Class A State Tournament Takeaways
The Class A State Tournament concluded Saturday evening with Bismarck Century securing its second state championship in as many seasons with a 69-61 win over Devils Lake. Here are some takeaways from the state tournament Bismarck Century was by far…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Class A State Tournament concluded Saturday evening with Bismarck Century securing its second state championship in as many seasons with a 69-61 win over Devils Lake.
Here are some takeaways from the state tournament
Bismarck Century was by far the best team in the state
The Patriots wrapped up an undefeated season with two dominant wins and a thorough victory in the state tournament. Century was tested a bit by Devils Lake in the sense that the game wasn’t decided before halftime. Still, the game never felt like it was tilted towards the Firebirds because Century’s ability to control the pace and execute with such a high level of efficiency. The Patriots were dominant in wins over Grand Forks Red River and Bismarck Legacy. Dominance was the theme of the season for them as they won just six games by less than 20 points.
The EDC did okay for itself
The EDC represented itself well despite Bismarck Century’s dominance. Devils Lake tested the Patriots on Saturday, providing a fight few teams could muster throughout the entire winter season. West Fargo Sheyenne pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament in its opening round win over Mandan. And Grand Forks Red River beat Fargo Shanley – which entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed out of the WDA – before losing a close game to Mandan in the consolation final.
The WDA has seemingly dominated play in recent state tournaments and while the league did come away with wins in all three of the final games, the EDC as a whole did well in the three day stretch.
Bismarck Legacy and Mandan finished strong
Up until the WDA tournament championship game, the only team that looked equipped to beat Bismarck Century was Mandan. The Braves had given the Patriots two competitive games and had turned in an otherwise dominant regular season. Then in the tournament finale, the Braves laid a clunker, losing by 29. Then they went into the first round of the tournament and squandered a huge early lead before losing by 14 against West Fargo Sheyenne. And just like that, a potential fourth date with the Patriots was off the table.
Mandan rallied to finish the year strong though, beating Williston and Grand Forks Red River by double figures to finish the year with a consolation championship.
Bismarck Legacy was never viewed as a team that could likely beat Bismarck Century or contend for a state title, but the Sabers were a team that could win multiple games in the state tournament. And that’s what they did. They beat Fargo Shanley – the No. 2 team in the EDC – in the first round and finished the season with a win, beating West Fargo Sheyenne to take home the third place finish on the season.