Aberdeen will take on top-seeded Brookings as the tournament gets underway Friday at Huron, in the last game of the day at 8 p.m. The Cougars have seen plenty of the Rangers as the regular season came to a close.
"We played our last three games against them. This will be our fourth in a row," said Aberdeen coach Rob Weinmeister. "We know what to expect."
The Cougars won four games in league play this season, with 14 losses, one tie and one overtime loss. The Rangers collected 18 wins in their 21 games. Weinmeister said the Cougars have no pressure coming into the tournament and the game plan will be a simple one.
"The girls just have to work together, pass the puck well and give it their all," Weinmeister said.
Brookings, the defending state champion, brings an array of talent, which will present challenges to a young Cougar squad.
"They have quite a few (good) players, and are all really good, fast skaters," Weinmeister said. "They do a lot of the little things right and have been playing together for a long time."
Aberdeen's "Orange Line," which consists of Hailey Gould, Mikayla Santjer and Callie Jorgenson, has accounted for much of the team's offense this season. Hailey Huff has grown and gained a lot of experience in net for the Cougars, Weinmeister said.
"She has played well and we will need three solid games from her to be competitive," Weinmeister said. "She can do it. It's just a matter of being focused."
During the Cougars' recent games against Brookings, Aberdeen has shown it can compete with the Rangers.
"The first game we got on the board right away, and were leading 2-0, then we kind of let up a bit," Weinmeister said. "The next two were solid, complete games. We were playing better as a team."
Playing as a cohesive unit has been a major step forward for the Cougars.
"The biggest thing has been, they have realized they have to play as a team," Weinmeister said. "One person will only get you so far."
Weinmeister feels the defending champions have to be one of the tournament favorites. Defense and goalkeeping also make the Oahe Capitals a threat, as well.
"Brookings would be the top dog, being the one seed," he said. "Pierre (Oahe) plays good defense and has a good goalie."
Prior to the first game, the coach will stress the positive things the Cougars bring to the tournament, and is hopeful that will carry over onto the ice.
"I'll talk to them about things we focus on all year long, like playing as a team, passing the puck and skating hard and winning the race to the puck," Weinmeister said.
The tournament continues through Sunday with all eight places being played out. Weinmeister is looking forward to the Cougars showing what they can do and how far they have come.
"This is a young team, and the sky is the limit for them," he said. "They have an opportunity to go in and make a statement, and I know they can do that."
The other first-round games: Watertown vs. Sioux Falls at 12:30 p.m.; Mitchell vs. Pierre Oahe at 3 p.m.; and Rapid City Rushmore vs. Huron at 5:30 p.m.
Roncalli girls moving on
The Aberdeen Roncalli girls' basketball players are about to experience March Madness for the first time ever.
The Cavaliers became the first team in school history to qualify for the State A tournament Tuesday night with a win over Milbank.
So what happens now that the squad is heading into an unchartered territory?
"We'll see," said Roncalli girls' coach Derek Larson. "We've never done it before."
Larson plans to enlist the help of Roncalli boys' coach Todd Neuendorf, who has gotten into the habit of taking his teams to the state tourney.
"It will be exciting for the girls and our whole basketball program being able to do that," Larson said. "We want to try to emulate the same things that the boys are doing."
While the Roncalli girls' have never been a part of the state tourney before, the coaching staff has.
Larson assisted Neuendorf at several state tourneys, and his assistant coaches, Jamie Neuendorf (Aberdeen Central) and Samee Scherr (Rapid City Stevens), both played in state tournaments.
The Cavaliers do not know who they will play just yet when the tournament starts a week from today in Watertown, but Larson wants his team to be prepared and ready to go.
"We're so happy to get to this point," Larson noted, "but pretty soon that happiness has to kind of wear off and we have to focus on the first round."
Sports writer Dave Vilhauer
Spring sports kickoff
The spring sports kickoff meeting for Aberdeen Central will be held 7 p.m. Monday at Thomas F. Kelly Theatre at Central High School.
The meeting is for all athletes in track and field, girls' golf and boys' tennis. The boys' and girls' track and field includes athletes in seventh through 12th grade. Girls' golf and boys' tennis is for athletes in grades 6 through 12.
All parents and athletes are expected to attend.
Details: Contact Central athletic director Gene Brownell at 605-725-8187.
Staff reports
Remarkable turnaround
When Josh Casperson captured the 182-pound championship at the State B wrestling tournament at Wachs Arena last Saturday night, it capped a memorable run to the title.
Casperson, who finished his year with a 37-4 record, defeated a pair of one-loss foes, including Kade Jacobs of Canton in the final by a 7-3 margin. Jacobs entered the championship match with a 39-1 mark. The week before in the Region 2B Tournament, Casperson was pinned by Jacobs in less than a minute.
Included in Casperson's wins on the weekend was also a 7-5 semifinal win over Dalton McCullam of Bennett County, who was 28-1 at the time.
Sports writer Dave Vilhauer
N.D. District 6B girls get started
The District 6B girls' basketball tournament in North Dakota will take place Friday, Saturday and Monday at Wishek, N.D.
The six-team district gets underway tonight with two first round games. The semifinal games are set for Saturday. Two region qualifying games and the championship will be held Monday. Three teams will advance to the region. Napoleon is the top seed in the tourney.
The schedule can be found below.
Today's Games
at Wishek, N.D.
No. 4 Strasburg-Zeeland vs. No. 5 South Border at 6 p.m.
No. 3 Kidder County vs. No. 6 Central Prairie, 20 minutes after first game
Friday's Games
at Wishek, N.D.
No. 1 Napoleon vs. winner Strasburg-Zeeland-South Border, 6 p.m.
No. 2 Linton/Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock vs. winner Kidder County-Central Prairie, 20 minutes after first game
Monday's Games
at Wishek, N.D.
Region qualifier, 4:30 p.m.
Region qualifier, 20 minutes after first game
Championship, 20 minutes after second game
Staff reports
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