Class B SODAK 16 Standouts – Guards

The SODAK 16 provides an opportunity for the top 16 teams in Class B in the State of South Dakota to compete for a chance to punch their ticket to the state tournament.  Opportunities for top prospects to be on display are present and athletes have the chance to rise up to help propel their team to every program’s ultimate goal.  A number of guards rose up in this year’s round of 16 postseason teams.  Here are the top five performances on the night. Aberdeen Christian’s [player_tooltip player_id="316060" first="Joy" last="Rohrbach"] put on a memorable performance in the Knights win over the young, up-and-coming Centerville Tornadoes.  She put in 9 points on the night including a step-back three that proved to be a dagger ending a comeback bid by her opponent.  Rohrbach has a nice outside shot and a high IQ operating the offense for her team on every possession.  She handles pressure well and sets up her teammates for great look after great look.  She is a stellar defender as well with quick feet and great anticipation. Avon’s [player_tooltip player_id="182475" first="Courtney" last="Sees"] helped her team to a near upset of the Number 2 in Class B DeSmet Bulldogs.  Sees dropped 14 points and kept her Number 15 Pirates in the contest until the fourth quarter when DeSmet pulled away.  This young lady is a dynamic guard.  She continues to develop a complete perimeter game as she can hit the three at will and shows a variety of ways to score at the rim.  She is explosive and can win one on ones in order to get to her spots to score.  She is a player to watch over the next couple of years with a basketball IQ blended with superb athleticism. Corsica-Stickney’s [player_tooltip player_id="100487" first="Payton" last="Delange"] helped her team punch their ticket to the state tournament.  The senior guard is a standout athletically as she has a great combination of length and quickness.  Ask her to guard the other team’s most dynamic perimeter scorers and she will do it no question.  This kid can lock people down on defense.  She put in 7 points and showed off her diverse skillset as she grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in the game.  DeLange will head to the state tournament to try and help her Jaguars compete for a state championship title. Viborg-Hurley’s [player_tooltip player_id="100500" first="Denae" last="Mach"] will lead her Cougars into back-to-back state tournament appearances.  She led her team in scoring putting up 18 points on what appeared to be one of her more efficient nights of the year.  Mach is a long guard who can score from outside the three-point line as well as get to the basket.  She uses her length in the paint to find seams to score and has a nice step-through finish to score around the defense.  Mach has been putting the ball in the basket all year and continues to find ways to help her squad win. White River’s [player_tooltip player_id="261993" first="Maleighya" last="Estes"] helped her team punch their ticket to the state tournament as well.  She rounds out this list as my top performer of the SODAK 16 guards in Class B.  She poured in 19 points, 9 of them from three-point land, and rose up in a key moment of her team’s season.  She moved to 18th all-time in Class B girls scoring and continues finishing her own legacy after playing alongside another Tiger standout Caelyn Valandra Prue prior to this season.  She proved this year that she can lead this team to the big stage and has put up big performances one after another all year, showing out as one of the top scorers in South Dakota basketball.