MITCHELL — Bella Swedlund, a senior guard for the Winner Warriors, was among six players named to the Class A girls basketball all-state first-team roster when the teams were announced on Friday, March 25 by the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association.
The senior leader for Winner joined Rylee Rosenquist (Dakota Valley), Kami Wadsworth (Hamlin), Emilee Fox (Mount Vernon/Plankinton), Reese Ross (St. Thomas More) and Katie Vesecka (Tea Area) on the first-team list.
Swedlund, part of the Kansas Jayhawks’ incoming recruiting class, became the 29th player in South Dakota girls basketball history to score 2,000 career points in a game against Florence/Henry in January.
This is Swedlund’s third-consecutive first-team selection and her fourth overall to the Class A honor teams. She averaged 22.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game in her final season for the Warriors, leading them to a 14-9 record.
Dakota Valley’s Rylee Rosenquist was named the Class A player of the year, earning all-state honors for the third consecutive year after she led the Panthers to a 20-6 record and a fifth-place finish at the Class A state tournament.
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Rosenquist, a senior and a Dakota Wesleyan basketball commit, led Class A with 23 points per game along with 10.1 rebounds per contest and 72 total steals.
Emilee Fox, a sophomore for the Mount Vernon/Plankinton squad, earned first-team honors for the second consecutive year and all-state honors for the third consecutive year after being named to the second-team as an eighth-grader.
Fox averaged 19 points for the Titans, leading MVP to a 17-6 overall record before falling to Rosenquist and Dakota Valley in the SoDak 16. She also finished the season with 70 steals, trailing only Rosenquist and Florence/Henry’s Caylin Kelly for the Class A lead.
Reese Ross earned all-state honors for the first time in her career, following in the footsteps of former teammate and 2021 Class A player of the year Haleigh Timmer as St. Thomas More players on the first-team roster.
Ross averaged 18.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Cavaliers, the eventual 2022 Class A champions. She saved her best for the state tournament, eventually being named to the Class A all-tournament team after averaging 22.7 points over the three-game championship run.
Rounding out the first-team list, Tea Area sophomore Katie Vesecka makes her second-consecutive all-state team and her first appearance on the first-team roster after leading the Titans to a 12-9 record. Vesecka, an SDSU commit, averaged 19.1 points and eight rebounds per game.
Second team selections were headlined by Wagner's Emma Yost, who led the Red Raiders to the Class A state tournament with an effort of 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Other second-team members included West Central guard Rylee Haldeman, Flandreau sophomore guard/forward Claire Sheppard, Rapid City Christian junior guard Olivia Kieffer, Red Cloud senior guard Stevi Fallis and Florence/Henry sophomore center Caylin Kelly.
Chamberlain's Mya Knippling was picked to the Class A third team. The 6-foot-1 senior Cubs center averaged 18.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, plus had 59 blocks for the season. Other third-team honorees included Sioux Falls Christian senior center Kylah vanDonkersgoed, Todd County junior center Bailey White hat and senior guards Tobi Carlow (Lakota Tech), Addy Kramer (West Central) and Allison Richards (Red Cloud).
