By Four local girls high school basketball teams are one win away from their respective state tournaments.
SoDak 16 games for Class A and Class B schools are Thursday, Feb. 29, while the Class AA field will be determined Friday, March 1.
Aberdeen Roncalli, Aberdeen Central, Warner and Northwestern are all looking to extend their seasons.
Roncalli battles Mount Vernon/Plankinton for Class A berth
Aberdeen Roncalli fended off Groton Area 44-35 in Region 1A play on Feb. 22 to advance to the SoDak 16.
The Cavaliers are the No. 7 seed and take on No. 10 Mount Vernon/Plankinton with the winner going to the Class A tournament. The Titans, 17-5, downed Wager, the top seed in Region 5A, to advance to the round of 16.
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“Getting to this point and knowing they beat Wagner, Mount Vernon/Plankinton is a very good team,” said Roncalli head coach Derek Larson. “They’re loaded with juniors and seniors. Pretty much their whole roster is made up of upperclassmen who’ve been playing together a long time so, yeah, they are a good basketball team.”
One player Larson will need his team to pay attention to is senior guard Emilee Fox, who was recruited by South Dakota State University to play in Brookings next season.
“Fox has been starting for them since the seventh grade, and in the state tournament in 2019 against us, she had 14 points in the first half, so she’s obviously a good player. She’s one of the better shooters we’ll see, and it’s not just from 19 feet. She can extend that back to about 25 feet. I mean, there’s a reason she’s headed to SDSU,” Larson said.
Roncalli and Mount Vernon/Plankinton tip off Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Huron Arena.
Stifling defense pushes Roncalli past Groton
Larson has shared the same sentiment about the Cavaliers all season — they will live and die with their defense.
During a Region 1A home game against Groton, Roncalli lived thanks to smothering defense in the second half.
“I knew going into the game tonight it would be an awesome atmosphere and it was awesome,” Larson said. “The region tournament always seems to have games that are fun to be a part of and, no question, it feels good to be on (the winning) side of it.”
Roncalli moved the ball and shot it well in the first quarter, getting scoring contributions from all five starters to lead 16-11.
But Groton incorporated a full-court press that slowed Roncalli’s offense and forced some turnovers. The Tigers used those miscues to outscore Roncalli 12-11 in the second quarter, then held the Cavaliers to seven third-quarter points.
“We knew we would face pressure for pretty much all 32 minutes tonight,” Larson said. “Really, I thought we did a pretty good job handling the ball in the full court. Most of our turnovers came from our half-court (offense). We haven’t been very good in our motion offense the past couple games. We’re standing around watching a little too much, so we’ll have to get better.”
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Aberdeen Roncalli’s Ava Hanson takes a jump shot over Groton Area’s Rylee Dunker during the third quarter of their Region 1A semifinal game Thursday, Feb. 22 inside the Roncalli Gym. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo
Maddie Huber scored 11 points for the Cavaliers. The style of play was just what she expected after Roncalli beat Groton 30-22 during the regular season.
“We knew Groton was going to be aggressive and come after us. I’m guessing they wanted revenge after what happened last game,” Huber said. “We both came out with the mentality that we were going to win because if we didn’t we knew it would be our last game.”
Groton scored just six points in both the third and fourth quarters on just two made shots. Sydney Leicht and Jerrica Locke each hit three-pointers. The other six second-half points came via free throws. Leicht and Jayda Penning led the Tigers with 10 points apiece.
“We played a really good defensive second half. A really good rebounding second half, didn’t give up many offensive boards, which is big for us,” Larson said, “But to hold them to just two made field goals in the second half, I’m just really proud of the effort from our kids.”
Groton head coach Mike Locke acknowledged his team’s offensive struggles, but was generally happy with the Tigers’ defense, which is critical for a team that doesn’t score a lot.
“This year, when we were at five losses, we averaged 26 points in those five games, and you can’t defend that well night in and night out and expect to get wins against quality teams,” he said. “I’ll say this though. I love coaching this team. They listen, they work their butts off for us, I wouldn’t want to coach anyone else.”
Thursday’s Class A SoDak 16 games
- No. 1 Sisseton (20-1) vs. No 16 Tri-Valley (12-10), 7 p.m., Watertown Civic Arena.
- No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian (19-2) vs. No. 15 Miller (15-7), 6 p.m., Salem.
- No. 3 Flandreau (22-0) vs. No. 14 Hill City (18-4), 7 p.m., Chamberlain.
- No. 4 Vermillion (18-4) vs. No. 13 Winner (16-4), 6:30 p.m., Menno.
- No. 5 Mahpiya Luta (Red Cloud) (21-0) vs. No. 12 Belle Fourche (16-4), 6:30 p.m. MT, Hot Springs.
- No. 6 Tea Area (18-4) vs. No. 11 Mobridge-Pollock (17-4), 5:30 p.m., Huron.
- No. 7 Aberdeen Roncalli (19-3) vs. No. 10 Mount Vernon/Plankinton (17-5), 7 p.m., Huron.
- No. 8 Hanson (16-5) vs. No. 9 Florence/Henry (17-5), 7:30 p.m., Madison.
Feb. 22 scores
Region 1A
- No. 1 Sisseton 64, No. 4 Milbank 43
- No. 2 Aberdeen Roncalli 44, No. 5 Groton Area 35
Aberdeen Central’s Caydi Withers takes a three-pointer during the second quarter against Brookings Friday, Feb. 16 inside Golden Eagles Arena. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo
Central girls travel to Spearfish for SoDak 16
A rough end to the regular season left Aberdeen Central with a 9-11 record and the No. 11 seed in the Class AA SoDak 16. The Golden Eagles travel to Spearfish for a 6 p.m. MT battle on Friday.
Central beat the Spartans 54-47 Dec. 15 on the road, but Spearfish has won six of its last seven games and is now 14-6.
“I think Spearfish is a team that will have to make more adjustments than we’ll have to make, so it’s exciting to get to go out there and play them,” said Central head coach Mikayla Arechigo. “We’re coming off a two-week stretch where we haven’t been at full strength, so it makes it a little more difficult for them to figure out what we’ll be able to do on the floor.”
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The Eagles have gone the opposite direction as Spearfish has down the stretch, losing 10 of their last 11 games.
“In some ways it’s good to go through some injuries because it offers some other girls a chance to see some quality minutes and develop their games,” Arechigo said. “It’s never fun to have losses, but it allows you a chance to go into games with a deeper bench.”
Friday’s Class AA SoDak 16 games
- No. 1 O’Gorman (20-0) vs. No. 16 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (4-16), 6 p.m.
- No. 2 Mitchell (18-2) vs. No. 15 Yankton (5-15), 8 p.m.
- No. 3 Brandon Valley (16-4) vs. No. 14 Brookings (7-13), 6 p.m.
- No. 4 Sioux Falls Jefferson (15-5) vs. No. 13 Watertown (7-13), 6 p.m.
- No. 5 Pierre (14-6) vs. No. 12 Huron (7-13), 6 p.m.
- No. 6 Spearfish (14-6) vs. No. 11 Aberdeen Central (9-11), 6 p.m. MT.
- No. 7 Harrisburg (12-8) vs. No. 10 Sioux Falls Washington (9-11), 6 p.m.
- No. 8 Rapid City Stevens (12-8) vs. No. 9 Rapid City Central (10-10), 6 p.m. MT.
All games are played at the higher seed.
Warner’s Ava Nilsson grabs a rebound over Britain-Hecla’s Heather Storbakken during a Region 1B semifinal Thursday, Feb. 22 in the Warner gym. Photo courtesy Angie Vetter
Warner leads from start to finish in advancing in Class B
Top-seeded Warner led from start to finish, knocking off No. 4 Britton-Hecla 64-31 to win in Region 1B on Feb. 22 and advance to the Class B SoDak 16.
“This group came in very focused tonight, much more focused than I gave them credit for,” said Warner head coach Tina Winter. “They’ve really done it all year, but tonight, with what was at stake, it was a good performance.”
Warner led 26-11 after the first quarter. Kyra Marcuson, who scored a game-high 21 points, had 10 points in the opening eight minutes.
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“Kyra led us as she’s done pretty much all year, and she really stepped up tonight,” Winter said.
Kyleigh Schopp added 14 points for the Monarchs, while Ava Nilsson chipped in with 12.
“Kyleigh had a very good night for us, especially on the inside, giving us some points for the paint, which was good to see,” Winter said.
Britton-Hecla was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Heather Storbakken led the Braves with nine points.
Warner, now 20-2, is the No. 6 seed and faces 11th-seeded Herreid/Selby Area in the SoDak 16 on Thursday.
“Historically, Herreid/Selby is a very good program,” Winter said after the game against Britton-Hecla. “I haven’t seen much of them this year, but we plan on approaching it the same way we’ve approached every game this season.”
The Monarchs’ only two losses this season have been to Class A teams Roncalli and Florence-Henry.
Also in Region 1B action on Feb. 22, Northwestern turned away a Leola/Frederick rally to pick up a 49-47 victory to advance to the SoDak 16. Ana Ratigan scored 17 points and Tara Blachford 11 in the win.
The Titans, who were down by 15 points at the end of the third quarter, were led by 26 points by Laura Sumption.
At 13-9, Northwestern is the No. 15 seed and travels to Timber Lake to play undefeated Harding County at 5 p.m. MT Thursday.
The Ranchers score an average of 63 points a game, while yielding just 41.5. The only team that came close to upending them was Bowman County (N.D.), which fell 64-60 on Dec. 21.
Thursday’s Class B SoDak 16 games
- No. 1 Arlington (20-2) vs. No 16 Gayville-Volin (15-7), 6 p.m., Madison.
- No. 2 Harding County (21-0) vs. No. 15 Northwestern (13-9), 5 p.m. MT, Timber Lake.
- No. 3 Centerville (20-2) vs. No. 14 Tripp-Delmont/Armour (13-9), 7 p.m., Irene.
- No. 4 Ethan (19-2) vs. No. 13 Andes Central/Dakota Christian (14-8), 7 p.m., Parkston.
- No. 5 Wall (18-4) vs. No. 12 Colman-Egan (15-7), 5:30 p.m., Fort Pierre.
- No. 6 Warner (20-2) vs. No. 11 Herreid/Selby Area (15-7), 7 p.m., Ipswich.
- No. 7 Lyman (19-2) vs. No. 10 Kadoka Area (15-6), 7 p.m., Murdo.
- No. 8 Lemmon (19-3) vs. No. 9 James Valley Christian (15-6), 6:30 p.m., Gettysburg.
Feb. 22 scores
Region 1B
- No. 1 Warner 64, No. 4 Britton-Hecla 31
- No. 3 Northwestern 49, No. 2 Leola/Frederick 47
Region 6B
- No. 1 Lyman 69, No. 5 Potter County 40
- No. 3 Herreid/Selby Area 54 , No. 7 Highmore-Harrold 38