SoDak 16 girls basketball roundup for March 2, plus state tournament matchups at a glance

CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. — Ninth-seeded Jones County clinched its first Class B state tournament appearance since 2015 with a 54-37 win over Centerville on Thursday at the Chamberlain Armory in the SoDak 16 state-qualifying round. The Coyotes led 16-3 after one quarter and made that difference stand up the remainder of the game.

Mallory Valburg, who has committed to play volleyball at Dakota Wesleyan, had a game-high 33 points on 12-for-18 shooting and a 9-for-11 night at the free throw line. Jadyn Jensen added 10 points for Jones County (18-4).

For the Tornadoes, Lillie Eide scored 13 points but Centerville finished 9-for-44 on field goal tries and 5-for-27 on 3-pointers.

Jones County will face top-seeded Wolsey-Wessington in the leadoff game at the Class B state tournament in Huron on March 9.

WINNER, S.D. — Fourth-seeded Red Cloud won an entertaining Class A SoDak 16 matchup over Garretson on Thursday night in girls basketball action, 63-58 at the Winner Armory.

The Crusaders scored 24 points in the first eight minutes but only led 35-32 at halftime, before outscoring Garretson 21-5 in the third quarter again. Red Cloud (20-2) will carry the No. 4 seed into the state tournament, where they will face region rival Lakota Tech in the first round in Watertown.

Lolo Carlow had 16 points for Red Cloud to lead the team, with Ashlan Blount scoring 14 points and Maikole Carlow scoring nine and Anjah Lamont and Victoria Good Buffalo each scoring eight points in the win.

For the Blue Dragons (15-8), Logan Bly had 23 points, including six of Garretson’s 11 3-pointers as a team. Sidney Olson scored 12 points and Kylie Christensen scored nine for Garretson, which finished 7-for-14 at the free-throw line.

• Lydia Hill scored 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting for No. 4 Sully Buttes to earn a 44-26 win over No. 13 Harding County on Thursday in Gettysburg. The Chargers led 30-10 at halftime and by as many as 23 in the third quarter. Calleigh Chicoine had 11 points for Sully Buttes, which is headed back to the Class B tourney for the first time since 2018. Harding County, which shot 25% for the game and 1-for-17 on 3-pointers, finished with six points from Claire Verhulst.  
• Top-seeded Wolsey-Wessington took care of business against Leola/Frederick, 58-23, at the Huron Arena on Thursday to assure themselves three more games in the arena next week at the Class B state tourney. Mallory Miller had a game-high 22 points and Leah Williams scored 15 points, as the Warbirds improved to 22-1 and led 33-11 at halftime. 

• Flandreau provided the surprise of the Class A SoDak 16 round, as the 12th seeded Fliers knocked off perennial state participant St. Thomas More, 47-38, in Pierre. The Cavaliers have won seven state titles since 2012 and made nine state tournaments in a row, but Flandreau broke through for its fourth state title appearance in school history.
• Lakota Tech doubled up Dupree, 68-34, at Rapid City Central to advance to the Class A state tournament. The Tatanka (19-4) outscored Dupree, 42-18 in the middle two quarters, including 26-9 in the second frame. Jodene Hunter scored a team-high 14 points for Lakota Tech, which is in the state tourney for a second straight year. 

Flandreau 47, St. Thomas More 38

Hamlin 60, Milbank 24

Lakota Tech 68, Dupree 34

Rapid City Christian 60, Miller 47

Red Cloud 63, Garretson 58

Sioux Falls Christian 61, Lennox 29

Sisseton 59, Parkston 46

Wagner 72, Tea Area 52

Castlewood 74, Timber Lake 46

Ethan 34, Corsica-Stickney 31

Howard 61, Wessington Springs 50

Jones County 54, Centerville 37

Sully Buttes 44, Harding County 26

Wall 74, Warner 64

Wolsey-Wessington 58, Leola/Frederick Area 23

Viborg-Hurley 63, Lyman 34

Thursday, March 9 at the Watertown Civic Arena

No. 1 Hamlin (22-0) vs. No. 8 Flandreau (19-4), noon

No. 4 Red Cloud (20-2) vs. No. 5 Lakota Tech (19-4), 1:45 p.m.

No. 2 Wagner (22-1) vs. No. 7 Rapid City Christian (19-4), 6 p.m.

No. 3 Sioux Falls Christian (21-2) vs. No. 6 Sisseton (19-2), 7:45 p.m.

Thursday, March 9 at the Huron Arena

No. 1 Wolsey-Wessington (21-2) vs. No. 8 Jones County (18-4), noon

No. 4 Sully Buttes (20-3) vs. No. 5 Wall (18-5), 1:45 p.m.

No. 2 Ethan (20-2) vs. No. 7 Castlewood (16-7), 6 p.m.

No. 3 Viborg-Hurley (20-3) vs. No. 6 Howard (19-4), 7:45 p.m.