The action kicks off this afternoon. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the two local teams participating in the state tournament.

Rugby Panthers

The Panthers’ position drips with intrigue. In the first round of last year’s tournament, an unseeded Rugby squad knocked off No. 1-seeded Kidder County in a 47-39 contest.

Rugby went on to earn a 42-35 victory over No. 5-seeded Hettinger-Scranton in a semifinal game, but lost 49-47 to unseeded Kindred in a thrilling state championship game.

Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Trenton sophomore forward Jacee Turcotte (42) works past Velva sophomore guard Jadyn Sandy (24) during a game earlier this season. The No. 3-seeded Tigers will meet Shiloh Christian at 2:45 p.m. this afternoon in the first round of the Class B State Tournament in Grand Forks.

Once again, the Panthers (21-3) find themselves unseeded. A new challenger awaits — No. 2-seeded Grafton.

“Having taken second in state, I think they felt, ‘Wow, nobody thinks we can get back,'” Rugby head coach Jen Brossart said of the Panthers. “‘We’ve got to rebuild. Maybe it’s not our time yet.’ Fortunately, we told them in our exit interviews after the season was done that this is their time. This is their time to make this their own team. They had all summer and all fall to get to know each other and to work together as a group.”

Rugby responded in kind, rattling off 12 straight wins to start the season. On a team with no seniors, different leaders have stepped up on a night-to-night basis.

“It didn’t matter what age they were,” Brossart said. “But we had to find one, two, three or four (leaders). It doesn’t matter how many. Girls who were willing to lead on any given night. Be a vocal leader, be a silent leader, however you want to be it. We have those girls, and they’re multiple girls. It’s just not one in particular.”

A loaded junior class features Brooke Blessum, Sarah Blessum, Riley Grove, Tesha Sobolik, Isabella McCabe and Gabriella Sullivan. Freshman Mykell Heidlebaugh played as an eighth-grader and provides a scoring boost.

That well-rounded offensive attack helped the Panthers capture the Region 6 Tournament championship over Velva. The 46-32 victory became even sweeter after the Aggies had earned a 42-36 win over Rugby in the District 11 Tournament championship game.

Additionally, a vigorous regular-season schedule prepared Rugby for those playoff trials and tribulations.

“We’ve had close games with Glenburn, close games with MLS and close games with Velva,” Brossart said. “We’re battle-tested. To see the girls’ resolve to come out, just get out on top and then claw back, you need to be able to have a team that’s willing to fight. These girls are fighters.”

The Panthers will meet the Spoilers at 1 p.m. this afternoon.

Trenton Tigers

The undefeated No. 3-seeded Tigers (24-0) bring a host of seasoned veterans to the fray. Trenton’s four seniors look to lead the Tigers against unseeded Shiloh Christian.

Kaity Hove, Taytum Kreil, Kella Norby and Thearsha Bartlett comprise that senior group. Last season, the Tigers took a seventh-place finish in the state tournament after entering as the No. 4 seed.

“When you return five starters from a team that went to the state tournament, it’s basically building off of experience,” Trenton head coach Bob Turcotte said. “As far as this year goes, we’ve played a tougher schedule. We’ve played some good teams.”

Hove and junior guard Alyssa St. Pierre pack some major backcourt punch. Both players can score in bunches, and St. Pierre has already eclipsed the 1,500-point milestone as a junior.

Turcotte praised Hove’s all-around game and said she sees the floor like very few kids in North Dakota.

“I know my kids,” Turcotte said. “They have some grit. They like to play defense and they trust one another on the court defensively. Our effort, experience and ability level of the kids has definitely carried us through the year. We have an experienced group of girls who have played basketball together for quite a while now. They know how to play the game.”

The veteran crew has shined in the postseason. The Tigers have won each of their five postseason games by double-digit margins.

Trenton encountered some challenges in mid-January. After avenging last year’s first-round state tournament loss to Hettinger-Scranton with a 56-53 victory, the Tigers earned a 57-50 win over Kenmare just three days later.

In the Region 8 Tournament championship, the Tigers seized a 45-29 win over the Honkers.

“We’ve been fortunate,” Turcotte said. “We’ve had a couple of close games, and we’ve been able to get the job done. I really like the progress of the team from where we started to where we are at right now. I really think we’re playing very solid basketball. When it comes down to the state tournament, we need to be playing our best ball of the year.”

The Tigers will square off against the Saints at approximately 2:45 p.m. this afternoon. If Trenton and Rugby win, the two teams will face off in a semifinal game.

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.