Aberdeen Central is in admittedly familiar territory – on the road for the Class AA SoDak 16.
But familiarity with the road does not necessarily mean the Golden Eagles view themselves as an underdog.
To wit, Central went on the road to Spearfish for last year’s SoDak 16, earning their way into the state tournament with a sweep of the Spartans.
““I think the girls have a little confidence knowing that we’ve gone on the road and gotten into that tournament before,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel.
This year, the 10th-seeded Golden Eagles will go a different route, heading to No. 7 Sioux Falls Washington for a chance to play in the state tournament in Rapid City. Central swept the Warriors back on Sept. 18 at Golden Eagles Arena.
“We’ve watched a lot of film on Washington,” Bindenagel said. “It’s just finding a balance between knowing what they’re going to do and taking care of our side of the net.”
That familiarity goes both ways, of course, as the Warriors will inevitably be looking for their own measure of revenge tonight.
“I know Coach (Kelly) Schroeder will have a good scout on us just like we’ll have on them,” Bindenagel said. “It will come down to who can execute and play with a lot of confidence.”
That confidence level may very well be the difference between two fairly evenly matched squads.
“Walking into that gym, it will be full and it will be loud,” Bindenagel said.
Bindenagle added that her team’s primary task on Thursday will be to focus on the matter at hand without worrying about the peripheral factors.
“I thought we did a really great job of that last year at Spearfish,” she said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a gym more full than Spearfish was last year and our kids really tuned everything out.”
Fortunately for the Golden Eagles, the team that did that last season is the same team on the road this season.
“I’m hoping we can have the same focus this year,” Bindenagel said.
Game time is set for 6 tonight.
