No team has had to live under the microscope of the state more than the Dakota Valley Panthers.
They have arguably the best duo in the state with Paul and Isaac Bruns, and a dominant cast surrounding the two brothers. But even with everyone in the state watching, the Panthers handled the pressure with class.
Now in the state tournament, the pressure feels off for the Panthers
“Before the state tournament we felt a lot of pressure, we had a tough draw against a good Tea team,” Head Coach Jason Kleis said. “So I think because of last year, we all felt some pressure to get back. Once we beat Sisseton, we kind of relaxed a little bit and just focused on being as tough as we can and go on a run.”
Even before the Sodak 16 victory over Sisseton, the Panthers had put together one of the most noteworthy seasons in South Dakota. Dakota Valley started the season with much hype and entered late January with victories over great teams like Tea Area, Corsica-Stickney, Fargo Davies (ND), Sergeant Bluff-Luton (IA), West Central, and Sioux Valley. The Panthers felt like they were the best team in the state, but then suffered a 20-point loss to Sioux Falls Christian on January 28th.
Two weeks later, the Panthers again fell, this time losing to Vermillion in a 79-68 thriller on February 9th. But instead of the losses demoralizing Dakota Valley, the Panthers instead used the losses as motivation to get better in practice and games.
“The response to the losses have been the key,” Kleis said. “We have competitive players and I think those two games showed us what we needed to do to get a lot better, which is what we want. We want to get those weaknesses exposed. Personally, I like that, It makes us tougher and better.”
The Panthers drew a tough district opponent in Tea Area, a team that many knew had a great chance of having an upset victory against any opponent in District 3A. Dakota Valley held strong though, and after the six-point victory, played great in their Sodak 16 matchup against Sisseton to punch their ticket to the statement.
And once they guaranteed their spot at the PREMIER Center, the Panthers felt the pressure go away.
“We kind of feel like the pressure’s off us. Just getting back to state is great and getting to play is great and we have a really good team no doubt about it, but there is 3 or 4 teams that have a great chance to win it,” Kleis said. “We feel confident but I don’t sense any pressure and I don’t think our players do.”
“I think our guys are excited and confident, but hungry.”
Even as the #2 seed, the Panthers drew no easy opponent. Dakota Valley will play Winner today at 5:00 p.m., but Coach Kleis feels as though his staff and players are ready for the challenge ahead.
“We have prepared as well as we can. We aren’t going to do anything fancy against them,” Kleis said. “We will play our game and they will play their game. But I think we are prepared for them to give our players the best shot to be successful in that game.”
