Taking stock of area girls basketball teams as postseason play draws near – Mitchell Republic

MITCHELL – A little over two weeks before the end of the regular girls’ basketball season in South Dakota, teams are battling for position in the regional postseason tournaments with a goal to reach the SoDak 16 and ultimately the state tournaments in Watertown and Huron.

With the regional tournament scheduled to begin on Monday, February 20, here is a look at the rankings in the notable basketball regions. All recordings were taken from the SDHSAA website on February 1st.

As it stands: Sioux Falls Christian (13-1) is the clear class of the region, with five losses fewer and a more than four full starting point lead over their nearest challenger. The Chargers currently sit 5th in the Class A seed point standings. Garretson (8-6) is the only other team in the region with a winning record, and the Blue Dragons rank 30th in the Class A in terms on the seed points.

West Central (5-7) and McCook Central/Montrose (7-8) round out the top half of the region. The bottom four teams in the region are Tri-Valley (5-9), Madison (3-11), Dell Rapids (2-13) and Baltic (2-11).

Looking ahead: Though Sioux Falls Christian should take first place in the region, the Chargers will get a sense of where they really stand in the Class A hierarchy with a final stretch that includes four of six games against top-15 teams , including Vermillion, Sisseton, St Thomas More and Mount Vernon/Plankinton.

As it stands: Wagner (14-1) is the frontrunner in an otherwise crowded race for post-season positioning and has claimed a 16-point victory over second-place finisher Hanson (11-4). The Red Raiders are third in Class A for seed points while the Beavers are 13th.

Just behind Hanson are Mount Vernon/Plankinton (8-5) in 14th and Parkston (10-5) in 16th. Should either of those teams falter down the track are Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (7-6) and Kimball /White Lake (7-6) positioned to shake things up in the middle of the field.

Rounding out the bottom three spots in the region are Platte-Geddes (6-8), Bon Homme (5-7) and Chamberlain (5-10).

Looking ahead: Wagner welcomes an Andes Central/Dakota Christian team to a loss on Thursday and meets Class B No. 1 Viborg-Hurley in Yankton on Saturday, but then ends up with three games against sub-500 rivals.

Also on Thursday is an important Hanson vs. MVP duel that will likely go a long way in deciding the region’s No. 2 tournament. MVP is visiting Parkston for both teams’ regular-season finals on Feb. 16, another competition expected to heavily impact seeding.

As it stands: Ranked 4th in all Class A seed point scores, Red Cloud (14-0) is progressing in the region and already owns two wins over runner-up Lakota Tech (9-4) and one over 4th-place finisher Todd County (9- 4).

Lakota Tech is No. 8 in Class A for starting points, while the third-place winner (8-4) is a top-20 squad and Todd County is in the top-30. Little Wound (5-8), Pine Ridge (3-7), St. Francis Indian (5-8) and Bennett County (3-7) occupy the bottom four spots in the region.

Looking ahead: Red Cloud has back-to-back road games against other top-10 Tier A teams in St. Thomas More (Feb. 6) and Rapid City Christian (Feb. 10), but does not play another team in the other four remaining competitions is currently above 0.500. Lakota Tech is in a similar place, with a game at Rapid City Christian on Feb. 13, the only remaining opponent with a winning record.

The winner avoids facing any of the other top teams in the region in the final weeks of the regular season as the Warriors host St. Thomas More in their only remaining game against a .500 team on Friday.

Area 1A: Sisseton (12-1), Milbank (9-4), Groton Area (10-4), Aberdeen Roncalli (7-6)
Area 2A: Hamlin (14-0), Florence/Henry (12-1), Flandreau (10-4), Sioux Valley (10-4), Elkton-Lake Benton (8-5)
Area 4A: Vermillion (15-0), Lennox (12-3), Canton (8-5), Elk Point Jefferson (7-6)
Area 6A: Miller (10-3), Mobridge Pollock (8-3), Dupree (9-4)
Area 8A: Rapid City Christian (11-3), St Thomas More (12-3), Belle Fourche (8-3), Custer (10-5)

Note: This was set up using the current top two teams from each region. Seed listed is the current position in the Class A ranking.
No. 1 Hamlin vs. No. 30 Garretson
#2 Vermillion vs. #18 Mobridge-Pollock
#3 Wagner vs. #17 Milbank
No. 4 Red Cloud vs. No. 15 Lennox
No. 5 Sioux Falls Christian vs. No. 13 Hanson
No. 6 Florence/Henry vs. No. 11 Miller
No.7 Sisseton vs. No.10 St Thomas More
No. 8 Lakota Tech vs. No. 9 Rapid City Christian

As it stands: It’s a three-team race for the No. 1 in the region, as Ethan (11-2), Dell Rapids St. Mary (12-2) and Howard (14-3) are all separated by just over half a seed point. The gap between Ethan and DRSM at the top is currently less than a tenth of a point as the trio currently sit fifth, sixth and eighth in Class B.

The Rustlers have a head-to-head win over Howard but won’t play DRSM in the regular season. The Cardinals also have a head-to-head win over Howard, although it’s worth noting that the Tigers lost both games by 11 points combined.

Colman-Egan (8-8) sits alone in fourth place, while Canistota (3-11), Chester Area (3-12), Bridgewater-Emery (2-11) and Mitchell Christian (0-13) round out the standings .

Looking ahead: Ethan has six games left, five of which have a record .500 or more, including an away game at James Valley Christian and a home game at Andes Central/Dakota Christian.

Three teams with double-digit wins remain for DRSM, which faces Arlington and Centerville on the road, along with a DWU Classic contest against Wall.

Howard has just three games left, but two against Jones County and Viborg-Hurley, the No. 9 and No. 1 teams in Class B, respectively.

As it stands: The region claims two of the top three ranked teams in all of Tier B, although seed points do not reflect those rankings. Defending Class B champion Viborg-Hurley (13-1) is No. 1 in both, while Centerville (11-3) is No. 3 but is No. 14 overall in the class standings.

Scotland (9-6) and Freeman (9-6) are in contention for third place in the region and the only other two teams with more than five wins of the season. Fifth through ninth are Irene-Wakonda (4-11), Alcester-Hudson (5-9), Menno (3-12), Freeman Academy/Marion (4-10) and Gayville-Volin (2-11) .

Looking ahead: Viborg-Hurley already has a head-to-head against Centerville and is set for another post-season run, with contests against Class A No. 3 Wagner on February 4 (at Yankton), Class A No. 1 Hamlin on February 10 (at Mitchell) and another top Grade B team, Howard, at home to finish the regular season.

Centerville ends the season with key games against Class A Canton, the Great Plains Conference championship against Andes Central/Dakota Christian, and a home final against Dell Rapids St. Mary.

Scotland edged out Freeman on Monday, setting up a final stretch that includes Gregory and a Great Plains Conference Classic game against Avon. Meanwhile, Freeman will try to catch up on games against Gregory, Ethan and Class A Hanson.

As it stands: Andes Central/Dakota Christian (11-1) is leading the race in the region and is 10th overall in Class B, followed by five teams hovering near .500 with a chance to take the overall standings in the shake up significantly in the final weeks of the regular season.

Gregory (6-6) is currently second and 17th in class, while Wessington Springs (8-6) is not far behind, just over half a seed point behind. Avon (7-7) and Corsica-Stickney (7-7) battle for fourth place, while Tripp-Delmont/Armour (6-7) and Burke (5-10) do the same for sixth place.

Rounding out the region are Marty (4-8) and Colome (0-13).

Looking ahead: ACDC has a chance to win the Great Plains Conference in a matchup with a Centerville squad ranked No. 3 in the South Dakota Prep Media poll, and faces Class B, Class A No. 3 Wagner, and Class A Kimball/White Lake face No. 5-ranked Ethan and Gregory. Each of the last four mentioned competitions are on their way.

In addition to hosting ACDC, Gregory has four other record-breaking opponents including Class A Parkston alongside Freeman, Lyman and Scotland.

Springs has two big chances to move up the rankings by visiting Warner on February 9th and hosting James Valley Christian on February 17th.

As it stands: Sully Buttes (11-2) checks in at #3 overall in Class B, while second-place team in the region, Potter County (9-4), check in at #16 in the Class B seed point standings.

Third-placed Lyman (7-4) still ranks within the top-25 in class, while Lower Brule (8-6) is a distant fourth and is closer to seventh in starting points than third.

Faulkton Area (6-8), Herreid/Selby Area (6-8), Highmore-Harrold (3-10), Ipswich (1-11) and Sunshine Bible Academy (0-12) complete the region’s ranking.

Looking ahead: Potter County can gain ground with a road disruption from Sully Buttes when the two sides meet on Friday. Elsewhere, Sully Buttes has Class A Mobridge-Pollock and a yet-to-be-determined Warner Classic opponent on the schedule. Meanwhile, Potter County also has an opponent yet to be named when they face the Sacred Hoops Classic in Chamberlain on February 11.

Lyman’s main promotion opportunities are against Class A McCook Central/Montrose at the DWU Classic on February 10, at Wall on February 14 and hosts Jones County on February 16.

Area 1B: Warner (12-3), Leola/Frederick Area (12-1), Northwestern (8-4)
Area 2B: Wolsey-Wessington (12-2), Castlewood (11-4), Arlington (11-4), Deubrook Area (10-3), James Valley Christian (10-3)
Area 7B: Jones County (9-2), Wall (10-5), Kadoka area (10-5), Edgemont (8-6)
Area 8B: Timber Lake (11-3), Faith (9-6), Harding County (8-6), Tiospaye Topa (9-6)

Note: This was set up using the current top two teams from each region. Seed listed is the current position in the Class A ranking.

#1 Viborg-Hurley vs. #20 Faith
#2 Wolsey-Wessington vs. #18 Leola/Frederick Area
No. 3 Sully Buttes vs. No. 17 Gregory
#4 Castlewood vs. #16 Potter County
No. 5 Ethan vs. No. 14 Centerville
#6 Dell Rapids St Mary vs #13 Wall
No. 9 Jones County vs. No. 12 Timber Lake
No. 10 Andes Central/Dakota Christian vs. No. 11 Warner