HURON — In 2024, the Class B girls basketball tournament is headed west. 

Next season’s Class B girls basketball tournament will be played at The Summit Arena at Rapid City’s The Monument. It’s the first girls basketball tourney to be played West River since 2020, when the Class Bs were canceled after one day due to COVID-19. 

South Dakota High School Activities Assistant Executive Director Jo Auch said the Class B members expressed interest in playing in a bigger venue and the site selection committee awarded the 2023-24 event to Rapid City. 

“We decided the venue was open and we were going to try and take a shot at it and see what it is going to look like,” Auch said.  

Auch said it’s the first time she can remember a Class B girls basketball tournament in Rapid City. The Summit Arena, which opened in 2021, has hosted state wrestling, state volleyball and the annual Lakota Nation Invitational each year. 

“This will be a new experience but The Monument has run several tournaments for us,” Auch said. “So I don’t think this is going to be anything that’s going to be out of their league.” 

The Summit Arena seats 10,000 fans and can be curtained off to give it a more intimate atmosphere, said Auch. 

“I think the opportunity for kids to get to play on the big stage is going to be exciting for them,” Auch said. “They will get that ‘Ahh ha’ moment of walking in and going ‘Wow, this is what it feels like.’ I am excited for them to give that a try and we will see how it works.”

The SDHSAA is adamant about spreading the love, so to say, when dividing up state tournaments. In addition to the Class B girls basketball tournament in Rapid City next season, the Class A girls tourney is in Brookings (Swiftel Center) and Class AA is in Sioux Falls (Sanford Pentagon).

Last season, the Class B girls tournament was in Watertown and this year it’s in Huron, a popular spot for the tourney. In 2025, it will return to Huron and it is slated for Brookings in 2026. 

The common complaint about Huron is the lack of hotel space, but Auch praised the city and the electric Huron Arena environment. Huron is aided by its proximity to the teams in the field, including Wolsey-Wessington (15-30), Howard (55), Ethan (65) and Castlewood (80) all within under 100 miles from Huron this season.

“Huron does a fantastic job,” Auch said. “It would be great if they had another motel. It makes it a little bit more difficult, but you can’t beat this atmosphere that you have right here in Huron.” 

Auch reiterated that about this year’s tournament and how fans traveled through snowy conditions to pack the Huron Arena. 

The championship semifinal session included a 76-72 thriller between Wall and Wolsey-Wessington. 

“I was shocked last night with semifinal night and how many people love this atmosphere and talk about an electrifying atmosphere last night,” Auch said. “That’s one of the great things about the Bs. It’s just exciting.”