WATERTOWN-St. Thomas More won its fifth straight Class A girls state tournament championship Saturday, outlasting Madison 54-41 at the Watertown Civic Arena. The Cavaliers led by just three points going to the final quarter, but outscored the Bulldogs 15-5 in the final 8 minutes.
STM (23-3) picked up a huge game from senior forward Aislinn Duffy, who scored 26 points and pulled in six rebounds. Kayla Jacobson and Alex Kandolin each scored eight points, as St. Thomas More was 41 percent shooting in the game, made 11-of-12 free throws and had just eight turnovers.
For Madison, Jessi Giles had 15 points, while Olivia Rud had nine points. The Bulldogs (15-11) finished at 39 percent shooting, with a 26-20 rebounding edge and had 17 turnovers.
STM becomes the third girls program in state history to win five straight state championships, joining Armour (1983-87) and Sioux Falls Roosevelt (1997-2001).
STM 16 23 39 54
ADVERTISEMENT
M 11 20 36 41
Aberdeen Roncalli 42, Belle Fourche 30
WATERTOWN-Aberdeen Roncalli closed out its season with a victory in the Class A consolation final, taking fifth place on the strength of a 17-5 fourth-quarter run Saturday at the Watertown Civic Arena.
Mariah Winegar had nine points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers (21-4), while teammate Grace Imbery had nine points and eight rebounds. Aberdeen Roncalli shot 29 percent for the game but outscored Belle Fourche 25-12 in the second half. Roncalli also was 17-for-22 on free-throw tries, as well.
Mandee Williamson had 14 points to lead the Broncs (22-3), who entered the tournament as the top seed. Taylor Hanson added six points for Belle Fourche-which led 18-17 at halftime-but shot 27 percent for the game, including 19 percent in the second half. Roncalli held a 31-21 edge in rebounding, as well.
AR 6 17 25 42
BF 14 18 25 30
Vermillion 76, Crow Creek 54
ADVERTISEMENT
WATERTOWN-A huge edge in offensive rebounds helped Vermillion take seventh place at the Class A state girls basketball tournament at the Civic Arena Saturday.
Vermillion (20-6) outrebounded Crow Creek 48-18 in the game, including grabbing 20 offensive rebounds. Kasey Herbster had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Haleigh Melstad had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Tanagers' win. Lexi Plitzuweit and Madison Martinez each scored 10 points, with Martinez adding nine rebounds and Kasey Jensen tallied 11 rebounds. Vermillion was 19-for-43 from the free-throw line in the win.
For the Chieftains (17-7), Sarah Hunter scored 13 points, while Haylee Langdeau and Marveen Ross each scored 11 points, with Ross tallying five assists.
V 16 39 56 76
CC 9 23 38 54
Class B
Warner 54, Sully Buttes 44
ABERDEEN-A big second-quarter lifted Warner past Sully Buttes for a Monarchs victory in the Class B fifth-place game Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Warner (22-4) was paced by Haylee Hanson's 21 points, while Laurie Rogers had 11 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Ashley Fischbach finished with 10 points, as well.
Sully Buttes (23-3) shot 31 percent for the game, with Rachel Guthmiller leading the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Lauren Wittler had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Marinda Archer had 10 points for the Chargers.
SB 11 20 32 44
W 9 29 39 54
Tournament honors
Class A
All-tournament team (as selected by the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association): Aislinn Duffy, St. Thomas More; Jayden Bies, St. Thomas More; Klaire Kirsch, St. Thomas More; Olivia Rud, Madison; Jessi Giles, Madison; Madison Koepsell, McCook Central/Montrose; Natalie Gottlob, McCook Central/Montrose; Ashlyn Macdonald, West Central; Kali Nelson, West Central; Mariah Winegar, Aberdeen Roncalli; Mandee Williamson, Belle Fourche; Haleigh Melstad, Vermillion.
Spirit of Su: Grace Imbery, Aberdeen Roncalli
Spirit of Six: Madison
Class B
All-tournament team (as selected by the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association): Abby Strait, Castlewood; Alayna Benike, Castlewood; Regan Benike, Castlewood; Jada Campbell, Hanson; Megan Guericke, Hanson; Mattilynn Reiner, Tripp-Delmont/Armour; Erica Koster, Tripp-Delmont/Armour; Karly Gustafson, Ethan; Haylee Hanson, Warner; Rachel Guthmiller, Sully Buttes; Kaillyn Groves, Faith; Lauren Sees, Avon.
Spirit of Su: Regan Benike, Castlewood.
Spirit of Six: Tripp-Delmont/Armour
