Parkston girls return to Class B state tournament with seasoned lineup
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 10—PARKSTON, S.D. — After breaking through to the Class B state tournament last season, the Parkston girls basketball team is back among the final eight squads once again.
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The Trojans enter this week's Class B state tournament bracket with a 20-3 record and the No. 2 seed, aiming to build on last year's fifth-place state finish. Parkston opens the tournament at 5 p.m. Thursday against No. 7 Centerville at First Bank and Trust Arena in Brookings.
The Trojans spent decades in Class A with their last state tournament appearance in 2012 before moving down a class last year and reaching the state tournament the past two seasons. While Parkston returns much of the group that helped the Trojans reach state a year ago, the story of this season begins with senior forward Lexi Schoenfelder.
Schoenfelder is the lone senior on the roster, averaging 4.9 rebounds per contest, and a key leader for a Trojan team built largely around a seasoned junior class. Her return carries extra meaning after her junior season ended when she tore her ACL in the first half of the opening game last year — forcing her to miss the remainder of the season, including Parkston's first trip to the Class B state tournament.
"One of my favorite things about us getting to state this year is Lexi," Parkston head coach Cole Knippling said. "She didn't really get a junior season and she didn't get to play in the state tournament last year. I am extremely happy that Lexi worked her tail off to come back and she has done really well for us."
Behind Schoenfelder is a core of experienced juniors who have played major varsity minutes over the course of their careers. Forward Keeara Oakley and guards Morgan Maxwell, Berkley Ziebart and Alexis Holzbauer all start for the Trojans, while junior forward Kahris Tapio and freshman forward Kennedy Knippling provide key minutes off the bench.
Ziebart leads the team in scoring with 16 points per game, while averaging 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and two steals per contest. Oakley is averaging 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and three steals, and Maxwell is averaging 7.6 points and 1.9 steals per contest. Holzbauer is scoring 4.5 points per game.
That experience has been developing even before Knippling took over the Parkston girls basketball program ahead of the 2023-24 season after spending three seasons with the Mitchell girls basketball team.
"For those juniors, all of them have four years of varsity experience and some of them have five like Berkley, Keeara and Morgan, who were all on the varsity bench as seventh-graders and playing as eighth-graders," Knippling said. "It's almost like a second set of seniors in terms of the experience that they have. And those kids have logged a ton of minutes in their careers, so they know what the moment is about. They know what the intensity is going to be like, and hopefully, they can lead us through it."
Parkston punched its ticket back to state with a 40-36 victory over De Smet in the Class B SoDak 16 round March 5 at Mitchell High School. The Trojans, ranked No. 2 entering the game, struggled offensively against No. 15 De Smet but found ways to win. Parkston shot just 19% from the field and went 2-for-22 from 3-point range. Free throws ultimately helped swing the game, as the Trojans converted 16 of 23 attempts at the line. Defensively, Parkston was once again dominant, forcing 24 turnovers to hold off the upset bid but will need better play in the state tournament.
"For us to get more shots to fall, we just have to get a little bit more of a rhythm going offensively," Knippling said. "I didn't think we were very patient (against De Smet). I didn't think we made the defense work very hard, so our goal is to get some ball reversals and work a little bit more on offense."
Despite the offensive struggles in the SoDak 16, defense has been a constant strength for the Trojans all season. Parkston averages 54.1 points per game while allowing just 34.1 points per contest — the second-best scoring defense among the eight remaining Class B teams.
That defensive focus could be crucial Thursday against a dangerous Centerville squad that enters the tournament with a 20-2 record and a 15-game winning streak. The Tornadoes average 59.3 points per game and allow 35.7 points per contest, setting up what could be a defensive battle. The Tornadoes won the Class B state championship two seasons ago and placed third last year after losing to eventual champion Bennett County in the semifinals.
"They have been in the night session for two-straight years, and these girls know exactly what state tournaments are about. They are not going to be afraid of the moment," Knippling said.
The Tornadoes are led by sophomore guard Izzie Eide, one of the top scorers in Class B. Eide surpassed 1,000 career points in late January, and is averaging 20 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 steals and two assists per contest on the season.
Still, Knippling believes the matchup between the Trojans and Tornadoes could be one of the most competitive games of the opening round on Thursday.
"I think that they play really well together, but we match up with them very well, physically," he said. "We are very similar in what we run on both ends of the floor, and what we are each trying to accomplish. It's going to be a battle."
With a veteran core and one senior determined to make the most of her final postseason, the Trojans and Knippling believe they can contend with anyone in the eight-team bracket.
"This is the kind of state tournament where you could play it six times and get six different champions," Knippling said. "I think there are that many good teams in this bracket. Hopefully, we hit all of the right shots and get the breaks we need but we will see."