Conference Review: Dakota 12 (Dak 12)
We are just about a month away from the official basketball season. PGH took a look at some of the deepest conferences around. The Dakota 12 (DAK 12) is one of the most talented conferences assembled. Here’s a preview of each team.
Dakota Valley: The Panthers of Dakota Valley are a fun team to watch. In years past their roster would be filled with players from 3 different states. How? The town of Sioux City is actually in 3 states. North Sioux City is in South Dakota, Sioux City is in Iowa and South Sioux City is in Nebraska. Weird huh? Not really. North Sioux is home to Dakota Valley. The Panthers are as fierce as their mascot. Players like Emily Phillips, Morgan Tritz and Rachel Rosenquist will take over the program. A program that lost 4 great seniors to graduation and collegiate basketball, will look to improve on just a hand full of losses last year. They didn’t make the state tournament because of a quick exit in the earlier round. However, they can make a deep run from the experience of playing teams from all 3-surrounding states.
Elk Point-Jefferson: Coming off a sub .500 season EPJ will have to reevaluate themselves. This squad won’t have that 6’2 beast in Elsie Aslesen, she has gone off to hoop at Concordia University in Nebraska. In fact, they won’t have any size. What they lack in size they will make up with heart. Ok, that was cheesy. Lets try it again….. What the Huskies lack in size they will make up with heart, speed, toughness and a chip on their shoulders the size of both towns, Elk-Point and Jefferson!
Dell Rapids: Remember those youngsters that got minutes as freshmen and sophomores? We do! Seems like yesterday this group of girls were playing in the 7th/8th grade division in local youth tournaments. Now they are leaders, key contributors and have the sole responsibility to keep the Quarriers afloat. Post player? Check! Jayda Knuppe is that and more. The paint is hers to do whatever she wants. Lane runner? Check! Aspen Hansen runs, runs, and runs some more. Long and athletic with a good mid-range. Point guard? Check! Ravyn Hoffman will control the tempo. Point to where she needs her player to be and execute the offense. A monster? Check!!! Emma Paul is the enforcer on the team. Don’t get in her way, she’ll run through you for an AND 1.
West Central, Photo Courtesy of The Argus LeaderCanton: You know those New Year’s resolution quotes? “New Year, New Me!” or “I’m going to workout this year!” or “The Knicks are going to win the chip this year!”…….. However, this year is a NEW start for Canton. They have a new coach, new players that will need to step up and some freshmen that will be thrown into the fire. Mason Tieszen and Karryn Peterson will be the leading seniors, who will get the much needed freshmen acclimated with a new system. The C-Hawks might start off slow but may finish better then expected. You have to, when you have that “New Year, New Us” thing going on.
Tea Area: The ladies in Tea have something to look forward to. All they have to do is go across the hallway to the boys program. They have laid the foundation on how to win a championship and the right to compete for another one. Grit and grind is how you define Tea Area kids. Look no further than Bailey Conrad, Olivia Ritter and Sam Kloos. They are Tea Titans through and through. These 3 will make sure the team competes at a high level. Which can lead to some grind mode type of wins.
Lennox: Arguably the best and most talented team in the conference. Lennox has the right pieces for a title, they just have to get there. SDSU commit Madysen Vlastuin, #3 ranked in the class of 2020, is the leader. She leads with her play and she plays well. Rio Fillipi, #9 ranked in 2020, will run the point. She’s a scoring point. Not the typical run a set, pick & roll point. She can simply put it in the hole. Dakota State commit Riley Peters, #16 ranked 2019, is very underrated. She’s equipped with a decent 3 ball and has a great free throw percentage. The Orioles are one of the front runners for the title in Class A. They have to figure out a way to put all the talent together and go make a run.
Dell Rapids, Photo Courtesy of The Argus LeaderWest Central: When you have youth who can play, play them! That’s what the Trojans of West Central will do. Coming in at #9 on PGH Dakota class of 2021, Cassidy Siemonsma will hold down the frontcourt. Rylee Haldeman #5 in the 2022 ranking, got a ton of minutes as an 8th grader last year. This year she might be the starting point as an official high schooler. 2019’s, Kali Nelson and new Bethany College commit Megan Madsen, will be the seasoned vets. They both will help guide the younger Trojans through this tough conference while trying to get back to the state tournament.
Vermillion: When you lose the All-Time points leader in school history in Haleigh Melstad, plus 10 ppg from Kasey Jensen and Madisen Martinez who chipped in with 7ppg, what do you do? Insert the crafty sophomore Lexi Plitzuweit. She will be the floor general for the Tanagers. Plitzuweit has a herky-jerk type of game. A true point guard but can score with the best of them. Oh yeah, her mother happens to be the head coach at The University of South Dakota. Which means she’s been around next level talent. She learned from them, put the work in and is expected to showcase it this year. Add 6’0 senior Kasey Herbster who posted 7ppg and 4rpg last year along with junior wing Lexi Saunders and those previous question now have answers.
Tri-Valley: Tri-Valley is part of the Sioux Falls surrounding area but sometimes gets forgotten about. Just like their mascot the Mustang, Tri-Valley is tough. 3rd team All-Conference, Grace Steineke will return for her junior year campaign. The long athletic forward will look to keep Tri-Valley relevant in the ultra-tough DAK 12. It seems like she’s been around forever! That’s because she has been contributing since her freshmen year. This time around, the leader of this stampede of Mustangs will be ready to lead the pack.
Sioux Falls Christian: The Chargers are led by two young stars, Lexi Unruh and Madie DeJong. SFC school know a thing or two about winning. The boys basketball team won a title in 2015-2016 and the football team won the championship last year, 2017. So, the ladies of SFC know what it means to the school and community. In this tough conference SFC will lean on their young stars to help propel them to the promise land!
Madison: The Cinderella team from last year aims to continue the trend. Although they lost in the championship, their run was impressive. This year’s squad will look different. The Bulldogs won’t have 6’5 Nicole Brown anchoring the middle. She has graduated and now plays at Minnesota State-Moorhead. They also won’t have point guard Jessica Giles who’s playing at Dakota State. That’s a lot to replace. Coach Anderson will be in her second year as the Head Coach. Let’s see if she can catch lighting in a bottle again. This time the Bulldogs are going to be ready.
Beresford: The Watchdogs of Beresford will look to improve from last years outing. Having lost 5 seniors which were key contributors will be a tall task. Thankfully, they have some returning. Alana Bergland, Sydney Nelson and Cali Boden will step up as the seniors who will lead this program. Bergland, who is a sharp shooter, is on pace to break the school record in 3-pointers made. Add junior Kennedy Goblirsch and the Watchdogs are a team to “Watchout!”
Here is how we think they will finish:
- Lennox
- West Central
- Dell Rapids
- Vermillion
- SFC
- Madison
- EPJ
- Tea Area
- Tri-Valley
- Dakota Valley
- Beresford
- Canton