The final day of the regular season wrapped up Saturday afternoon as teams had their last opportunity to solidify their spot in the Class AA bracket. There would not be much, if any, movement as teams were theoretically set as they entered play Saturday, however, a strong performance in the final regular season game could propel you into a deep postseason run.
The Pierre Governors dropped their home-and-road doubleheader with the Watertown Arrows. The Girls going on the road falling to the Arrows after an explosive third quarter helped Watertown to a 56-31 victory. The Governor girls got a strong performance out of junior Molly Olson, but after a thrilling and emotional game Friday night a quick turnaround to Saturday would prove to be difficult for a Governor girls team that had started to hit their stride.
The Governor boys fell to similar fate at home as the Arrows slowly built their lead throughout the contest on their way to a 74-45 win.
Tough losses for both, but fortunately for both, not their last games.
The Governor girls overnight were locked in as the 15-seed and will go on the road to take on O’Gorman in the SoDak 16. The Lady Knights got the better of Pierre in their first matchup this season, winning 81-25 in Riggs High Gym back on January 30th. What will benefit Pierre is the new cast of characters that has started to make their imprint on the team. Of course, you can’t ignore the strong senior presence of Emery Larson from outside the arc, Jasmine Jost’s defensive prowess, McKenzi Flottmeyer’s role in the post and Paige Sporrer’s morale boost from the bench as she deals with injury. However, Kirk Beebout’s bench has come to life as Zoey Bauer, Alex Ludemann, Ellen Hart and others who have all made a big impact on this team in the second half of the season. Pair that with Molly Olson’s almost inevitable double-digit point performance, they will certainly look to give the Lady Knights a run for their money.
On the boys side, the Govs will also be going on the road to take on a 16-4 Huron team after Pierre solidified their spot as the 14-seed. It is not often a 14-seed takes out a 3-seed, though after the Govs gutty performance on Friday night in their two-point loss to Roosevelt, they feel they can play with anybody. The Govs almost handed the Rough Riders (Class AA 2-seed) just their fifth loss of the season in their building, taking them to the wire in the 62-60 defeat. A loss that should certainly give the Govs some confidence going into bracket play.
The Governor Girls will play Friday night and the boys will play Saturday, times still TBD.
Girls Class AA Brackets:
Class AA Boys Bracket:
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