Bennett County is bound for the semifinals. The Warriors, seeded fifth coming into the ‘B’ girls state tournament, defeated fourth-seeded Parkston 51-49 on Thursday in the quarterfinal round.
It was a successful day offensively for Bennett County as they shot 45% from the field with three players hitting double digits in the scoring column. The O’Neill sisters, Peyson and Reagan, combined for 27 of the team's points. Impressive for an eighth grader (Peyson) and freshman (Reagan) on the state’s biggest stage.
“They’re special. Unfortunately, they didn’t get varsity minutes last year, but that was out of our control, but they’ve just stepped up to the challenge. You wouldn’t know they’re an eighth grader and a freshman,” said Bennett County head coach Shawna Evans. “They’re playing juniors and seniors, just as good as any other team. We’ve got some good leadership that’s helping guide them mentally. Skill wise, they’ve got some things to work on, but they just compete – they’re ready for the challenge.”
The quarterfinal game tightened up near the end, but when it comes to basketball in March, it doesn’t have to look pretty. It’s about finding a way to win and advancing.
“We got a good win,” stated Evans. “They compete, we’re young, first time here in a long time. We had to work through a little foul trouble, but that was a good game to get the jitters out and we’ll be ready tomorrow.”
This is the first time that Bennett County’s girls' program has made it to the state tournament in eighteen years. Up next is a semifinal date with the defending champions, Centerville.
“We’ve got to be mentally ready. Centerville, they’re good, but my girls are competitors. We’re strong, we’re fast. We’re young, so they’re working through some kinks, but they’ll be ready,” Evans explained. “We just have to take care of the ball. It’s going to boil down to possessions. We’ve got to learn when to ‘whoa’ and ‘go.’ We’re fast, but we need to learn to slow it down and take care of the ball better and execute our rebounds.”
Being back to the state tournament has excited the fans once again from Bennett County. It’s the sixth trip to state for the girls' program in history. They won their lone title in ’86 and finished runner-up in ’07. With a lot of youth on the roster as well, the future of girls' basketball in Martin has solid potential.
“It’s really special, our community needed this. They came, they showed up huge for us,” said Evans. “We’re five hours from home, but we’ve got a good crowd that came to support us. These girls have put on a show all year for them. It’s really special to be playing this high up with the youth that we have. I could see us being contenders for the next few years here.”
Bennett County and Centerville will tip-off at 6 pm CT on Friday night from the Huron Arena. The winner will advance to the 2025 ‘B’ girls state championship game.
