MITCHELL — In the finale of the Hanson Classic, Class A No. 1-ranked Flandreau and Class B No. 2-ranked Corsica-Stickney took center stage.
After a hard-fought first half by both teams, Corsica-Stickney separated itself in the third quarter making three straight 3-pointers and back-to-back layups to take a 13-point lead heading into the fourth.
The Jaguars held Flandreau to 9-of-35 shooting in the second half to beat the Fliers 58-47 on Saturday at the Corn Palace.
“We’ve been preaching defense lately, to just step up on shots and communicate more and that’s what we did to get this win,” said Corsica-Stickney head coach Lorisa Broughton.
Despite Corsica-Stickney (9-2) committing 16 turnovers, the Jaguars held Flandreau to the fewest amount of points they’ve scored all season. Flandreau shot 16-of-61 from the field and only made four of its 16 3-point attempts.
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While Flandreau (6-1) was struggling to score offensively, Corsica-Stickney’s three forwards made at least 50 percent of their shot attempts and had at least 11 points. Rachel Gerlach led the Jaguars with 17 points as she went 6-for-10 from the field and hit three 3-pointers.
Casey Tolsma had 16 points, making eight of her 11 shots and Avery Broughton shot 50 percent from the field as she scored 11 points, snatched 12 rebounds and dished out four assists.
“Offensively, we’ve always been pretty balanced,” Lorisa Broughton said. “We have a lot of girls that can score, but our ball movement has been stagnant the past few games. We’ve been working on being more disciplined, making sure we get touches inside and we did a better job of that tonight.”
Corsica-Stickney had 18 assists as a team to win its third game in a row. Morgan Clites led the Jaguars in assists with nine and also had six points. Payton DeLange had eight points as well in the win.
For Flandreau, Lizzie Pavlis and Claire Sheppard had 15 points each while Sheppard also added 10 rebounds. Maria Parsley had 11 points and seven rebounds while Bella Pavlis made two of the team’s four 3-pointers to finish with six points and three assists.
Corsica-Stickney has faced six opponents this season with winning records. Lorisa Broughton said dating back to last season, the Jaguars have overcome multiple obstacles and have continued to shine in big moments.
“It seems like we have had one thing after another for the past three years and our girls are just battle tested,” Lorisa Broughton said. “They’ve been in a lot of big games like this and they handled it well and I’m proud of the way we’re closing games out.”
Corsica-Stickney travels to undefeated Andes Central/Dakota Christian on Jan 18. while Flandreau hosts Deuel on Jan. 18.
