When the Aberdeen Central girls’ basketball program walked out of the facility last Friday after falling to Sioux Falls Jefferson in the regular season finale, there was no rearview mirror waiting on the bus. No moving on, no on to the next game.

Head coach Paiton Burckhard wanted that one to sting. For her squad to feel the anger of a loss and use it as motivation.

“That’s the mentality we’ve been going by,” Burckhard said. “Just having a little bit of anger in you. You should be mad.”

That’s because the Golden Eagles have, frankly, a golden opportunity to exact revenge. Central will host none other than Jefferson at 6 tonight in a SoDak 16 contest with a state tournament berth hanging in the balance.

“As much as that one stung and as much as I want the girls to keep that feeling with them, I almost would rather be in a position where … we have that little extra edge,” Burckhard said. “You got lucky, and now it’s our turn and you’re coming up to our home and we are that much more ready for you than we were a week ago.”

Burckhard said the past week of practice has reflected that mentality.

“You can definitely feel that edge in practice,” she said.

Still, playing solely on anger won’t fuel victory in and of itself. The Golden Eagles have to stay true to the things that brought them success throughout the season.

Central relies heavily on its interior duo of Taryn Hermansen and Lauryn Burckhard, but the Golden Eagles are at their best when contributions come from up and down the lineup.

“You know Taryn and Lauryn are going to do what they do game in and game out,” Burckhard said. “But we have a lot of other girls, and when they play well and we play together, that is when we play really good basketball and that is when we are really hard to beat. And they know that. They know that when everyone is touching the ball and everyone is getting their shots and knocking them down, one, it’s more fun to play with that and more fun to watch. And two, that’s when we play our best basketball and that’s a team that deserves to be at state.”

The Golden Eagles are expecting a sizeable home crowd in attendance to watch the Golden Eagles vie for their first state tournament berth since 2022. Burckhard, herself a former state champion with the Golden Eagles, is looking forward to the opportunity.

“It’s going to be a really fun environment, and I’m excited for these girls to feel that and to feel the support,” she said.