As the season is winding to a close, it is heading back to where it all began.

Aberdeen Central will host Rapid City Central in a Class AA SoDak 16 girls’ basketball game at 6 p.m. Friday night at Golden Eagles Arena. It is a rematch on the opening game of the season for both squads in the same venue.

“Obviously, getting a home game is a big deal. Love to play at home. We play better at home, so that part is huge for us, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen Rapid City Central,” said Central coach Paiton Burckhard. “That was our first game of the season. It’s taken a little bit of film watching to get yourself refamiliarized with the Cobblers.”

What hasn’t taken any recollection for the Golden Eagles is what happened the last time they hosted a SoDak 16 contest. It took place last season when Sioux Falls Jefferson made a half-court shot at the buzzer to end the local squad’s hopes of reaching the state tournament.

“There is no refamiliarizing ourselves with this situation. We have now one year of experience where we had a game, making it to state. It was close,” Burckhard said. “I think in that sense, it gives us a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. Like we’ve been here. We’ve seen what the negative side of it looks like and we didn’t forget that. So you can definitely feel that fueling our practices so far, which is a positive.”

A lot has changed since Aberdeen defeated Rapid City 53-32 in a battle of Centrals back in early December. The Golden Eagles went through a stretch of adversity where they played without starting center Taryn Hermansen due to injury and illness.

While it was difficult at the time, Burckhard now looks back on the situation as a bit of silver lining as it provided other players with more opportunities.

“Obvioiusly, we had some injuries and some sickness, so we were down a couple bodies,” Burckhard said. “That turned out to be a positive in the sense of we had some girls playing in different roles, more minutes, and just playing a different type of basketball, which was nice to see when Taryn and Lauryn (Burckhard) are in there together. Having her back has been phenomenal. Everyone is more comfortable with her on the floor.”

The fifth-rated Golden Eagles head into the postseason as the fifth seed with a 15-5 record.

Coach Burckhard said taking care of the little things will help her squad to accomplish big things.

“We have talked about all season long, but especially now, thinking about the smaller moments that build up to bigger moments,” she said, “even as simple as we need a stop and then we need to score, and then we need a stop. Simple as that, possession by possession.”

Needless to say, the Golden Eagles are ready for another crack at making the state tournament, especially on their home court.

“We’re just super excited,” Coach Burckhard said. “Aberdeen always shows up for their sports community, so we’re excited to be in that environment for our girls to perform well on Friday night.”