The Dakota Valley Panthers will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Parkston Trojans at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Dakota Valley sitting on four straight victories and Parkston on five.
Dakota Valley scored the most points they've had all season to find success last Tuesday. They walked away with a 61-54 victory over Cedar Catholic. Given Dakota Valley's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 25th in South Dakota, while Cedar Catholic is ranked 161st in Nebraska), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Dakota Valley got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Ella Otten out in front who scored 15 points. The matchup was Otten's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Cameryn Sommervold, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Parkston beat Winner 61-49 on Thursday.
Dakota Valley pushed their record up to 4-2 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Parkston, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
