By 605 Sports Staff

The Class B state girls basketball tournament is Thursday-Saturday in Watertown. 

The field includes two state champs from last season in White River (Class B) and Aberdeen Roncalli (Class A), along with tourney regulars Corsica-Stickney and De Smet. New to the party is Aberdeen Christian, which is making its first-ever trip in school history.

Here's a closer look at each team in this year's tournament: 

Aberdeen Christian

Record: 20-3

Coach: Michael Rohrbach

Stat Leaders: Mallory Miller (19.5 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 3.5 bpg), Grace Kaiser (7.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Joy Rohrbach (6.9 ppg, 5.2 apg), Hanna Miller (6.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 2.7 spg) 

Notes: The No. 7 seeded Knights will play No. 2 De Smet at 6 p.m. Thursday in the opener. … Aberdeen Christian is making its first-ever appearance in a state girls basketball tournament. … The Knights also qualified for the state volleyball tournament in November, another first in school history. … Joy Rohrbach is the younger sister of Aberdeen Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. Michael's brother, David, is the Aberdeen Christian boys basketball coach. … Mallory and Hanna Miller are sisters. 

Aberdeen Roncalli

Record: 22-1

Coach: Derek Larson

Stat Leaders: Madelyn Bragg (15.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Morgan Fiedler (12.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg), Olivia Hanson (11.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Jeci Ewart (5.8 rpg, 3.9 ppg). 

Notes: The No. 1 seeded Cavaliers will play No. 8 Viborg-Hurley at noon Thursday in the opener. … Roncalli won last year’s Class A state championship. … Bragg and Fiedler are Northern State University signees. … Bragg scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season. … Roncalli is riding a 12-game winning streak and its only defeat was against Hamlin, a 49-45 setback on Jan. 25. 

Corsica-Stickney

Record: 20-3

Coach: Lorisa Broughton

Stat Leaders: Avery Broughton (18.8 ppg, 10 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.7 spg, 2.6 bpg), Rachel Gerlach (14 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.4 apg), Casey Tolsma (9.5 ppg, 4 rpg), Morgan Clites (8.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.5 spg), Payton DeLange (6.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.6 spg).

Notes: The No. 4 seeded Jaguars will play No. 5 White River at 1:45 p.m. Thursday in the opener. Corsica-Stickney lost to the Tigers in last year’s semifinals. … Corsica-Stickney is making its fourth consecutive state tourney appearance. … Broughton, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, has 1,862 career points. The three-time all-state selection has verbally committed to the University of South Dakota. … Gerlach has 1,285 career points. 

De Smet

Record: 22-1

Coach: Brendon Pitts

Stat Leaders: Kennadi Buchholz (20.3 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 72 blocks, 46 steals), Jada Burke (11.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 33 steals), Emma Albrecht (10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 33 steals), Alyssa Asleson (5.2 ppg). 

Notes: The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs will play No. 7 Aberdeen Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday in the opener. … De Smet is making its third appearance since 2019, when it won the Class B state championship. … Buchholz is De Smet’s all-time leading scorer with more than 1,500 career points. … De Smet’s lone defeat was a 74-47 setback against Class A state-tourney qualifier Hamlin. … The Bulldogs are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak. 

Faith

Record: 18-5

Coach: Bryan Carmichael 

Stat Leaders: Cassidy Schuelke (13.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 76 steals, 33 assists), TyAnn Mortenson (10.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Shada Selby (8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 33 assists), Kaycee Groves (6.6 ppg). 

Notes: The No. 6 seeded Longhorns will play No. 3 Wall at 7:45 p.m. Thursday in the opener. The Longhorns lost to the Eagles, 33-31, earlier this season on a half-court buzzer buzzer at the West River Invitational. … Faith is making its fourth state-tourney appearance since 2016. … The Longhorns narrowly defeated Harding County (39-38) and Sully Buttes (47-44) in their last two postseason games. 

Viborg-Hurley

Record: 19-4

Coach: Molly Mason 

Stat Leaders: Coral Mason (15.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 71 assists, 68 steals, 22 blocked shots), Denae Mach (14.2 ppg, 5 rpg), Charley Nelson (6.7 ppg, 41 assists), Estelle Lee (6.5 ppg), Delana Mach (5.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg). 

Notes: The No. 8 seeded Cougars play No. 1 Aberdeen Roncalli at noon Thursday in the opener. … Coral Mason is Molly Mason’s daughter. … The Cougars are making their second consecutive trip to state and third overall. … Viborg-Hurley is riding a five-game winning streak, including a 48-36 SoDak 16 win over Castlewood.

Wall

Record: 21-2

Coach: John Hess

Stat Leaders: Paige Kjerstad (15 ppg, 7.9 rpg), Ava Dinger (12 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Nora Dinger (11.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.6 apg), Keaunna Poor Bear (6.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg), April Schulz (6.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg). 

Notes: The No. 3 seeded Eagles play No. 6 Faith at 7:45 p.m. Thursday in the opener. Wall defeated Faith, 33-31, on a half-court buzzer beater at the West River Invitational this season. … The Eagles are making their seventh state-tourney appearance and first since 2016. … Wall dropped a 56-47 decision against White River on Feb. 3, but enters state on a seven-game winning streak. 

White River

Record: 18-3

Coach: Jared Bouman

Stat Leaders: Maleighya Estes (26.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 3.2 spg), Rhea Tucker (8.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Karlie Cameron (5.5 ppg), Kelsey Morrison (4.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg). 

Notes: The No. 5 seeded Tigers will play No. 4 Corsica-Stickney at 1:45 p.m. Thursday in the opener. White River defeated the Jaguars in last year’s semifinals on its way to the state championship. … Estes, a Dakota Wesleyan University signee, is the 18th all-time leading girls basketball scorer in state history with 2,140 career points. … The Tigers are making their third appearance since 2019.