Northome/Kelliher Girls Basketball Claims First Section 8A Title, Heads to State

The Northome/Kelliher Mustangs walked off the Ralph Engelstad Arena floor in Thief River Falls on March 6 as Section 8A champions for the first time in program history, finishing off Sacred Heart 66-45 and earning a berth in the Class A state tournament the program had never before reached.

A year earlier, the Mustangs had stood in that same arena and watched Sacred Heart celebrate a state tournament berth. That loss carried into the 2025-26 season as motivation, and the Mustangs built a 29-1 record by the time they returned to the section final. Their only defeat came in December against Mountain Iron-Buhl, 100-90.

Senior guard Allison Lundin credited a deliberately demanding regular-season schedule for preparing the team to handle the section stage. "Before last year's section championship, we hadn't really played in too many high-stress games," she said. "Being able to play against Mountain Iron-Buhl and Duluth Marshall in a huge arena with a lot of local fans there to support us, it just added a lot of pressure to it and it helped us prepare." That mental discipline carried into the title game, where Lundin said the key was resisting the urge to force the issue: "There's times where we'll start running and we'll start throwing up shots that we don't need to. I think just being able to practice and stay calm and play how we know how to play."

Senior guard Kate Thayer, who led the Mustangs through the section run, was clear-eyed about what awaits at state. "Every team there has won their section," she said. "Everyone's coming off a section title, so everyone wants to win it all."

For senior guard Emily Mastin, the victory carried the weight of a full career's worth of effort. "It was so exciting to finally be able to win that game and move on to state," she said. "It was great to see the whole community there and just, everyone being so excited for us to win. It's a great way to end our basketball career, to go to state and end like that. I'm really excited to spend that time with this team."

Head coach Kevin Waldo joined KBUN's High Noon program to discuss the win and preview the state tournament, where the Mustangs entered as the No. 3 seed. Their quarterfinal opponent was No. 6 Central Minnesota Christian, with the game scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. at Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus. Star Tribune Varsity had picked Northome/Kelliher to win the state championship, though the program was working to stay focused rather than get pulled into outside expectations.

The Mustangs were one of three rural Northern Minnesota programs at the Class A tournament, joining the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers (28-1) in that bracket. The state tournament ran Wednesday through Saturday, March 11-14, in the Twin Cities.