The road to Wells Fargo Arena and the state tournament begins Thursday night, as the St. Edmond girls basketball squad hosts Paton-Churdan.

Tip in this Class 1A, Region 3 opener is set for 7 p.m. inside the SEHS gym.

The Gaels (6-14 overall) closed the regular season in style this past Tuesday night, besting Webster City right here, 57-50. Three players reached double figures, led by Chloe Palmer’s 16 points.

Seniors Payton Bradley and Josie Harvey combined for 25.

Palmer leads St. Edmond in scoring and assists this year, with Harvey and Bradley second and third on the team in scoring. Junior Anna Lursen averages nearly 12 rebounds per contest, including six on the offensive glass.

Paton-Churdan (1-19) comes in having lost 11 in a row, including a 62-22 setback at the hands of Woodbine last time out. Sophomores Alivya Smith and Kaliyah Minnihan lead the Rockets in scoring and rebounding.

As a team, Paton-Churdan is scoring just 24 points per contest while allowing over 50. They share just one common opponent with St. Edmond, as both lost to West Bend-Mallard.

The Rockets fell to the Wolverines, 65-32, while the Gaels lost, 54-50.

This is the first meeting between the two schools since 2020, as Paton-Churdan posted a 57-36 victory. The Rockets also won in 2019, 47-38.

St. Edmond could advance to face either River Valley (11-10) or Ar-We-Va (3-18) on Tuesday night. The other side of the region features Coon Rapids-Bayard (16-4), Glidden-Ralston (6-14) and Storm Lake St. Mary’s (0-21).

On the top side of the 1A region is third-ranked Newell-Fonda (16-4) among others.