The Eagles play #2 Albany on Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis at 6 PM.

(ABC 6 News) — March Madness for high school basketball in Minnesota is set to begin on Wednesday as two of our local girls hoops teams will play in the State Tournament.

One of those teams, the Lourdes Eagles are back in the Big Dance for the second time in three years. Ironically, they face the same team as before in 2022, the Albany Huskies. Caroline Daly, the only senior on this year’s Eagles team, wants her crew to enjoy the moment and not feel too pressured.

“Don’t be stressed, don’t be worried,” Daly noted. “I mean, it is a bigger atmosphere than what we’re used to. But really, I just think we need to have fun and just be as a team. That’s what I always tell them, just play as a team, work together, we don’t have to do too much.”

This season’s Lourdes crew consists of plenty of juniors and sophomores who have dedicated their craft towards a defensive style of play. The practice has paid off as Lourdes’ defense has shone in multiple instances, including in the Section 1AA Tournament.

“Everyone’s got their part, the post, pressure them, front them,” sophomore Lauren Hust said. “Make it hard for them so they can’t really think about it and they just make dumb passes.”

“That’s what they want to be known for, they work on it so hard in practice,” Eagles head coach Todd Greguson added. “We emphasize it a lot in practice and so, it carries over into our games and it’s really fun as a coach to see that happen.”

ABC 6 News will air the semifinals and championship games of the MSHSL Girls Basketball Tournaments on our subchannel 6.2, the ABC 6 News app and kaaltv.com.