Mitchell girls beat Watertown

WATERTOWN — Mitchell showed just why it has held the top spot in the Class AA girls basketball rankings for much of the season in its 63-41 Eastern South Dakota Conference victory over Watertown on Friday.

The top-ranked Kernels used both their size and athleticism to pull away from the smaller Arrows in the second half. With the win, Mitchell runs its record to 18-1 overall and 13-0 in the ESD. Watertown falls to 11-8 and 7-6.

“I thought we did some really good things defensively in the first half, but they just hit some tough shots,” Watertown coach Pat McClemans said. “There is nothing you can really do about that. They are a very good basketball team.”

The Arrows were able to hang right with the Kernels for most of the first half. The hot shooting of senior guard Savannah Gravatt was a big part of Watertown’s success early on.

Gravatt connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter, including one at the buzzer, and the Arrows trailed just 16-15 after one quarter. Gravatt sank her fourth 3-pointer of the game in the second quarter but Mitchell managed to widen the gap to 34-25 at the break.

“Coach McClemans has got a nice team. I knew Gravatt and (Tia) Hemiller were going to be tough,” Mitchell coach Wes Morgan said. “We just weathered the storm. They made a couple little runs but we answered each time.”

Watertown was able to stay within striking distance through the third quarter but the Kernel transition game was too much to stop. Mitchell benefited from a number of fast-break baskets, which seemed to deflate any chance the Arrows had of making a comeback.

The inside looks helped the Kernels shoot 55 percent (26 of 47) from the field for the game.

Mitchell held a 48-37 advantage heading into the final quarter before putting together a 13-1 run to secure the victory. Watertown scored just four points in the final quarter. The Arrows’ lone field goal came when Gravatt buried her fifth 3-pointer of the game.

“Watertown did a nice job of staying with us in the first half and taking us out of our game but we stayed with it and got it going in the second half,” Morgan said. “I like the way we are playing but I am not going to rest on that.”

Kerri Young poured in 24 points and collected seven rebounds and four steals to guide the Kernels. Macy Miller added 18 points and five rebounds and Kristin Sabers had 12 points.

Tia Hemiller and Gravatt each finished with 15 points to pace the Arrows, who shot 35 percent (13 of 37) for the game. Mandy Tetzlaff added five points and six rebounds.

The Arrows wrap up their regular season on Tuesday, when they host defending state champion Brookings at 7:30 p.m. in the Civic Arena.

³It is a big game for us on Tuesday. If we win, we are guaranteed the No. 2 seed and that is huge to get a first-round game at home,² said McClemans.

³We are deserving to host a game right away and hopefully the girls come out and play well against Brandon.² Mitchell is scheduled to host fourth-ranked Aberdeen Central on Tuesday to conclude its regular season.

MITCHELL 63, WATERTOWN 41

Mitchell

Megan Farnham 0-4 2-2 2, Dana Misiaszek 0-4 1-2 1, Macy Miller 9-12 0-0 18, Emma Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Krista Huber 0-1 0-0 0, Courtney Moore 2-4 0-2 4, Taylor Volesky 1-1 0-0 2, Kerri Young 10-16 3-4 24, Kristin Sabers 4-4 2-2 12. Totals 26-47 8-12 63.

Watertown

Tia Hemiller 5-12 2-4 15, Elli Stevenson 0-3 0-1 0, Abby Davis 1-4 0-0 2, Savannah Gravatt 5-10 0-0 15, Logan Kludt 0-0 0-2 0, Ashtin McClemans 2-4

0-1 4, Mandy Tetzlaff 0-4 5-8 5. Totals 13-37 7-16 41.

Mitchell 16 34 48 63

Watertown 15 25 37 41

Three-point goals ‹ Mitchell 3-5 (Sabers 2-2, Young 1-2, Farnham 0-1), Watertown 8-15 (Gravatt 5-8, Hemiller 3-4, Davis 0-1, Stevenson 0-2). Total fouls ‹ Mitchell 16, Watertown 8. Fouled out ‹ None. FG Shooting ‹ Mitchell

26-47 (55 percent), Watertown 13-37 (35 percent). Rebounds ‹ Mitchell 28 (Young 7), Watertown 20 (Tetzlaff 6). Turnovers ‹ Mitchell 10, Watertown 15.

Tags: sports, updates, basketball, kernels