Three #1 Seeds Seek SD Girls BB Titles Tonight

The South Dakota girls basketball championships are set with three #1 seeds seeking titles.

In Class AA #1 Mitchell has rolled past two opponents and now meet #2 Washington in the championship. In Class A #1 St. Thomas More will try and hold off the upset-minded and #6 seed Parkston as both teams seek their first state title. In Class B, two hot teams are contesting the championship. #1 Summit, the only remaining defending champion in any of the tournaments, will try and hold off Sully Buttes, which has won 20 straight games.

Here are some quick notes on the championship games.

Class AA -
As #1 ranked Mitchell (23-1) and #2 SF Washington (20-4) meet tonight in Frost Arena (Brookings, S.D.) for the SD Girls AA title, both seek their respective fifth overall title. Washington and Mitchell have both opened games in a rush. The Kernels own a 50-17 first quarter edge in the first two games (27-8, 23-9) while Washington holds a 23-12 edge (12-7, 11-5) in two contests. 
The Kernels are led by their dynamic duo of junior Kerri Young, who has 33 points (16.5 ppg), 9 rebounds (4.5 rpg) and 8 assists (4.0 apg) while Macy Miller, a sophomore, has scored 41 points (20.5 ppg) with 12 rebounds (6.0 rpg) and five assists in the opening two rounds. Miller has hit 14-of-27 from the field while Young is 15-of-28 for Mitchell, which looking for its 19th straight win this season.
Sara Zirpel has scored 27 points (13.5 ppg) while Emma Hanson has 23 points (11.5 ppg) and 24 rebounds (12.0 rpg) through the first two games of the tournament for Washington, winners of four straight.
Class A
As #6 seed Parkston faces #1 seed St. Thomas More in the SD girls A title game tonight in Spearfish, a couple of points to note. Both schools are seeking the first-ever state title.
STM is seeded #1 for the second straight year after earning a berth in their first-ever state tourney a year ago.
Parkston, led by all-time girls basketball wins leader Rob Van Laecken (570 wins), is in the title game for the first time after 10 appearances.
Each team has a pair of all-state performers. Parkston is led by five-year starter and senior point guard guard Marie Malloy, who hit the game-winning lay-up with one second to play in a win over Sisseton. She already has 51 points (25.5 ppg), 21 rebounds (10.5 rpg), seven steals (3.5 spg) and four assists in two games at the tourney.
STM's Caitlin Duffy, the daughter of Dan Duffy who starred at Stanley County in the last 1970s, has 45 points (22.5 ppg), 18 rebounds (9.0 rpg), nine assists (4.5 apg) and four steals. Duffy has made 25-of-28 from the charity stripe, including 15-of-16 in the tourney opener. Sets up for great basketball theatre tonight.
Class B
In the SD Class B Girls Championship, defending champion Summit (23-2), which owns an 18-game winning streak, will meet another hot squad, Sully Buttes (23-2), which has a 20-game consecutive wins streak.
In the tourney, Summit has taken control right away, owning a 40-14 advantage during the 1st Q. Sully Buttes has used large advantages in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to grab control. In those two periods, they have a 51-24 edge over two opponents.
As for the Chargers, Karlea Stahl has made 11-of-14 FG in two games and has a total of 24 points (12.0 ppg) and 12 rebounds (6.0 rpg) while Taryn Colson has scored 32 points (16.0 ppg) with 13 rebounds (6.5 rpg).
The O'Farrell sisters, the daughters of former standout performer Lori Wohlweber O'Farrell, lead Summit. Logan O'Farrell has 27 points (13.5 ppg), 11 rebounds (5.5 rpg), 7 assists and knocked down 4-of-9 from three pt. range. Her sister Presley has 37 points (18.5 ppg) along with eight rebounds. She has hit 12-of-20 FG. 
Summit, which is appearing in his fourth straight title game, has won 18 games this season by 20 points or more. In the last nine games, Summit has had just one game (51-44 vs. 20-3 Warner) that the Eagles did not win by double digits.

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