By Matt Gade

605 Sports

RAPID CITY — “Rufus.”

That was the safe word Paiton and Lauryn Burckhard came up with when Paiton first took over as head coach of the Aberdeen Central Eagles girls’ basketball team last season, with her sister, Lauryn, as a sophomore on the team.

Despite having never played together because of an 8-year age difference, Lauryn and Paiton are still sisters and still have a natural “sibling feud” between them. To make sure they kept things in check when the new dynamic of coach-player arose in their first year together, “Rufus” was created.

“If we were fighting, like, if someone called 'Rufus,' you had to stop,” Paiton said. “She definitely used it a lot more than I did, because she would try to do it in the middle of a coaching moment. I'm like, ‘You can't do that.’ Then she's like, ‘Yes, I can.’ So the first year, there was a lot more of that back and forth and just getting used to each other.

“When we're at practice and games, it's Coach Paiton, and when it's at home, anywhere else, it's, we're sisters now. So that balance was definitely tricky the first year.”

Aberdeen head coach Paiton Burckhard watches practice while her team, including sister and junior Lauryn Burckhard, run plays during practice on Wednesday at Summit Arena. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Now in their second year together, Paiton and Lauryn said they both learned a lot in that first season together and are gelling together a lot better after a fun, but bumpy, first year together.

Not during practice, but when it was off the court, Lauryn said sometimes she would claim to be a better basketball player than Paiton just to rile her sister up.

“It's back and forth, and we handle it really well,” Paiton said. “Yeah, you never know what you're gonna get — every day.”

Paiton and Lauryn, along with the rest of the Golden Eagles, advanced to the Class AA state tournament with a 55-36 win against Rapid City Central in the SoDak 16. 

This year’s tournament berth means a little bit more for the Golden Eagles after being knocked out a season ago by Sioux Falls Jefferson 57-54 in the SoDak 16 from a half-court buzzer beater.

“That sucked, and I know that fueled our girls into this season,” Paiton said. “We didn't directly talk about it, but it's a known fact that we were working for a little deeper than just making it here. We wanted it. 

“We kept calling it a redemption season, like we're good enough to be at the state tournament, and we definitely had a better regular season to set us up in a better position to get here.”

Last season, the Golden Eagles were 11-9 when they missed out on the state tournament.

Lauryn said the team’s six seniors, especially, took it upon themselves to put in the work to make sure they made it back to the state tournament.

“Getting here this year means everything to the team,” Lauryn said. “We have six seniors. They are our glue to our team. Obviously, we have a great team, and we're so connected. We're a family, but those seniors got us here. It's just great that we got here and we did it together.”

Lauryn also noted how more comfortable Paiton was coming into her second year as head coach.

Aberdeen head coach Paiton Burckhard runs the Eagles through drills during practice on Wednesday at Summit Arena. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

As a player, Paiton was described as intense and super competitive by Lauryn. Characteristics Lauryn said she has tried to emulate.

“I definitely look up to her. She was a great athlete at both (Aberdeen) Central and SDSU, and I've just heard from when she was in high school that she was just mean and aggressive, and she was just the leader of everyone,” Lauryn said. “That's what my main goal is, to be a leader.”

While she played with high intensity, Lauryn said that’s not the type of coach Paiton is.

Lauryn said Paiton is direct but says just what the team needs to hear.

“When we're not doing very good and we're starting to lose, she'll put a little bit of feist into what she's saying, but she calms us and tells us what we need to do to be better,” Lauryn said. “And it's not overly mean, she's direct with what she's saying, and she means what she's saying to us.”

Paiton’s athletic accomplishments include being named a former Miss Basketball and South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year from her time at Aberdeen Central in 2018 and later a 4-time All-Summit League player for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. 

When Paiton took over the helm at Aberdeen, she said she was nervous about the role but confident she could do it, given the coaches she had played under.

“I played under two really, really phenomenal coaches, and I know for a fact I would never feel comfortable applying for a position if I didn't have coaches like Dawn Seiler and AJ (Aaron Johnston) at SDSU. So huge credit to them for just their high basketball IQ, and for transferring that to me,” Paiton said. “Now that doesn't mean that I am as good as them or I think I am, but I definitely think the same and I have some of the same philosophies. I was a part of two really successful programs, so I think that does help me really well.”

At SDSU, Paiton finished seventh all-time in scoring with 1,769 career points.

As the youngest of the three Burckhard siblings, brother Reece being the middle sibling, three years younger than Paiton and five years older than Lauryn, Lauryn grew up around the game of basketball, always tagging along to her siblings' games. 

“That wasn't a choice for her. She's been in the gym since she was able to walk,” Paiton said. “I remember in high school, I would drag her to summer workouts and she was running drills with us. She's been around it for a long, long time. But I always, and I tell her this every day, ‘You are such a different athlete than me. You are so much more athletic than me.’ Now, was I more competitive than? Probably. But I mean, she can jump, she can shoot, she's just so much more athletic than I ever was. So I will tell her that.”

That talent of Lauryn’s was recognized by Johnston early in her career. And in the fall of 2024, Lauryn verbally committed to the Jackrabbits.

Paiton said she never tried to pressure her sister about joining the Jackrabbits and made sure it was Lauryn’s decision. 

“I just remember AJ being super clear to her, like, ‘Yes, your sister was phenomenal here, but her path and your path are completely separate. Like, we're recruiting you because we see you have potential playing here, and we want you to be a part of our team.’ And I just think that really helps the mindset of being like ‘Oh, is it because my sister went here,’ and that is not the case at all. She has proven time and time again that she's a Division I athlete,” Paiton said.

This season, Lauryn is the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game. She also averages 7.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

The Golden Eagles (15-6) earned the No. 5 seed heading into the state tournament and will meet fourth-seeded Rapid City Stevens (17-4) in the first round, scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m. at Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City. 

Aberdeen head coach Paiton Burckhard watches practice while the Eagles run plays during practice on Wednesday at Summit Arena. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)