Dreams of state tournament invitations will either be fulfilled or dashed this week in South Dakota high school girls' basketball. By the end of the week, the eight teams headed to the State B tourney in Huron, the State A in Spearfish, and the State AA in Brookings will be decided. The state tournaments are scheduled for March 8-10. The Class AA teams will conduct district and regional tournaments this week, and Class A and B will hold regional tournaments. Snowy weather last week pushed back a handful of district tournaments.
There are no secrets in this district of four Eastern South Dakota Conference teams. They are all longtime rivals and have played each other twice already this season. Mitchell claimed the top spot in the district from the beginning of the season and finished as the number one team in the State AA poll. The Kernels are currently riding a 14-game win streak and lost just once this season. Aberdeen Central, which climbed as high as number two in the poll, lost four of its last six games in February.
The winning teams will advance to the district championship game on Thursday, and the two teams that lost will square off in an elimination game also on Thursday.
Tonight’s Games:
- Huron (2-18) vs. Mitchell (19-1) at Corn Palace, 5:45 p.m.
- Pierre (4-16) vs. Aberdeen Central (13-6) at Golden Eagles Arena, 7 p.m.
Thursday’s Games:
- Championship at higher seed
- Third-place game at higher seed.