AA Girls Basketball: District Tournament

LET THE FUN TIMES ROLL! It's time for the district tournament to begin! All the hard work the girls put into the season comes down to a week of basketball to determine who goes to the state tournament on March 8th-10th. 16 teams will enter district play and only 8 will make the state tournament. To make the state tournament you must win two games. With everyone in action Monday night, let's take a closer look at some interesting 1st round matchups.

District 1:

Watertown Arrows (11-9) host O'Gorman Knights (11-9)

Last Time Out

The Knights come into the game with a big win in their last game over the Washington Warriors 47-43. The Arrows lost at home to the defending champs Brandon Valley Lynxs in overtime, 66-59.

Record vs common opponents

Both 6-7

Last 5 games

Both 2-3

Key Matchup:

Chandler Nielsen 5'7 Senior O'Gorman: She is averaging 16 points a game since coming back from her injury and is the vocal leader for this team.

Tia Hemiller 5'7 Senior Watertown: Since bursting onto the scene as a freshman has scored over 1000 points in her career. She usually guards the other teams best player.

Regular Season Matchup:

Won by Watertown 49-37 @ O'Gorman in December: Tia Hemiller 18 points and Mandy Tetzlaff 11 points. The Knights were lead by Chandler Nielson with 17 points and Tori Langin with 14.

Edge:

Watertown at home

Also Roosevelt (14-6) host Brookings (2-18)


District 2

Yankton (14-5) host Brandon Valley (14-6)

Last Time Out

The Lynxs come into the game with a road win over the Watertown Arrows 66-59 in overtime. The Gazelles are riding a 7 game winning streak with a road win over Huron 66-48.

Regular Season Matchup:

Both won by the Gazelles: 49-38 in Brandon; 60-48 in Yankton

Last 5 Games:

Yankton 5-0
BV          4-1

Record vs ESD

Yankton 11-3
BV            9-5

Key Matchup:

Allison Koehn 5'9 Junior from BV is averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds per game.

Emily Fedders 5'10 Senior from Yankton plays great defense for the Gazelles and usually guards the other teams best player.

Edge:

Yankton at home

Also Washington (16-4) host Lincoln (11-8)


                                                                   

March 8th-10th 2012

AA Girls Basketball February 14th - 20th 2012

WOW! Where did the season go? We are in the last week of the season before districts start on February 27th for the AA! The post season gets underway for A and B schools this week! Bring on the state tournament! Let's take a look at the teams heading into the last week of the season.

(records good through 2-20-12)


Mitchell (18-1) The Kernels are clearly the team to beat with one week left in the regular season. Kerri Young had 24 points and Macy Miller had 18 points as the Kernels used a 13-1 run in the 4th quarter to secure a win on the road at Watertown 63-41. They are host to Aberdeen Central on 2/21 before hosting the 1st round of districts on Monday, Feb 27th.

SF Washington (16-3) The Warriors lost to the Roosevelt Rough Riders last Friday night 40-37. They still hold the #1 seed in a tough district 2 and play O'Gorman on 2/21 to finish out the regular season.

Yankton (13-5) The Gazelles are on a 6 game winning streak after hot shooting helped them take down Pierre last Friday 45-36. The Gazelles will finish the regular season at Huron on 2/21 and then host a first round game in district play on Monday, Feb 27th.

Aberdeen Central (13-5) The Eagles, who have lost 3 of their last 5 picked up a nice win at home vs the Huron Tigers 68-36. Kayla Schaunaman had 15 points and sister Kelcy Schaunaman had 10 points in the win. They travel to Mitchell on 2/21 before hosting a first round game in the districts next week.

Brandon Valley (12-6) The Lynxs hope to gain some momentum this week after their win at Brookings 58-31. USD recruit Heidi Hoff had 25 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals in the win. They travel to Watertown on 2/21 to end the regular season.

SF Roosevelt (12-6) The Riders picked up two nice road victories last week to move into first place in their district winning at Aberdeen Central (getting a great game from Paige Mriden and the rest of the bench) and at Washington 40-37. They will host the Lincoln Patriots on 2/21 and travel to Marshall on 2/23 before hosting a first round game on 2/27.

Watertown (11-8) The Arrows have a tough schedule to finish out the regular season. They lost by a point to the Yankton Gazelles 47-46. They also lost to the Mitchell Kernels 63-41 and now host the Brandon Valley Lynxs on 2/21 to finish out the regular season.
SF Lincoln (11-7) The Patriots are on a nice 3 game winning streak after their loss to Stevens earlier this month. They pick up an overtime win at home vs O'Gorman and go on the road and win at Brookings 51-41. They travel to SF Roosevelt on 2/21 to end the regular season.

SF O'Gorman (10-9) The Knights had one game this week and lost in overtime to the Patriots 56-51. Chandler Nielsen had 21 points in the loss. They travel to Washington on 2/21.

RC Stevens (9-9) After their loss to the Washington Warriors they have won two straight beating the Patriots 38-37 and the Spearfish Spartans 62-49. They have two games to end the regular season at city rival Central 2/21 and home to Sturgis on 2/23 before districts start on 2/27.

RC Central (9-10) The Cobblers have lost 3 straight and will host city rival Stevens on 2/21 to end the regular season.


LOOKING AHEAD

2/21/12

Aberdeen Central (13-5) at Mitchell (18-1)
O'Gorman (10-9) at SF Washington (16-3)
Yankton (13-5) at Huron (2-17)
Brandon Valley (13-6) at Watertown (11-8)
SF Lincoln (11-7) at SF Roosevelt (12-6)
RC Stevens (9-9) at RC Central (9-10)

2/23/12

SF Roosevelt (12-6) at Marshall, Mn (19-5)
RC Stevens (9-9) at Sturgis (7-11)

2/27/12

District Tournament Starts!

AA Girls Basketball: February 7th - 13th, 2012

We have two weeks remaining in the regular season before the tournament starts to heat up! Which teams are playing well headed into the final stretch of the season and which teams needs to turn it around before districts start on the 27th of February. Let's take a look at how the teams fared this week.

(records good through 2/13/12)


Mitchell Kernels (17-1) The Kernels continued their winning ways beating Brookings 58-31 in the Dakota Wesleyan University Classic last Saturday. They go 12-0 in the ESD and win the teams first ESD crown since the 2003-04 season and also have home court throughout the district tournament. Macy Miller lead the Kernels with 18 points and teammate Kerri Young had 17 points in the win vs the Bobcats. They travel to Watertown on 2/17 and finish the season at home on 2/21 vs Aberdeen Central.


Washington Warriors (15-2) The Warriors are quietly putting together a nice season. They sweep the three games out in Rapid City and have a nine game winning streak of their own. After the loss to Eastview, Mn earlier this season the coaching staff made a switch moving Ellie Benson to the point guard and Sarah Zirpel to an off guard. The switch has paid off as Sarah Zirpel had a great weekend out west scoring 59 points in the three games.The Warriors have three home games left to finish the regular season. It starts 2/14 with the Brandon Valley Lynxs coming to town and Roosevelt to finish the week.


Yankton (11-5) The Gazelles are also on a little winning streak of four as they try and keep pace with the Warriors and the Lynxs in a tough District 2. In their last game vs Aberdeen Central it was their man to man defense that won the game for them holding the Eagles to 25% shooting for the game. Emily Fedders lead the team with 16 points and Mikala Hora had 10 rebounds. If the Gazelles want home court in the first round of the district tournament they will have to win the remaining games all on the road. They travel to Watertown on 2/14, then to Pierre on 2/17 and close out the regular season at Huron on 2/21.


Aberdeen Central (12-4) The Eagles have lost two of the last three games. They lost at home to Watertown and on the road to Yankton on 2/10. In both losses it was cold shooting going 2 for 19 in the first half vs Yankton. Megan Jordre lead the Eagles with 10 points. The Eagles host SF Roosevelt on 2/14 and then the Huron Tigers on 2/17. They close out the regular season on the road at Mitchell on 2/21.

Brandon Valley (11-5) After a tough loss at Yankton, the Lynxs have a two game winning streak beating O'Gorman and Pierre this past week. Balance is what the Lynxs are looking for as they finish up the regular season. In the win vs the Knights the Lynxs got just that has Roegiers had 15, Koehn had 14, Hoff had 13 and Lexi Hoover had 12. In the win vs Pierre it was Hoff with 16, Koehn added 14 and Brynne Rist had 11. If this team wants to win back to back state titles (a feat that hasn't been done since Roosevelt did it in 2005-06) it needs balance. The Lynxs have three games on the road to end their regular season. It starts 2/14 at Washington and 2/16 at Brookings and then they travel to Watertown on 2/21.

Watertown Arrows (11-6) The Arrows have a three game winning streak of their own, winning two of those on the road. The Arrows shot just 5 of 26 from the field in the first half in their game at Huron and trailed at the break 22-13. They turned it around in the second half by making 4 3 pointers and shooting 8 for 13 in the 3rd quarter. They went on to win 48-43 over the Tigers. The Arrows have three home games to finish out the regular season. They host Yankton on 2/14, then have the Kernels on 2/17 before ending the season with the Brandon Valley Lynxs.

SF Roosevelt (10-6) The Riders had one game this week and it was at home vs the Brookings Bobcats. In a game the Riders had to come back and win by out scoring the bobcats in the 4th quarter 11-7 to earn the two point win 41-39.  Taygn Larson scored her only basketball of the night with 13 seconds left to help them to the victory. They travel to Aberdeen on 2/14 and go to Washington to end the week.

SF O'Gorman (10-8) It has been an up and down season for the Knights. After starting the season 2-4 they go on a nice seven game winning streak but have lost 4 of their last 6 games with two road games remaining on their schedule. They travel to Lincoln on 2/17 and finish the regular season at Washington on 2/21. Both games important for a home game in the district tournament.

SF Lincoln (9-7) The Patriots went out to Rapid City and won two of three games, losing by a point to the RC Stevens Raiders.They played great for 3 quarters but couldn't finish and lose 38-37. The Patriots have also made a switch in the lineup starting Emily Pearson and giving Lauren Metzger more minutes off the bench.. They host O'Gorman on 2/17 before traveling to Brookings 2/18 and Roosevelt 2/21 to end the regular season.


RC Central (9-9) The Cobblers lost both games this past weekend to Washington and Lincoln. In the Washington game they held a small lead after the first quarter 12-11 but couldn't handle the pressure defense that the Warriors put on throughout the game and lose 62-42. In the game vs Lincoln they lose a lead late and fall 49-38 to the Patriots. They have two home games to finish out the regular season. They host Spearfish on 2/14 and then have city rival RC Stevens on 2/21.


RC Stevens (8-9) The Raiders are coming off a split this past weekend. They lost to Washington 60-38 but come back the next night and beat the Lincoln Patriots by a point 38-37. USD recruit Margaret McCloud had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win.


LOOKING AHEAD

2/14/12

Brandon Valley (12-5) at SF Washington (15-2)
Yankton (11-5) at Watertown (11-6)
SF Roosevelt (10-6) at Aberdeen Central (12-4)
Sturgis (6-11) at RC Central (9-9)
Spearfish (11-5) at RC Stevens (8-9)

2/16/12

Brandon Valley (12-5) at Brookings (2-15)


2/17/12

Mitchell (17-1) at Watertown (11-6)
SF Roosevelt (10-6) at SF Washington (15-2)
Yankton (11-5) at Pierre (3-14)
Huron (2-16) at Aberdeen Central (12-4)
SF O'Gorman (10-8) at SF Lincoln (9-7)


2/18/12

SF Lincoln (9-7) at Brookings (2-15)

AA Girls Basketball January 31st - Feb 6th 2012

It was an interesting week of AA girls basketball. All of these teams have a shot at winning the state title but let's take a look at who took a step forward.

(records good through 2/6/12)

Mitchell Kernels (16-1) I am running out of adjectives for this team. They have not lost in over a month. (Jan 2nd) The winning streak is up to 11 games with three games to go before districts. They are playing great defense as a team. Kerri Young has lead this team and Macy Miller is just hitting her stride since coming back from an injury earlier this season. Since the Lincoln game (Jan 2nd) the Kernels have stop shooting the "3" and their shooting percentage is up for the season.

Washington Warriors (12-2) The Warriors traveled to O'Gorman this week and picked up a nice road victory. It was the first time the Warriors beat the Knights and Riders on the road in the same season. In the win Sarah Zirpel lead the Warriors with 17 points but more important it was her start to the 3rd quarter that really got them going scoring 9 points in the quarter. Hannah Weber also had 15 points and Ellie Benson had 12 points. The Warriors travel west to take on Stevens, Central and Sturgis starting 2/9/12. They hope to have Emma Hanson back sometime this weekend.

Aberdeen Central (11-3) The Eagles only played one game this week as they hosted the Watertown Arrows on 2/4/12. They got off to a great start leading 32-21 at halftime but didn't shoot the ball well in the second half (2 for 20) and finished with 22 turnovers and ended up losing 49-40 to the Arrows. Samantha Knect had a double-double for the Eagles with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Yankton Gazelles (9-5) The Gazelles played Brandon Valley on 2/2/12 and came away with a 60-48 win. They sweep the two games during the season. Chloe Cornemann shot 7-10 from the field and 6-6 from the freethrow line for 20 points in the win. Jenn Granflaten had 13 points and Mikala Hora had 12.

Brandon Valley (10-5)  In their lone game of the week they went to Yankton and lost to the Gazelles 60-48. Heidi Hoff had 20 points to lead the Lynxs and Allison Koehn had 13 points. In a rematch of last year's state championship game the Lynxs host Chandler Nielsen and the O'Gorman Knights on 2/7/12. It's an important game for both teams as they both are fighting for home court in district play coming up at the end of the month.

Watertown Arrows (10-6) With 2 wins in a row (Lincoln and Aberdeen Central) the Arrows now sit in first place in their district. They go on the road and win at Aberdeen Central trailing at the half 32-21. Congrats to Tia Hemiller for scoring her 1000 point in the win.

O'Gorman Knights (10-7) The Knights went 1-1 last week losing to Washington at home 63-52 and beating Pierre on the road 58-43. The Knights travel to Brandon Valley this week in a rematch of the title game of 2011. The Knights have 3 games left before districts all on the road. (At BV 2/7/12, At Lincoln 2/17 and at Washington 2/21/12.)

SF Roosevelt (9-6) The Riders have had a long layoff between games. They last played on 2/27 vs the Washington Warriors in a game where they lost the lead late in the 4th quarter. They host the Brookings Bobcats on 2/7/12.

RC Central (9-7) With a win over Stevens on the road the Cobblers now sit in first place by 2 games. The Cobblers sank 8 of 11 3's to earn a 48-38 win over the Stevens Raiders. Chelsey Carmichael lead the Cobblers with 14 points in the win.
Lincoln Patriots (7-6)  The Patriots split a pair of games this week losing at Watertown 48-39 before picking up a home victory 59-53 over Sioux City West. The Patriots travel to Sturgis, Stevens and Central this coming weekend.

RC Stevens (7-8) Their disappointing season continues with a home lost to city rival RC Central 48-38.  Margaret McCloud finished with 13 points for the Raiders. As a team Stevens made just 10-of-41 shots from the field. They host Washington and Lincoln this weekend.


Its all in the numbers:


11 Winning streak by the Mitchell Kernels

250 wins by Yankton Gazelles coach Doug Pesicka

1000 points in Tia Hemiiller's career at Watertown


Looking Ahead

2/7/12
O'Gorman (10-7) at BV (10-5)
Aberdeen (11-3) at Pierre (3-13)
Yankton (9-5) at Huron (2-14)
Brookings (2-13) at SF Roosevelt (9-6)

2/9/12
Washington (12-2) at RC Stevens (7-8)
Lincoln (7-6) at Sturgis (6-9)
Watertown (10-6) at Huron (2-14)

2/10/12
Washington (12-2) at RC Central (9-7)
Lincoln (7-6) at RC Stevens (7-8)
Aberdeen Central (11-3) at Yankton (9-5)
Pierre (3-13) at BV (10-5)

2/11/12
Brookings (2-13) at Mitchell (16-1)
Washington (12-2) at Sturgis (6-9)
Lincoln (7-6) at RC Central (9-7)

AA Girls Basketball for week of January 24th-31th 2012

One more week closer to the state tournament at Frost Arena in Brookings. As the teams get set for the final month of the regular season let's see which team is breaking away from the pack.

(records good through January 31th, 2012)


Mitchell Kernels (14-1) The Kernels had a very impressive month of January only losing to Lincoln on Jan 2nd. They have yet to lose at home this year (8-0) and are riding a 9 game winning streak. In the last two games Kerri Young averaged 23 points per game and Macy Miller averaged 19. They are also getting great play from Kristin Sabers and  Dana Misiaszek.

SF Washington (11-2) The Warriors have won five in a row pulling away from SF Roosevelt late in the 4th quarter. Emma Hanson missed the game with concussion like symptoms she sustained in a win vs Lincoln. She will miss her second straight game vs O'Gorman later this week. In her absence Sydney Koel came off the bench and scored 8 points. She also had some key rebounds in the 4th quarter to help the Warriors to a victory.

Aberdeen Central (11-2) The Eagles played well on the road at Brookings and beat a young Sturgis team at home to continue their winning ways. They have won 4 straight. They host the Watertown Arrows this weekend.

Brandon Valley (10-4) The Lynxs lost to the top seeded Kernels at the Corn Palace but bounced back nicely against a Huron Tigers team looking for their first win of the season. USD recruit Heidi Hoff set a school record with 11 assists to go along with her 16 points in the win verses the Tigers.

Yankton (8-5) The Gazelles also lost to the Kernels by 10 but bounced back against the O'Gorman Knights jumping out to a 12-2 lead and going on to win 52-43. Chloe Cornemann, Mikala Hora and Kelsey Fitzgerald are playing some great basketball for the Gazelles. They have a big district game at home verses Brandon Valley on 2/2/12.

SF Roosevelt (9-6) The Riders have lost 5 of their last 7 games after falling to the Warriors 61-48 and to the Watertown Arrows 71-67 in overtime. In the slide they have given up big leads at the end of games. They need to tighten up the defense at the end of games. One game separates first from third in a very close race for home court in their district.

SF O'Gorman (9-6) The Knights picked up a road victory at Sioux City East but fell to Yankton 52-43. Chandler Nielsen continues to play well for the Knights coming back from her injury scoring 11 points and Jessica Mieras was 3-5 from the floor and 5-5 from the freethrow line for 13 points. The Knights host Washington on 2/2/12.


Watertown Arrows (8-6) The Arrows earned a split this past weekend against RC Central and RC Stevens. Savannah Gravatt had 5 3 pointers to help the Arrows in their win over Rapid City Central. 

Lincoln Patriots (6-5) Nice bounce back win over Sioux City East but giving up way to many 2nd chance points and need to convert baskets in the paint. The Patriots travel to Watertown on 2/2/12 and have a home game verses Sioux City West on 2/4/12 before heading out west to take on Sturgis, Stevens and Central.

RC Stevens (7-7) Nice wins this weekend on the road in Brookings and Watertown. A big weekend from USD recruit Margaret McCloud. In the two games she had 47 points and 27 rebounds in the wins.

RC Central (8-7) Split this weekends games, beat Brookings 51-34 but lost to Watertown the night before 66-49. The Cobblers have a big game this week with city rival RC Stevens on 2/2/12 for first place in their district.

LOOKING AHEAD

2/2/12

Lincoln (6-5) at Watertown (8-6)
Brandon Valley (10-4) at Yankton (8-5)
Washington (11-2) at O'Gorman (9-6)
RC Central (8-7) at RC Stevens (7-7)

2/3/12

Mitchell (14-1) at Sturgis (5-8)

2/4/12

Sioux City West (9-9) at Lincoln (6-5)
OGorman (9-6) at Pierre (3-12)
Watertown (8-6) at Aberdeen Central (11-2)