Hanson falls to De Smet in semifinals of state B tourney 47-36

HURON — Hanson’s dream of a first-ever state title ended Friday.

The Beavers fell to second-seeded De Smet 47-36 at the Class B state girls’ basketball tournament at Huron Arena.

The Hanson offense could never get on track, while De Smet used a patient offense from the start.

The Bulldogs led 8-6 in the first quarter and got a three-point play from Amanda Poppen and a basket from Shelace Albert to increase their lead to 13-6 and then went on to a 15-8 lead after the first period.Things grew worse for the Beavers in the second quarter. Hanson’s Kelli Wenande hit a 3-pointer to narrow the De Smet lead to 17-11, but the Hanson offense went cold while the Bulldog offense went on a 9-4 run to close out the first half for a 26-15 lead.

The difference in the first half was De Smet shooting 56 percent from the floor, while Hanson shot a cool 38 percent.

Hanson slowly tried to get into the game in the third quarter, cutting the Bulldog lead to 30-21, but De Smet answered with a 6-2 run and 36-23 lead after three periods.

Albrecht hit a three-point shot to open the final period and the Beavers didn’t recover.

For Hanson coach Jim Bridge, it was giving credit where credit was due.

“(De Smet) played pretty aggressive defense with a lot of pressure, which disrupted us and we just didn’t get into a flow,” Bridge said. “That pressure caused us to become impatient and we hadn’t been used to that. But you have to give them credit. They played well and they hit their shots when they had to. They just outplayed us tonight.”

Kynedi Cheeseman was the only scorer in double figures for Hanson with 10 points.

The Beavers (22-3) were 14-of-35 for 40 percent from the floor and 7-of-14 for 50 percent from the free-throw line. Hanson held a 22-21 rebounding advantage over De Smet and the Beavers committed 15 turnovers.

“It’s been a long time coming to play really well offensively, and we finally got to that point,” said De Smet coach Doug Osthus. “Our defense is what we’re all about and we played at a higher notch tonight then I’ve ever seen.”

Poppen led the Bulldogs with 13 points, followed by Grayson Gruenhagen with 12 points.

De Smet (24-1) made 18 of 33 field goals for 55 percent and 8 of 12 free throws for 67 percent. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 14 times.

De Smet takes on Warner in the championship tonight, while Hanson will play Sully Buttes for third place at 6 p.m.

DE SMET 47, HANSON 36

HANSON (22-3): Dodd 1-1 0-0 2, Ke.Cheeseman 2-7 0-1 4, Doyle 0-1 0-0 0, Wenande 2-3 0-0 5, Marsh 3-7 0-0 6, Graham 2-6 1-1 5, Dey 1-1 0-0 2, Kayser 0-1 2-2 2, Ky.Cheeseman 3-8 4-10 10. Totals: 14-35 7-14 36.

DE SMET (24-1): Albrecht 1-2 1-2 3, Pommer 1-1 0-0 3, Schoenfelder3-5 1-1 7, Gruenhagen 4-6 2-2 12, Osthus 3-9 3-5 9, Aughenbaugh 0-1 0-0 0, Poppen 6-9 1-2 13. Totals: 18-33 8-12 47.

Hanson 8 15 25 36

De Smet 15 26 36 47

3-pointers: Hanson 1-5 (Ke.Cheeseman 0-1, Wenande 1-2, Ky.Cheeseman 0-2), De Smet 3-8 (Pommer 1-1, Schoenfelder 0-1, Gruenhagen 2-3, Osthus 0-2, Aughenbaugh 0-1). Rebounds: Hanson 22 (Marsh 4), De Smet 21 (Osthus 5, Poppen 5). Assists: Hanson 7 (Graham 2, Kayser 2), DeSmet 13 (Osthus 4). Total fouls: Hanson 15, De Smet 17. Fouled out: None.

Tags: state girls basketball, sports, updates, alexandria