South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls for Dec. 16: O’Gorman girls take unanimous control of Class AA No. 1

MITCHELL — Resolving an early-season battle for the top spot in the Class AA girls basketball ranks, O’Gorman downed Brandon Valley 53-43 in a rematch of last season’s title game that tipped off the new campaign.

In the preseason, the Knights grabbed 59 vote points, one point ahead of the Lynx, who received the majority of first-place votes. This week, O’Gorman earned all 15 first-place votes as the unanimous No. 1, while Brandon Valley slipped to No. 3 behind Sioux Falls Washington at No. 2.

Rapid City Stevens collected three wins during the opening week of action and remained at No. 4. At No. 5, Spearfish replaced Sioux Falls Jefferson, which had received two top votes in the preseason.

Outside of the top five, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, Jefferson, Huron and Harrisburg received votes this week.

Here are the Dec. 16 basketball polls and a breakdown of the rankings.

The South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls for the week of Dec. 16, 2024, are listed below, ranking the top-five teams in each class. First-place votes are indicated in parentheses and teams are ranked by total points received.

1. Mitchell (15), 0-0, 75; 2. Sioux Falls Lincoln, 1-0, 57; 3. Brandon Valley, 1-0, 37; 4. Sioux Falls Washington, 0-1, 27; 5. Sioux Falls Jefferson, 1-0, 16.

Others receiving votes: Tea Area 4, Huron 3, O’Gorman 2, Harrisburg 2, Pierre 2.

Class of chaos: Only one Class AA boys program held its preseason ranking after one week, that being No. 1 Mitchell, though the defending champs have yet to play their first game. Behind the Kernels, Sioux Falls Lincoln defeated Sioux Falls Washington, climbing to No. 2 while the latter fell to No. 4. Brandon Valley went from unranked to No. 3, and Sioux Falls Jefferson entered the rankings at No. 5. Preseason No. 4 Huron and No. 5 O’Gorman fell out of the top five after taking season-opening losses.

1. Sioux Falls Christian (9), 1-0, 69; 2. Hamlin (6), 1-0, 66; 3. Dakota Valley, 0-0, 37; 4. Rapid City Christian, 1-0, 34; T-5. Lennox, 1-1, 8; T-5. St. Thomas More, 3-0, 8.

Others receiving votes: Pine Ridge 2, Vermillion 1.

Five times two: Though the top four of the Class A boys rankings remained intact, some early shuffling greeted a tie for the No. 5 spot between Lennox and St. Thomas More. Both received votes, but neither was ranked in the preseason poll. Preseason No. 5 Pine Ridge played three out-of-state schools to start the season, going 1-2 and falling out of the top five.

1. Castlewood (14), 1-0, 74; 2. Dell Rapids St. Mary (1), 1-0, 60; 3. Wessington Springs, 1-0, 39; 4. Viborg-Hurley, 0-1, 18; 5. De Smet, 1-0, 10.

Others receiving votes: Gregory 9, Freeman 7, Leola/Frederick Area 6, Howard 1, Estelline/Hendricks 1.

Starting the shuffle: Several of the top Class B boys teams in the preseason poll were challenged in the opening week, with both then-No. 2 Viborg-Hurley and then-No. 3 Gregory taking losses to open the new season, opening the door for plenty of movement. No. 1 Castlewood was also tested in its opener, defeating Waubay/Summit 57-56. Dell Rapids St. Mary climbed from No. 4 to No. 2 with one first-place vote, Wessington Springs rising from No. 5 to No. 3 and De Smet entering the poll at No. 5. Five teams are receiving votes outside the rankings.

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1. O’Gorman (15), 1-0, 75; 2. Sioux Falls Washington, 1-0, 53; 3. Brandon Valley, 0-1, 40; 4. Rapid City Stevens, 3-0, 37; 5. Spearfish, 1-0, 7.

Others receiving votes: Sioux Falls Roosevelt 6, Sioux Falls Jefferson 4, Huron 2, Harrisburg 1.

1. Vermillion (14), 2-0, 73; 2. Sioux Falls Christian (1), 2-0, 57; 3. Hamlin, 1-0, 36; 4. Wagner, 1-0, 25; 5. Mahpiya Luta, 1-0, 24.

Others receiving votes: Dakota Valley 4, Mount Vernon/Plankinton 3, Mobridge-Pollock 2, Elk Point/Jefferson 1.

Breaking the tie: In the preseason poll, Hamlin and Wagner, the 2023 state finalists, were tied for the No. 3 ranking. This week, the lone movement in the Class A top five was resolving the tie, with the Chargers getting an early nod over the Red Raiders, who are now No. 4. Hamlin is no longer receiving a first-place vote as it did last week, with No. 1 Vermillion controlling 14 of the 15 top votes.

1. Centerville (15), 2-0, 75; 2. Ethan, 1-0, 54; 3. Sanborn Central/Woonsocket, 1-0, 43; 4. Parkston, 2-0, 29; 5. Lyman, 1-0, 23.

Others receiving votes: Andes Central/Dakota Christian 1.

Settling in: With a top five unchanged from last week’s preseason poll, Class B girls is the lone class with that distinction. However, defending champion Centerville is now the unanimous No. 1. After four programs received votes outside the top five last week, that list is down to just Andes Central/Dakota Christian with one vote.