HS GBB: GF Red River Prepares for State Title Defense

ROUGHRIDERS WON THE CLASS A GBB STATE TITLE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2005 IN 2022-23.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR)–Last season the Grand Forks Red River girls basketball team won their first state title since 2005. This season they look to run it back. The Roughriders owned the top scoring defense and a top-5 scoring offense in the EDC a season ago. They proceeded to roll through the state tournament as the 4-seed out of the East to capture the state title.

Returning to the team this season is Jocelyn Schiller, or “Schrill the thrill’ as we call her. Schiller scored a state championship game record 34 points en route to the Roughriders win last March. She and head coach Kent Ripplinger understand last year is over and they hope to replicate their success in the new year.

“Last year was last year,” said Ripplinger. “This year is a new season. I think the kids are excited about it. Hopefully they would have been excited if we would not have won it last year. But its a new year, new team. They are going to go out there and play and try to be the best team they can be this year and we will see where it ends up.”

“I mean, the goals are pretty similar,” said Schiller. “I think we really want to get back to where we were at the end of the year. I’ve been working hard all off season, and I think all [my teammates] have too, so, I just think we are going to out there and play how we do and the numbers are just going to happen. If you look at [the banner on the wall], obviously its a cool thing, but we know that was last season. This is this season and we want it to happen again, so we are going to work hard and try to get there.”

The No.2 ranked Roughriders open their season Tuesday, December 5 against the No. 1 ranked Minot Majettes in the Magic City. Tip off set for 6 P.M.