Jackson County Central’s girls basketball season came to an unexpected end.
JCC had been scheduled to host St. James Area on Tuesday, but the bitterly cold temperatures in the region caused most schools to close and alter athletic schedules as well.
With the Section 3AA tournament starting on Friday, the game between the Huskies and Saints was canceled.
With the number one seed and a first-round bye in the sub-section tournament, JCC won’t have a home tournament game and will enter the postseason with a 19-6 record.
The Huskies opened the season with three wins, lost six straight and have 16 straight since. More on that streak later in this newsletter.
JCC will play its first tournament game in the sub-section semifinals on Feb. 25 vs. either No. 4 seed Redwood Valley or No. 5 seed St. James Area at a neutral site to be determined once the three other team are determined.
Section 3AA tournament
South Sub-Section
Won-loss records through Monday
Friday, Feb. 21
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Jackson County Central (19-6) has bye
St. James Area (19-6) at Redwood Valley (17-8), 7 p.m.
Lower bracket
Luverne (4-20) at Fairmont (17-7), 7 p.m.
Pipestone (13-12) at Windom (19-6), 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 25
Semifinals
At TBA
Jackson County Central vs. St. James-Redwood winner, 6 p.m.
Fairmont-Luverne winner vs. Windom-Pipestone winner, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 27
Championship
At SMSU
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
North Sub-Section
Won-loss records through Monday
Friday, Feb. 21
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Eden Valley-Watkins (4-21) at New London-Spicer (25-1), 7 p.m.
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (9-16) at Montevideo (11-14), 7 p.m.
Lower bracket
Litchfield (3-21) at Minnewaska Area (22-3), 7 p.m.
Paynesville (8-17) at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (24-3), 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 25
Semifinals
At Willmar H.S.
Upper bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 27
Championship
At SMSU
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
Section 3AA championship
Thursday, March 6
At SMSU
South Sub-Section champion vs. North Sub-Section champion, 5 p.m.
Competitive section
How competitive is the South Sub-Section of Section 3AA?
A 19-6 record and a recent 10-game winning streak could only get St. James the number five seed.
Pipestone is above .500 with a 13-12 record and is the number six seed out of seven teams.
The North Sub-Section may not be as deep, but there are three teams at the top with 22 wins or more:
New London-Spicer (25-1)
Minnewaska Area (22-3)
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (24-3)
Big South Conference
Standings through Feb. 17
East Pod
Jackson County Central 6-2
Tri-City United 6-2
Fairmont 5-3
Belle Plaine 3-5
Blue Earth Area 0-8
West Pod
Redwood Valley 6-2
Windom 6-2
St. James Area 5-3
Pipestone 3-5
Luverne 0-8
Big School Pod
Marshall 8-0
New Ulm 5-3
St. Peter 5-3
Waseca 2-6
Worthington 0-8
Pod games only
Double digit win streaks
There are three Class 2A girls basketball teams in the state that are undefeated. They have three of the state’s current double digit winning streaks.
Crosby-Ironton is 25-0, while Providence Academy and Royalton are both 24-0.
The only other teams to have winning streaks of 10 games or more are Jackson County Central (16) and Maranatha Christian (12).
Here’s a look at the teams that have winning streaks of 10 games-plus.
Listed are team, winning streak and season record and then regular-season games remaining, if any.
Crosby-Ironton (25, 25-0)
Vs. Ogilvie (14-10) Thursday
Royalton (24, 24-0)
Vs. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (18-7) Tuesday
At Pine City (14-10) Thursday
Providence Academy (24, 24-0)
At Green Bay Notre Dame Academy (14-5) Saturday
Jackson County Central (16, 19-6)
Regular season complete
Maranatha Christian (12, 18-3)
Vs. St. Croix Prep (12-11) Friday
At St. Agnes (14-8) Tuesday, Feb. 25
Top 10 lists
Four of the eight highest scoring Class 2A girls basketball teams in the state are from Section 3AA.
From the South Sub-Section, Windom is fifth with 74.6 points per game and Jackson County Central is sixth at 73.8.
Out of the North Sub-Section, New London-Spicer is seventh (72.5) and Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg eighth (71.7).
Defensively, Minnewaska Area of 3AA North is fifth in points allowed per game (38.0).
Here are the top 10 offensively and defensively.
Points scored
Providence Academy 89.0
Crosby-Ironton 87.0
Minnehaha Academy 79.8
Duluth Marshall 77.5
Windom 74.6
Jackson County Central 73.8
New London-Spicer 72.5
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 71.7
Sauk Centre 68.8
Triton 68.5
Points allowed
St. Paul Washington/Johnson 34.1
Nova Classical Academy 37.0
Menahga 37.4
Caledonia 36.7
Minnewaska Area 38.0
Minneapolis North 38.1
Royalton 39.6
Wadena-Deer Creek 40.3
Proctor 40.5
Pequot Lakes 41.4
JCC girls basketball schedule/results
Monday, Nov. 25: Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, W 76-51
Tuesday, Dec. 3: at Blue Earth Area, W 84-27
Thursday, Dec. 5: at Pipestone, W 84-44
Friday, Dec. 6: New Ulm, L 69-68
Tuesday, Dec. 10: Estherville Lincoln Central, L 82-42
Friday, Dec. 13: at Tri-City United, L 61-51
Tuesday, Dec. 17: St. Peter, L 70-62
Friday, Dec. 20: at Fairmont, L 68-48
Friday, Dec. 27: Marshall at SMSU, L 76-56
Saturday, Dec. 28: MACCRAY at SMSU, W 65-31
Friday, Jan. 3: Belle Plaine, W 89-70
Tuesday, Jan. 7: Redwood Valley, W 77-68
Friday, Jan. 10: at Windom, W 91-83
Monday, Jan. 13: Luverne, W 76-62
Tuesday, Jan. 14: at Worthington, W 93-58
Thursday, Jan. 16: Blue Earth Area, W 82-40
Tuesday, Jan. 21: Tri-City United, W 80-47
Friday, Jan. 24: Fairmont, W 68-63
Monday, Jan. 27: at Maple River, W 95-78
Tuesday, Jan. 28: Pipestone, W 80-58
Friday, Jan. 31: at Belle Plaine, W 86-82
Tuesday, Feb. 4: Windom, W 67-64
Friday, Feb. 7: at Waseca, W 60-21
Tuesday, Feb. 11: at Luverne, W 91-55
Friday, Feb. 14: at Redwood Valley, W 73-44