Parkston girls enjoy strong start to season at 7-0
Jan. 4—PARKSTON, S.D. — The Parkston girls basketball team finished 2023 one game away from the Class A state tournament.
Through the first few weeks, the Trojans are trying to put themselves in the contender conversation again. Entering games on Jan. 4, Parkston is one of three 7-0 teams in Class A girls basketball (joined by Sisseton and Tea Area), and one of seven undefeated teams in the class.
With new leadership at head coach, Parkston has started the season well, most recently, that included wins over Dakota Valley and previously undefeated Hanson.
"I thought we were capable of this," Parkston coach Cole Knippling said. "I told the team that you want to have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder and we haven't really gotten a lot of attention or recognition and that's fine, there's a lot of good teams in our region and we have to prove ourselves."
Parkston is in the midst of a tough stretch in its schedule. In addition to the wins over Dakota Valley and Hanson, they face No. 5-ranked Vermillion at home on Friday, Jan. 5, go to No. 1-ranked Wagner on Thursday, Jan. 11 and play in the Hanson Classic on Saturday, Jan. 13. After that, they will play one-loss Sioux Falls Christian on Jan. 16 and one-loss Bon Homme on Jan. 18, both on the road.
"These next four or five games for us are really tough, so they will be good challenges and give us a chance to keep learning about ourselves," Knippling said.
Knippling said one area of improvement for Parkston this season has been its perimeter shooting, which has been near 40% as a team over the last three games. The Trojans were 16-7 last year before falling to Sisseton in the Class A SoDak 16 as a No. 10 seed.
"We've shot the ball a lot better than I thought we would," Knippling said. "Our perimeter shooting has been outstanding and we've shown some improvement there. Our pressure defense has also been very solid and we create a lot of havoc with how we pressure in the first half of the floor."
The team is led by senior Gracie Oakley, the only senior on the Trojans' roster. Juniors Mya Thuringer and Lauren Ziebart pitch in, as do sophomore Lexi Schoenfelder and freshmen Berkley Ziebart, Keeara Oakley and Morgan Maxwell.
It continues a trend of the Trojans blending upperclassmen with younger members of the team over the last few years, although Knippling pointed out the bonding is helped with a few pairs of sisters on the roster.
"They're a tight-knit bunch and they've always been that way," Knippling said. "Those three freshmen that play, they've been playing for two years already, so yes, they're freshmen but they are third-year varsity players and that's very helpful. ... As a group, they are as tight off the court as they are on the court and that's been great."
Knippling is in his first season as Parkston coach after joining the district as a principal ahead of the 2022-23 school year. A Chamberlain native, Knippling was Mitchell High School's girls basketball coach for three seasons before resigning to become a high school principal but after former coach Brooke Horstman left the head coaching post, the opportunity presented itself for him to both coach and be in an administration role.
"Coaching is fun when you have great kids and we have great kids," he said. "I love the whole team, 1-through-14 because they all bring something special to practice and games. They've accepted me well. I missed coaching, and this is what I really enjoy. It's why I got into teaching and why I got into education was working with kids."
