Pitsch leads the Lakers in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Trachsel is also averaging in double figures (10.5), while Brostrom is close (9.9).