Sully Buttes beats Sanborn Central/Woonsocket at Class B

HURON — Sanborn Central/Woonsocket was able to pick up a late, come-from-behind victory during regions to qualify for state.

By halftime of their first-round Class B state tournament game against Sully Buttes Thursday at Huron Arena, the Blackhawks were trailing again.

“We kept telling our girls we need to keep battling and work our way back,” said Sanborn Central/Woonsocket coach Tim McCain, whose team trailed by seven at half. “We weren’t going to get it back all in one shot.”

Despite making a run and pulling within one bucket with 2:31 left to play, Sanborn Central/Woonsocket lost to Sully Buttes 55-48. The Blackhawks, who took fourth at last year’s state tournament, picked up their second loss of the season. They qualified for the state tournament with a region win over Mitchell Christian last week, a game they trailed by seven at half. Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (22-2) takes on Timber Lake at noon today in the consolation semifinals.

Sully Buttes, seeded fifth, went on an 18-2 run that started with four minutes to play in the first half and spanned into the third quarter. The fourth-seeded Blackhawks had their last lead with 4:49 to go in the second quarter at 23-18.

“All the things we worked on that we knew they were going to do, we didn’t do a good job starting the game,” Chargers coach Mark Senftner said. “We didn’t put ourselves in a good position.”

Shelby Selland had seven points and Myah Selland had five to give their team a five-point edge to help the Blackhawks hold the lead before the Chargers went on their big run.

From the four-minute mark in the second quarter until halftime, Sully Buttes scored 14 points, nine on free throws, for a 32-25 lead at the break. The Chargers also scored the first two baskets of the second half and led by 11 before the impressive run slowed down.

The Chargers led by 10 headed into the fourth quarter, when the Blackhawks rallied.

Sanborn Central/Woonsocket scored the first seven points of the final quarter and pulled within 43-40 on Myah Selland’s swooping layup from under the basket. The Chargers had a four-minute scoring drought.

“We’ve done that before,” Senftner said. “They were going to do anything they could to get back in the game.”

Sully Buttes pulled back ahead by seven with four straight points from Karlea Stahl, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

But Morgan Selland hit a 3-pointer for the Blackhawks and Shelby Selland connected on a layup to keep the Blackhawks’ hopes alive with 2:31 to go. From there, Sully Buttes hit eight of 10 free throws, including four from eighth-grader Chloe Lamb, to keep the Blackhawks at arm’s length.

Myah Selland finished with 13 points to lead Sanborn Central/Woonsocket. Rachel Selland had 11 points and seven rebounds and Shelby Selland finished with nine points. The Blackhawks were 14-of-29 from the field but had 23 turnovers to the Chargers’ 14, a key stat, McCain said.

“They did a good job of getting down and double-teaming and getting into some of the passing lanes,” McCain said.

Remi Wientjes had a game-high 18 points for Sully Buttes, which was 12-of-34 from the field and knocked down 29 of its 40 free throws. Sully Buttes (21-3) advances to play top-seeded Warner in today’s semifinals.

SULLY BUTTES 55,

SANBORN CENTRAL/WOONSOCKET 48

SULLY BUTTES (21-3): Nelson 1-3 2-2 4, R. Wientjes 6-10 5-6 18, D. Lamb 0-1 1-2 1, Chambers 0-1 0-0 0, R. Wientjes 2-8 0-1 5, C. Lamb 1-2 5-1- 7, Stahl 2-5 12-15 16, Stier 0-4 4-4 4. Totals: 12-34 29-40 55.

SC-W (22-2): Moore 2-4 0-0 4, M. Weber 3-6 1-2 8, M. Selland 1-4 0-0 3, R. Selland 4-5 3-9 11, S. Selland 1-3 7-9 9, M. Selland 3-6 7-8 13. Totals: 14-28 18-28 48.

Sully Buttes 13 32 43 55

Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 15 25 33 48

Tags: state girls basketball, sports, woonsocket, artesian, letcher, updates