Kernel girls top Stevens for state berth

Coach Wes Morgan and his Mitchell girls’ basketball team weren’t stewing over their district championship loss.

They couldn’t. The Kernels needed a win Saturday over Rapid City Stevens in a Region 2AA elimination game to secure a state tournament berth for the third straight year and a chance to defend their Class AA state championship.

Behind 21 points from Kerri Young, 18 from Macy Miller and 10 from Kristin Sabers, Mitchell cruised to a 67-36 win over Stevens at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

The Kernels advance to the state tournament, which starts Thursday in Rapid City. Their first game is against Rapid City Central, a team they beat 77-38 on Dec. 14.

“We were pretty confident coming in,” said Mitchell senior guard Megan Farnham, who had five assists and helped the team to a 20-3 record headed into state. “We executed pretty well.”

Rapid City Stevens (8-15) trailed from start to finish. The Kernels, coming off a two-point loss to Aberdeen Central in the District 3AA championship, wasted little time en route to punching their ticket to state.

Stevens was within 15-10 with about 3 minutes to play in the first quarter, but Mitchell went on an 8-0 run that spanned into the second quarter for a 13-point lead. Young had 13 points before halftime and the Kernels led by 16 at the break.

Miller had 11 points in the second half and the Kernels built a 20-point lead with 1 minute left in the third quarter and never looked back.

The Kernels were 23-of-55 from the field and were 19-of-25 from the free-throw line, and Stevens was 14-of-54 from the field and 3-of-7 from the foul line.

Stevens was led by Gabby Haefs’ 14 points and six rebounds and Marissa Hirchert had seven points and six rebounds.

If Mitchell, the third seed at state, can get past Rapid City Central in the first round, it could meet up against Sioux Falls Washington in the semifinals Friday. Washington, the only other team beside Aberdeen to beat the Kernels this year, plays Sioux Falls O’Gorman in the first round.

MITCHELL 67,

RAPID CITY STEVENS 36

MHS (20-3)

Megan Farnham 1-2 2-2 4, Macy Miller 7-16 3-3 18, Courtney Moore 1-4 3-6 5, Kerri Young 7-16 6-6 21, Kristin Sabers 4-11 2-3 10, Berkley Reitveld 0-0 0-0 0, Julie Knight 0-0 0-0 0, Torrie Michels 1-1 0-0 2, Emma Schmidt 0-0 2-2 2, Katelyn Held 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Volesky 2-3 0-1 4, Shelly Iburg 0-1 1-2 1, Ashley Larson 0-1 0-0 0, Kaley Nolz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-55 19-25 67.

RCS (8-15)

Taylor Molstad 1-4 0-0 2, Kendra LaCroix 1-7 0-2 2, Shelby Shorb 1-9 0-0 2, Gabby Haefs 4-14 2-2 14, Marissa Hirchert 3-5 1-1 7, Virginia Vifquain 1-3 0-0 3, Madi Hay 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Jennie Scharn 0-1 0-0 0, Ally Hilliland 1-3 0-0 2, Courtney Buck 2-7 0-2 4, Cassi Steele 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-54 3-7 36.

MHS 21 36 51 67

RCS 10 20 27 36

3-point goals: MHS 2-6 (Miller, Young), RCS 5-22 (Haefs 4, Vifquain). Rebounds: MHS 43 (Moore 7), RCS 31 (Haefs 6, Hirchert 6). Assists: MHS 11 (Farnham 5), RCS 4 (Molstad 2). Turnovers: MHS 13, RCS 19. Total fouls: MHS 13, RCS 17. Technical fouls: None. Fouled out: None.

Tags: sports, basketball, kernels, updates