Last week finished up the 2023-2024 girls basketball season as the NSAA State Girls Basketball Tournament wrapped up on Saturday night. Two RPAC teams competed in Lincoln in Classes D1 and D2. Read the blog below to catch up on how Paxton and Southern Valley's tournament runs went.
Paxton
The Tigers qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2009 and they earned the #8 seed in Class D2.
They had a tough task in front of them as they were set to battle #1 Overton who only had one loss on the season and that loss was to Southern Valley. Paxton put up quite the fight, but they came up short to the eventual Class D2 State Champions. To read more about that game, click here.
Paxton ends the season at 17-10.
Southern Valley
Southern Valley qualified for the second consecutive year and earned the #3 seed in Class D1. The Eagles were assigned #6 Elgin Public/Pope John. The Wolfpack was the team that knocked Maywood-Hayes Center out of qualifying for the state tournament as they defeated the Wolves in their district-final matchup.
In the quarterfinal game against EPPJ, Southern Valley had a slow start and had to overcome many obstacles but they were able to create separation in the second half to secure the win and move on to the semifinals. The final score was 50-39. Read more about the quarterfinal game by clicking here.
In the semifinal game, the Eagles faced #2 seeded GACC. The Bluejays knocked Southern Valley out of the state tournament after the first game last year so the Eagles came out ready to play. They got out to a quick lead and weathered a few storms, but Southern Valley defeated GACC to advance to the state championship game for the first time in school history. The final tally in that game was 34-29. You can read more about that semifinal game by clicking here.
In the Class D1 State Championship game, the Eagles faced #1 Pender, who was most recently the Class C2 State Champion in 2023. Southern Valley trailed most of the game and couldn't get the ball to fall in the hoop. The final score was 39-25. The Eagles season ended with a state runner-up trophy. To read more about the state championship game, click here.
Southern Valley ends their season at 28-2.
