The Barnett Center will close out 2025 with a flurry of girls’ basketball games.
The facility will host the Buffalo Wild Wings Girls’ Basketball Showcase on Tuesday, Dec. 30. The event will feature 14 games starting at 10 a.m., with the final contest scheduled at 8 p.m.
“We’ve got the State B Boys, we’ve got the state softball tournament,,” said Northern State women’s basketball coach Paula Krueger, “and I just felt like we don’t really utilize the Barnett Center enough and showcase girls’ basketball.”
The schedule is as follows: Langford Area vs. Lead-Deadwood at 10 a.m., Parker-Marion vs. Leola-Frederick at 11:40 a.m., Herreid-Selby Area vs. Florence-Henry, 1:20 p.m., Lemmon vs. Groton, 3 p.m., Central Cass vs. Northwestern, 4:40 p.m., Hamlin vs. Mobridge-Pollock at 6:20 p.m., and Minot vs. Aberdeen Central at 8 p.m.
Minot is making the trek to Aberdeen in search of some quality competition.
“They needed a game,” Krueger said, “and Aberdeen Central having some pretty good basketball players on it and Minot has some really good, and the size of schools being similar, it was just a good matchup for us.”
The last game of the day will give fans a chance to watch some of the best players in the Midwest as Minot has a roster full of top-quality performers.
“They’ve got some really good basketball players,” Krueger said. “They’ve got a couple of kids that are going Division I and a couple that are going D-II.”
Krueger noted that the Magicians have one of top 20 players in the country in Leelee Bell, who has committed to play at Oklahoma.
“‘We just want to showcase the level of basketball that’s in this upper Midwest region,” Kreuger said.
Krueger is looking forward to seeing how things go with a variety of teams, including those in Class AA, Class A, and Class B.
“Aberdeen’s a basketball city. Its such a beautiful facility. Just wanted to take a shot and see if we could get some teams to come and play,” Krueger said. “We’ve got some local flavor. We’ve got some teams that are traveling quite a ways. We tried to make some good matchups.”
Krueger said the internet makes planning those matchups much easier than in the past.
Krueger, with the aid of numerous others, has been working on the classic since last March and plenty of volunteers lined up for the day.
“It took a little bit of leg work on the front,” she said, “but we want to provide an experience for the young ladies and these teams and these fans.”
Krueger said the goal is to make this an annual event, and the officials and coaches have already asked to be put on the list for future classics.
“We’d really like to. The intent is to make it annual,” Krueger said, “but we want to get through this first one and make sure that we can put on the kind of event that we want to put on.”
Krueger is excited about the opportunity this will provide for area girls’ basketball players.
“I think the thing that probably I’m most excited about it is the opportunity to show showcase Northern State, Aberdeen,” she said, “but just giving kids an opportunity to play on a bigger stage.”
One thing is for sure, Krueger and her workers will do their best to make sure it is a memorable experience for all involved.
“We really feel like we can make this a special event. … We’re hoping to make this an annual thing and obviously for us, it’s important that we do a good job,” she said, “because of recruiting and opportunity, but it’s also a fundraiser for us.”
