Four Class A Girls Teams Punch Tickets to State Tournament

The 2016 South Dakota Class A State Basketball Tournament is just over one week from beginning and the first four teams have made their travel arrangements.

Class A is a long single elimination tournament that is broken into eight regions. Teams that win the region are qualified for the state tournament. Tuesday night featured the finals of regions 1A, 4A, 7A, and 8A.

Webster Area secured the first trip to Watertown with a 57-41 win over Aberdeen Roncalli. Elk Point-Jefferson won region 4A with a victory over Lennox 52-27. The closest game of the night came in region 7A as Winner picked up a six point win against Little Wound to pick up a spot. St. Thomas More continued their great season by claiming the region 8A title with a dominate 67-40 win over Belle Fourche. St. Thomas More will be the top seed in the Class A tournament.

Four spots still remain up for grabs in regions 2A, 3A, 5A, and 6A. Two more tickets will be punched on Thursday night as Dell Rapids and Flandreau meet in region 3A, and Mt. Vernon-Plankinton squares off with West Central in region 5A. Friday night features the finals of region 6A as Cheyenne-Eagle Butte and McLaughlin play in Ft. Pierre for the right to go to the tournament. Finally, on Saturday the last spot will be claimed out of region 2A as Sioux Valley and Hamlin play.

As mentioned, St. Thomas More will be the top seed in the tournament. Seeds are based on regular season seed points that are gained. Here's how the tournament sets up now with the four teams that are in:

1) St. Thomas More. 46.80
2) Webster Area. 45.60
3) Elk Point-Jefferson. 44.25
4) Winner. 43.60

Now with the possibilities that remain, here is how the rest of the teams line up if they are to qualify. Take the list and remove the teams as they are eliminated throughout the week. Bolded teams are the four that qualified.

Webster Area can't be any lower than a four seed. Elk Point-Jefferson and Winner will move up a minimum of one spot with Mt. Vernon-Plankinton playing against each other.

1) St. Thomas More. 46.80
2) Sioux Valley. 46.30
3) Mt. Vernon-Plankinton
4) Webster Area. 45.60
5) West Central. 44.55
6) Elk Point-Jefferson. 44.25
7) Hamlin. 44.05
8) Winner. 43.60
9) Cheyenne-Eagle Butte. 43.15
10) McLaughlin. 42.74
11) Dell Rapids. 42.45
12) Flandreau. 42.35

The 2016 Class A State Basketball Tournament takes place in Watertown March 10-12.

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