With the high school basketball season now over, I find myself looking back on the season, and I'm realizing that my feelings about this season are a little different than those that I had at this same time a year ago. For me personally, last season offered a lot of promise going into the postseason on several levels for the teams that I was covering - the Stanley County and Pierre girls, the Sully Buttes boys, etc. This season, with the weather and our tower situation, and districts and regions that were really up in the air, I really just went wherever I was needed and was able to enjoy the ride while it lasted, regardless of the outcome. Congratulations are in order for the White River Tigers on their championship, and I think also for our other area boys and girls teams that made it to their State Tournaments. Even for the Crow Creek boys and the Mobridge girls, who finished in 8th place at State, the tournament fields were very evenly matched overall, and the outcomes would probably have been different each time, had those tournaments been played a few more times over.
At any rate, what I wanted to do with this discussion is provide my most memorable moments from this basketball season from the games that I was able to broadcast, and then I'd like to see and read about all of your favorite moments as well. My list is given simply in the order that they happened.
10. Dec. 12 -- Saturday night of the first weekend of the season, with Rod on his way to a Vikings game the next day, he decides to cover the broadcast of the Lady Govs game at Brandon Valley, while I handled the Governor boys home game with the Lynx. Memorable for me because in my 7 years of DRG play-by-play, this was actually my first Governors game ever. They didn't fare too well that night, but it was nice to at least get to see the boys play for once. :o)
9. Dec. 19 -- Off to a 2-1 start, the Lady Govs hosted SF Lincoln, who was off to a 4-0 start themselves, and already a surprise top-ranked team in AA. Once the Lady Govs gained the lead in the second quarter, they held it for good, and kept control on the "#1" team in the state. Chemistry and a great all-around team effort, that at least for one night, reminded me a lot of the Lady Govs from a year ago.
8. Jan. 8 -- The Lady Govs season takes a dramatic downturn when they lose all 3 starting senior guards for an extended time. Linsey Peterson was already ruled out of the game against Brookings, and would ultimately not play for the rest of the season. Amanda Stout suffers a concussion after a hustling collision with a Brookings player, and Paige Burkett goes down with a high ankle sprain. The Lady Govs won the game, 39-36, but the turning point in what was a tough season was undeniable.
7. Jan. 14 -- After beating quality programs like Sully Buttes and Bennett County, but suffering an overtime loss at Highmore, and a lackluster loss at home to Gettysburg, the Stanley County Lady Buffaloes lost at McLaughlin in a game that to me, epitomized their season in a number of ways. Down by 16 with about 5 minutes to play, the Lady Buffs stage a rousing comeback to pull within 2 (if my memory is correct), only to fall short 65-59. This was one of a handful of games in a struggling season that left Lady Buff fans thinking....geez, they played so well for that period of time - why can't they do that for an entire game? Yes, it was a tough season, but you could never fault the effort of the Lady Buffs!
6. Jan. 29 -- In her second game back from the previously mentioned ankle injury, Paige Burkett turns in one of the most complete performances by any Lady Gov in recent memory (which is saying something). 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals, to lead to Lady Govs over Spearfish, 62-31. Proof positive that even at 5'5", there is nothing that a little hard work can't help you achieve.
5. Feb. 2 -- In a game that the Lady Buffs did play well throughout, senior Brandi Prince turned in a career night, pouring down 34 points, but it wasn't quite enough, as Cassie Prue sank a lay-up through traffic at the buzzer to lift Todd County over the Lady Buffs, 58-56. Prince rose up this year to become a consistent double-digit scorer, but to my knowledge, not even Sam Ostarello ever scored 34 in a high school game.
4. Feb. 9 -- After receiving a challenge from a radio announcer with a stash of Player of the Game t-shirts, Jake Miller scores 18 first quarter points, finishing with 27 on the game, as the Buffaloes notch just their third win of the year, holding off a major Gettysburg rally in a 55-53 win. Long seasons for both area teams, but this one turned out to be one of the funnest games of the season.
3. Feb. 13 -- The Lady Govs got an early start for Yankton in order to watch former teammate Alexa Berg play an afternoon game for Mt. Marty. A great effort for the Lady Govs that evening, but the Gazelles rally to win, 46-40. The memorable part of this trip was after the game, though, as the bus leaves for Pierre in horrible weather conditions, only to get as far as Presho before it is decided they'd better pull in for the night. As for me, after staying in Yankton that Saturday evening, and meeting up with my family in Sioux Falls the next day, it's the idiot who tried to pass our line of vehicles, only to hit the skids (literally) and roll his vehicle in between us, prompting us to pull into Mitchell for that Sunday night, that I won't soon forget. Oh well, at least the girls were home in time for King of Hearts. :o)
2. Feb. 18 -- Former Lady Buffalo Jolanna Sazue, now playing back at Crow Creek, asks me before the game if we still gave away t-shirts for the Player of the Game. She apparently knew what was coming, as she scored a whopping 54 points in an 82-68 win over her former team. But figure this - on the 18th of February, Sazue scored 18 points from 3-point range, 18 from 2-point range, and 18 more from the free throw line. By the way, the previous high scorer in any game I had ever covered before that.....Louie Krogman scored 50 in a 2007 State Tournament game.
1. Mar. 20 -- Finally, sticking with Crow Creek, Keenan World Turner drops in five 3-pointers and scores 21 points, including a dazzling athletic save and score, keying a second quarter run that had the Chieftains leading top-seeded Madison at the half in the first round of the State A Boys Tournament. But the defending State A Champions dominated the second half and beat Crow Creek, 60-44, on their way to repeating as State A Champions. The Chieftains finished 8th in the tournament, but certainly had one of their most memorable seasons in the past several years.
So that's a rundown of my "Top 10," so to speak. Let me know what all you saw on the basketball floor this season that you won't soon forget. Peace........
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