Top-seeded Raiders, upset-minded Jaguars ready for rematch in Class B quarterfinals
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 10—BROOKINGS — As the South Dakota Class B high school girls basketball tournament tips off, it will do so with a rematch of the top squads from Region 5B.
Top-seeded Lyman clashes with No. 8 seed Corsica-Stickney at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Bank and Trust Arena on the campus of South Dakota State University. The winner will play either No. 4 Ethan or No. 5 Colman-Egan in the semifinals on Friday.
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The Raiders and Jaguars already met on a neutral court once this season, a 44-35 Lyman win during the Midwest Miracles Classic on Jan. 3 at the Corn Palace. Indicated by the score of their first matchup, both teams consider themselves among the best in the class defensively. By opponent scoring average, Lyman ranks No. 5 at 35 points allowed per game, and Corsica-Stickney is No. 10 at 36.5.
One element that the Raiders hope can help set them apart is tournament experience, as Lyman is back in the state tournament quarterfinals for a third year in a row. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are qualifiers for the first time since 2022.
"Our girls have played on both sides of this bracket. They know what it takes to be on the winning side, and they know what gets you to the losing side," said Lyman head coach Cody Volmer. "That bigger stage could be almost like a sixth man for us because we've been there before."
But Corsica-Stickney, which has won nine of its last 10 games, doesn't figure to go quietly. As the No. 9 seed in the SoDak 16, the Jaguars defeated 8-seed Waubay/Summit 38-32 in Huron, becoming just the third Class B girls team to advance from the state qualifying round as the lower seed since 2022-23.
"I think we are playing very confidently," said C-S head coach Kyle Wieczorek. "Even though we're a lower seed, we're ready for a rematch, and if we're knocking down shots, we're pretty tough to beat."
With a record of 17-5, Corsica-Stickney is the only member of the eight-team Class B field that isn't entering the tournament with 20 wins. However, the Jaguars are the most battle-tested bunch in the mix with an opponent win percentage of .578, and Lyman isn't far behind at .559. Their five losses came against No. 1 Lyman, No. 2 Parkston, No. 4 Ethan, a 16-5 Gayville-Volin team and Class A No. 3 Wagner. The Jaguars also already knocked off a 20-win Waubay/Summit team to reach the tournament.
"We played against Lyman, Parkston, pretty much all of (the top seeds), and fell short. That really hurt because we feel like we didn't play our best, but we're ready to go to Brookings," said C-S sophomore Hadynn Johnson. "We worked our butts off for this, and they better be ready for us."
Volmer and the Raiders respect the threat the Jaguars pose, and it's not too far back that a No. 8 has toppled a No. 1 in the Class B girls tournament. Eighth-seeded Viborg-Hurley knocked off No. 1 Aberdeen Roncalli, the defending Class A champion that year after moving down in class, in the 2022 quarterfinals, and the Cougars went on to win back-to-back state titles.
"We're preparing for Corsica-Stickney. We're not preparing for a team behind Corsica-Stickney," Volmer said. "If you look at their win-loss record, they've lost to only quality teams and haven't had many mishaps."
Lyman heads to Brookings with a 21-2 mark and occupied a top spot in the seed-point standings for much of the season. So far in the postseason, Lyman has defeated two Region 5B foes and 16-seed McIntosh in the SoDak 16 by an average score of 60-21. The Raiders' lone in-state defeat came at Bennett County, the defending state champions and No. 3 seed in the bracket, though they also took a setback against Bishop Heelan, the No. 1-ranked team in Iowa's second-largest of five enrollment divisions.
The Raiders took over the No. 1 ranking in the South Dakota Prep Media poll on Jan. 12 and carried it through to the end of the regular season. Of note, in two of the past three seasons, the top-ranked team in the final poll went on to win the state title, though Centerville was tripped up in that position a year ago in the semifinals.
The weight of being the top-ranked team in the draw is one that Lyman recognizes, but Volmer feels his team has had the time to get used to the pressure as they take aim at a tournament run.
"I feel like we've grown into it and embraced it," Volmer said. "Initially, we might have come out expecting teams to lay over for us because we're No. 1. Now we're not thinking about being No. 1. We're just thinking about being the best we can be every night when we go out on the floor and playing to our full potential."