No. 1 Washington isn't only title contender in Class AA girls' hoops
Class AA includes the biggest schools in South Dakota's three-class system and often could be considered the hardest to predict what will happen come state-tournament time.
All four of Thursday's first-round games in Sioux Falls' Sanford Pentagon are rematches from the regular season, something that's not uncommon due to the round-robin structure in the class.
The field includes five teams (defending champion Sioux Falls O'Gorman, defending runner-up Rapid City Stevens, Sioux Falls Jefferson and Harrisburg) returning from last year's state tournament.
It also features Watertown, which won a state title the last time it played in the state tourney (14 years ago); Pierre and Mitchell. O'Gorman has made 14-straight appearances, Harrisburg and Stevens each 10 and Washington six.
"It's fun and it's certainly been a great accomplishment for the girls (ending the streak)," Watertown head coach Chad Rohde said after the Arrows' SoDak 16 state-qualifying win. "I'm sure proud of them, but they'll be ready to go."
If you don't believe anything could happen. Check this out. Mitchell, the No. 12 seed out of the Class AA SoDak 16 field, closed its regular season on Feb. 25 with a 55-33 loss at Brandon Valley. Six days later, the Kernels beat the fifth-seeded Lynx 53-49 in a SoDak 16 game at Brandon.
Tournament Pairings
Thursday's Games: No. 1 seed Sioux Falls Washington (18-3) vs. No. 8 Watertown (12-9), noon; No. 4 Sioux Falls Jefferson (17-4) vs. No. 12 Mitchell (9-12), 1:45 p.m.; No. 2 Pierre (18-3) vs. No. 7 Rapid City Stevens (14-7), 6 p.m.; and No. 3 Sioux Falls O'Gorman (17-4) vs. No. 6 Harrisburg (16-5), 7:45 p.m.
Friday's Games: Consolation semifinals at noon and 1:45 p.m.; semifinals at 6 and 7:45 p.m.
Saturday's Games: Seventh place, noon; fifth place, 1:45 p.m.; third place, 6 p.m.; and championship, 7:45 p.m.
Who are the favorites?
Actually they're could be quite of few of them. Sioux Falls Washington overtook Sioux Falls Jefferson for the No. 1 ranking late in the season and Pierre and O'Gorman followed by No. 3 and No. 4. The rest of the field has either recorded wins or played close games against higher seeds.
If you're going to pick one, it has to be Washington. The Warriors split games against Jefferson, swept two games over O'Gorman and also defeated Pierre. The Warriors also own a 49-36 regular-season win over Watertown, their opponent in Thursday's tourney opener.
Pierre, O'Gorman and Jefferson are also capable and don't sleep on Harrisburg. The draw might not help Watertown, but the Arrows can compete.
"The girls are certainly excited and we've played pretty well against most of the teams. Hopefully we can go in and stir it up a bit in the state tournament."
Who are the players to watch?
Brooklyn and Hannah Harpe and Grace Peterson, Sioux Falls Washington: The Harpes are 6-0 senior twins who are both set to play for the University of Sioux Falls. Brooklyn averages 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Her sister contributes nearly 6 points and 6 rebounds and Peterson 11.2 points per game.
Remington Price and Reese Terwilliger, Pierre: The Govs haven't won a state title since 1991. Price, a 5-7 senior guard who scores 13.6 points per game, and Terwilliger, a 5-11 junior forward-center who averages 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, hope to lead Pierre's quest to halt that streak.
Mahli Abdouch and Kira Mentele, O'Gorman: Abdouch, a 5-8 junior guard, is a returning first-team Class AA All-State player who leads the Knights with 16.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 steals per game. Mentele, a 6-1 senior center, contributes 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Cierra Watkins and Aliyah McGovern-Harrington, Jefferson: These two guards lead the way for the Cavaliers. Watkins, a 5-7 senior who earned Class AA All-State second team honors a year ago, produces 12.9 points and McGovern-Harrington, a 5-5 junior, adds 9.8 points per game.
Abigail Flanagan, Jaylee Hofer and Hannah Eide, Harrisburg: Flanagan, a 5-11 junior guard, leads the Tigers with 10.1 points per game. Hofer, a 5-5 junior guard, adds 9.4 points and Eide, a 5-10 senior forward, 8.7 and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Jaida Young and Maddy Rohde, Watertown: The two senior guards are four-year regulars for the Arrows. The 5-8 Young, a Dakota Wesleyan recruit, leads the Arrows in scoring (12 points per game), rebounds (113), assists (83) and steals (52). Rohde, who is 5-7, adds 9.6 points per game.
Taaliyah Porter, Rapid City Stevens: The 5-8 sophomore guard-forward leads the Raiders in scoring (17.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.7 rebounds per game).
Sawyer Stoebner and Addie Siemsen, Mitchell: Stoebner, a 5-9 junior forward, is another second-team Class AA All-Stater from last winter who leads the Kernels with 13.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Siemsen, a 5-8 freshman guard, contributed 10.2 points per game.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown making its first-state tourney appearance since 2009.
