Big third-quarter run lifts Rebels past MCHS

Sanborn Central trailed by one at halftime, but used a trapping defense to force Mitchell into numerous third-quarter turnovers and pull away for a 47-31 win over Mitchell Christian Monday in a high school girls’ basketball game in Mitchell.

Mackenzie Van Laecken’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave Mitchell Christian a 17-16 halftime lead, and her three with 6:48 left in the third quarter extended MCHS’s lead to 23-20.

But Mitchell Christian didn’t score again until Van Laecken buried another three early in the fourth quarter, and Sanborn Central used a 17-0 run over that span of 7:37 to pull away and take a 37-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“Our third quarter just seems to be our weakest quarter,” Mitchell Christian coach Jackie Van Laecken said. “We just have to work on coming out of halftime and just taking care of the ball and getting our shots to fall.”

Rachelle Moore hit four 3-pointers for Sanborn Central, including two in a row in the first quarter that helped the Rebels take an early 10-4 lead. Her next two came as part of the big third-quarter run, but it was the Rebels’ inside attack that stood out after halftime. Besides Moore’s 3-pointers, all four of Sanborn Central’s baskets during the big run came in the paint, and two of them came on the offensive boards, where Sanborn Central had a big advantage in the game.

“We had enough good looks in the first half, so we just started stressing to the girls that they had to finish around the basket and that would open things up,” Sanborn Central coach Tim McCain said. “In the first half, we knocked some down from the outside with Rachelle Moore, but we just didn’t convert on the inside. We finally got going a little bit in the second half.”

While the Rebels exerted themselves in the paint in the second half, Mitchell Christian lived from the outside all night long. The Eagles made only three 2-point field goals while sinking seven from behind the arc. Mackenzie Van Laecken scored all 15 of her team-high points on 3-pointers.

“Sanborn knows us quite well and they knew what to key on,” Van Leacken said. “We knew coming in that they would be pressuring the ball and trying to close out things, and they did a good job of it.”

Moore finished with a team-high 16 points for the Rebels and added eight rebounds, while Tatem Kingsbury had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Shanda Dean had five assists and six rebounds.

Mitchell Christian got a team-high 10 rebounds from Mariah Nelson and seven from Mackenzie Van Laecken. Alexa Van Laecken had four assists.

Mitchell Christian is now 1-3 and will host Tripp-Delmont/Armour on Jan. 7. Sanborn Central is 3-2 and will play tonight at Wessington Springs.

Sanborn Central 47,

Mitchell Christian 31

Sanborn Central (3-2)

Tatem Kingsbury 7 1-5 15; Shanda Dean 2 0-0 4; Rachelle Moore 6 0-0 16; Karla Voorhees 2 0-0 4; Jessica Selland 1 0-0 2; Morgan Selland 2 0-0 4; Lara Brink 1 0-0 2; Kelsey McWhorter 0 0-2 0; Totals 21 1-7 47

Mitchell Christian (1-3)

Mackenzie Van Laecken 5 0-0 15; Mariah Nelson 2 0-0 4; Meghan Dixon 1 2-2 5; Alexa Van Laecken 2 2-2 7; Abby Frey 0 0-2 0; Totals 10 4-4 31

Sanborn Central 12 16 35 47

Mitchell Christian 7 17 23 31

3-Point Field Goals — SBC 4 (Moore 4); MCHS 7 (M. Van Laecken 5, Dixon, A. Van Laecken); Rebounds — SBC 34 (Kingsbury 10, Moore 8, Dean 6); MCHS 26 (Nelson 10, M. Van Laecken 7); Assists — SBC 14 (Dean 5); MCHS — 10 (A. Van Laecken 4); Steals — SBC 13 (Kingsbury 4); MCHS 6; Turnovers — SBC 16; MCHS 17.

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