North Dakota Class A Rankings
Bismarck Legacy The Sabers are currently 17-0 and winning in just about every way. They’ve had their share of dominant wins, some hotly-contested wins, games where the offense shines and times when the defense carries the way. Defense is ultimately…
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Continue ReadingBismarck Legacy
The Sabers are currently 17-0 and winning in just about every way. They’ve had their share of dominant wins, some hotly-contested wins, games where the offense shines and times when the defense carries the way. Defense is ultimately this team’s calling card with offensive diversity allowing them to overcome inconsistent shooting. Alexis Dressler is having a terrific senior year, averaging 12 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists. A rematch with Bismarck Century looms this Friday, in what assuredly will decide the winner of the WDA.
Bismarck Century
The Patriots have picked up a handful of blowout wins in recent weeks over the bottom-feeding type teams in recent weeks. Logan Nissley continues to have an awesome season as one of the elite freshmen (and players regardless of age) in the state. Julia Fitterer has been awesome in recent games and starting to really find her way too. This group has the kind of balance and athleticism to win a state title even if they might not be as heavy a favorite as they were in the preseason.
Devils Lake
The Firebirds have all but wrapped up another league title thanks to wins over Fargo Shanley and Grand Forks Red River in the last week. Devils Lake is 15-0 on the season and winning with terrific balance as five players average double-figures in scoring. The Firebirds beat Grand Forks Red River in overtime last week and have shown they can win close games, as evidenced by a 5-0 record in games decided by 10 points or less.
Fargo Shanley
The Deacons probably missed their chance to get into the mix towards winning the EDC last week when they lost by four to Devils Lake. They had a terrific week this past week though, going 2-0 to improve to 12-3, beating West Fargo Sheyenne and Fargo Davies to all but lock up a top-three finish in the EDC. Reile Payne and Hadley Huber form arguably the best duo in the EDC and Moriku Hakim has enjoyed a breakout season, averaging 13 points and nine rebounds.
Mandan
The Braves went 2-0 last week after dropping two in a row the previous week, moving to 11-5 on the year. Mandan has two more games against the lower-end teams of the WDA before closing the season with Bismarck Century, Bismarck and Jamestown. Sydney Gustavsson has been awesome in recent weeks and Lakyn Darras is one of the best players in the WDA. If some of the role-players can provide a little more shot-making and production, this team is going to finish in the top-three in the league.
Bismarck
It’s been a struggle on the offensive end of the floor pretty much all year for Bismarck, but the Demons are winning because of elite defense and strength in numbers. With one of the deepest rotations in the state, Bismarck is able to wear teams out and grind out wins. Currently sitting at 12-5, Bismarck has a great shot to finish third or fourth in the WDA this season and be a factor come the postseason.
Fargo Davies
The Eagles lost to Fargo Shanley last week, snapping a four-game winning streak and losing their grip on the No. 2 spot in the EDC. The Eagles are sitting at 11-5 and have a great shot to finish with 15 wins, if they can beat the teams they are supposed to beat and get two out of three in the remaining games against Devils Lake, West Fargo and West Fargo Sheyenne.
Bismarck St. Mary’s
The Saints went 1-1 last week, losing by one to Mandan before beating Minot to improve to 9-7 on the season. Bismarck St. Mary’s has been one of the streakiest teams in the state, enjoying multiple winning streaks and suffering through multiple losing streaks. The offense has held the Saints back at times, but defense has been steady. A strong group of seniors led by Maria Mann and Abbi Kopp makes this team dangerous come postseason.
Grand Forks Red River
The Roughriders lost an overtime game against Devils Lake to fall to 10-6 on the season last week. Grand Forks Red River looks like the clear No. 4 team in the EDC, as they are 9-0 and dominating the teams ranked 5-12 in the EDC. They are 0-2 against Devils Lake, 0-2 against Fargo Davies and 0-1 against Fargo Shanley.
West Fargo Sheyenne
The Mustangs have been one of the surprise teams in the state after getting to the state tournament last year thanks to a big senior class. West Fargo Sheyenne has earned several upset wins along the way and is getting really good balanced play from a number of quality young and inexperienced players. They’ve got five games left and have an outside chance to secure a top-four spot in the EDC, but they’ll need to upset a team like Devils Lake or Fargo Davies to do it.