Local high school athletic directors will breathe a sigh of relief when the district girls' basketball tournaments get under way this week.
The ADs have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks rescheduling games affected by adverse weather. Teams hope to shrug off the uncertainties of changing regular season schedules and settle into the familiar routine of postseason play as Class A and B girls' tournaments take place this week. Class AA districts will start on Feb. 25.
The following is a short look at district tournaments in the area.
District 1A Tuesday, Thursday at Britton
Aberdeen Roncalli appears to have the upper hand in this three-team district that contains teams with long-standing rivalries.
The Cavaliers only lost three times this season: Herreid-Selby Area, St. Thomas More and Warner. Roncalli recently stopped Summit's long win streak and topped Northeast Conference foe Clark-Willow Lake to win the conference title. The Cavaliers beat Britton-Hecla once and Groton twice during the regular season and won 10 of their last 11 games.
Groton put together a five-game winning streak near the end of the season, but lost its last three games. Britton-Hecla won three of its last five games.
Team WL
Aberdeen Roncalli 163
Groton 11-8
Britton-Hecla 710
Tuesday's Game: Groton vs. Britton-Hecla at Britton, 7 p.m.
Thursday's Game: Championship, Aberdeen Roncalli vs. Groton-Britton-Hecla winner at Britton, 7 p.m.
District 2A
Tuesday, Thursday at Sisseton
The story line in this district has multiple postseason possibilities, where any of the teams truly could win the title.
Milbank hung onto the top seed despite a tough finish to the season. The Bulldogs put together a seven-game winning streak only to lose three in a row near the end of the season. Milbank beat Tiospa Zina but split with Sisseton, and did not play Webster.
Webster, which placed third in the Northeast Conference, topped Sisseton and Tiospa Zina during the season. Sisseton, a perennial contender in the district, finished the season strong. Tiospa Zina limped into the postseason after a six-game losing streak.
Team WL
Milbank 11-8
Webster 11-6
Sisseton 8-11
Tiospa Zina 4-16
Tuesday's Games: Milbank vs. Tiospa Zina at Sisseton, 6 p.m.; Webster vs. Sisseton at Sisseton, 7:30 p.m..
Thursday's Game: Championship at Sisseton, 7 p.m.
District 3A
Tuesday, Thursday at Clark
This district appears to be cut and dried.
Clark-Willow Lake, the number two team in the Northeast Conference, had a 13-game winning streak stopped by Aberdeen Roncalli last week. CWL has wins over both Redfield-Doland and Florence-Henry.
Redfield-Doland started the season with a four-game winning streak and has played .500 basketball since that good start. Florence-Henry topped Wilmot and Waubay in two of its last regular season games.
Team WL
Clark-Willow Lake 164
Redfield-Doland 128
Florence-Henry 812
Tuesday's Game: Redfield-Doland vs. Florence-Henry at Clark, 7 p.m.
Thursday's Game: Championship, Clark-Willow Lake vs. winner Redfield-Doland-Florence-Henry at Clark, 7 p.m.
District 11A
Tuesday, Thursday at top seeds/TBA
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte tops this district and has a slight advantage over McLaughlin, the second seed. Mobridge-Pollock will be looking to upset one of the higher ranked teams.
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte has single wins over McLaughlin and Stanley County during the regular season but split with Mobridge-Pollock. The Braves lost three of their last four games. McLaughlin spun together three straight wins near the end of the season but finished up with three straight losses. One of Stanley County's wins was over Mobridge-Pollock.
Team WL
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 118
McLaughlin 108
Mobridge-Pollock 218
Stanley County 218
Tuesday's Games: Cheyenne-Eagle Butte vs. Stanley County at Eagle Butte, 7 p.m. MST; McLaughlin vs. Mobridge-Pollock at McLaughlin, 7 p.m. MST.
Thursday's Game: Championship, TBA, TBA.
District 1B
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at Milbank
The district has been dominated by Summit in recent seasons and this year is no different.
Summit has just one blemish on its record; a loss to Aberdeen Roncalli, a Class A school. The most points Summit gave up in one game this year was 41 points to Warner. The least points scored by Summit were 34 against Roncalli. The two-time defending State B champions are a veteran squad and tried and tested.
Rosholt quietly put together a season with just four losses. Rosholt had a nine-game winning streak stopped last week by Summit. Wilmot lost just four times this season; two of them to Class A schools. The only Class B schools to beat Wilmot are Summit and Rosholt.
Team WL
Summit 191
Rosholt 164
Wilmot 144
Waverly-South Shore 712
Waubay 510
Grant-Deuel 114
Monday's Games: Waverly-South Shore vs. Waubay at Milbank, 6 p.m.; Wilmot vs. Grant-Deuel at Milbank, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday's Games: Summit vs. winner Waverly-South Shore-Waubay at Milbank, 6 p.m.; winner Wilmot-Grant-Deuel vs. Rosholt at Milbank, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday's Game: Championship at Milbank, 7 p.m.
District 2B
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at Aberdeen Civic Arena
It would be hard to pick against Warner in this district.
The Monarchs had only one hiccup this season and that was an 11-point loss to Summit. The Lake Region Conference champion, Warner has size, outside shooting and a good defense. The closest game this season was a 34-23 win over Redfield-Doland. In a strange turn of fortune for this usually powerful district, Warner is the only team with a winning record. The other five teams finished below .500.
Northwestern ended the season with four losses. Langford Area wrapped up the season with two wins and Hitchcock-Tulare begins postseason play with a three-game winning streak.
Team WL
Warner 191
Northwestern 811
Langford Area 710
Hitchcock-Tulare 812
Leola-Frederick 317
Aberdeen Christian 017
Monday's Games: Hitchcock-Tulare vs. Leola-Frederick at Civic Arena, 6:30 p.m.; Langford Area vs. Aberdeen Christian at Civic Arena, 8 p.m.
Tuesday's Games: Warner vs. winner Hitchcock-Tulare-Leola-Frederick at Civic Arena, 6:30 p.m.; winner Langford Area-Aberdeen Christian vs. Northwestern at Civic Arena, 8 p.m.
Thursday's Game: Championship at Aberdeen Civic Arena, 7:30 p.m.
District 5B
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at top seeds, Gettysburg
The top two teams in this district are within close proximity to each other on a map.
Sully Buttes only tasted defeat at the hands of Warner, Deuel and Herreid-Selby Area. The Chargers beat Highmore-Harrold by 10 points. Sully Buttes topped the other three district teams by a huge margin.
Highmore-Harrold finished the regular season with three wins and should be considered a worthy opponent in the tournament.
Team WL
Sully Buttes 173
Highmore-Harrold 155
Lower Brule 1010
Sunshine Bible Academy 910
Faulkton 711
Monday's Game: Sunshine Bible Academy vs. Faulkton at Miller, 7 p.m.
Tuesday's Games: Sully Buttes vs. winner Sunshine Bible-Faulkton at Onida, 7 p.m.; Highmore-Harrold vs. Lower Brule at Highmore, 7 p.m.
Thursday's Game: Championship at Gettysburg, 7 p.m.
District 6B
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at Eureka, TBA
Herreid-Selby Area rolled through the regular season with one bump in the road; a loss to Summit.
The Wolverines scored in the 90s twice and in the 80s twice in games. Herreid-Selby Area, the Yellowstone Trail Conference champion, beat Ipswich once and Potter County twice during the season.
Ipswich finished the season with three losses in a row and Potter County won seven of eight at midseason.
Team WL
Herreid-Selby Area 191
Ipswich 127
Potter County 117
Eureka-Bowdle 712
Edmunds Central 218
Monday's Game: Eureka-Bowdle vs. Edmunds Central at Eureka, 7 p.m.
Tuesday's Games: Herreid-Selby Area vs. winner Eureka-Bowdle-Edmunds Central at Eureka, 6 p.m.; Ipswich vs. Potter County at Eureka, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday's Game: Championship, TBA, 7 p.m.
District 15B
Monday, Thursday, Friday at Scherr Howe Arena, Mobridge
This district is being played at a venerable location, Scherr Howe Arena, and it could be an old-fashioned shootout with three teams boasting similar records.
Although Timber Lake lost to Herreid-Selby Area, Faith and Lemmon, the Panthers did not lose to a district team. Timber Lake is riding a three-game win streak.
McIntosh starts the postseason with a four-game losing streak and Wakpala lost three of its last four games.
Team WL
Timber Lake 137
McIntosh 137
Wakpala 127
Dupree 614
Tiospaye Topa 015
Monday's Game: Dupree vs. Tiospaye Topa at Scherr Howe in Mobridge, 6 p.m. MST
Thursday's Games: Timber Lake vs. winner Dupree-Tiospaye Topa at Scherr Howe in Mobridge, 6 p.m. MST; McIntosh vs. Wakpala at Scherr Howe in Mobridge, 7:30 p.m. MST.
Friday's Game: Championship at Scherr Howe in Mobridge, 7 p.m. MST
District 16B
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at Faith, TBA
The favorite in this district should be pretty obvious.
Lemmon is the only undefeated Class B girls' basketball team in the state and has put up gaudy offensive statistics. The Cowgirls have only been tested a handful of times: a four-point win over Beach, N.D., last week, a five-point win over Newell and a six-point win over Timber Lake.
Faith put together an outstanding regular season losing to Lemmon twice and Newell once. Don't over look Newell, which finished with a five-game winning streak.
Team WL
Lemmon 190
Faith 163
Newell 136
Harding County 811
Bison 214
Takini 415
Monday's Games: Harding County vs. Bison at Faith, 6 p.m. MST; Newell vs. Takini at Faith, 7:30 p.m. MST.
Tuesday's Games: Lemmon vs. winner Harding County-Bison at Faith, 6 p.m. MST; Faith vs. winner Newell-Takini at Faith, 7:30 p.m. MST.
Thursday's Game: Championship, TBA, 7 p.m. MST.