Sophomore guard Sawyer Stoebner dominated the scorebook, but it was a pair of Addie Siemsen free throws — the eighth-grader’s second and third points of the afternoon — that lifted the Mitchell High School girls basketball team to its first win of the season.
Seimsen calmly sank two free throws with 11 seconds remaining, as the Kernels defeated Campbell County (Wyo.), 50-49, during the Hoop City Classic on Wednesday afternoon at the Corn Palace.
“The girls needed that,” said coach Cole Knippling. “If we would’ve lost, that would’ve been pretty heartbreaking because they controlled the game. ... You have to feel that victory and sense of winning, so this was huge in terms of confidence. They know they can do it.”
But for much of the night, Stoebner’s offensive explosion was what the Kernels required.
Mitchell surged out to a 13-3 lead early on, with all 13 points coming from Stoebner attacking the basket — six layups and one free throw. Campbell County fought its way back into the contest, trailing just 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.
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The Kernels maintained the lead in the second quarter much due to Stoebner’s efforts. The sophomore guard had set a new career-high point total by halftime with 21, as Mitchell grew the lead back to double digits by the break.
Twice in the third quarter, Campbell County cut the lead to four points — first at 30-26, then again at 34-30 — but it wasn’t until the final sequence of the period that the game reached its narrowest margin since the third quarter. Off a steal in the Mitchell backcourt, the Camels connected on an off-balance buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put the score at 37-35 with eight minutes to play.
At the 4:56 mark of the fourth quarter, Stoebner picked up her fifth personal foul, exiting the game with 28 points. Shortly after, Campbell County made another push. A 3-pointer by Alexis Reimer brought the score to 46-45 with 2 1/2 minutes to play and a pair of layups over the next minute pushed the Camels into the lead at 49-47.
Trailing 48-49 late, Mitchell eighth-grader Addie Siemsen was fouled and put at the free-throw line for a pair. She made both, giving the Kernels a one-point edge. A pair of Camel shot attempts were off the mark on their final possession, securing Mitchell’s first win of the campaign.
“Before the game, they said, 'This is the one, we're going to get it done,'” Knippling said. “For that to actually happen is pretty great.”
Stoebner added 10 rebounds and nine steals for a near triple-double, while Taylor Giblin chipped in eight points and Kaitlyn Christensen had five points and eight rebounds.
The Kernels host Yankton in a girls-boys doubleheader on Jan. 7.
Mitchell 50, Campbell County 49
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Mitchell (1-4): Sawyer Stoebner 10-17 7-10 28, Taylor Giblin 1-3 6-9 8, Kaitlyn Christensen 0-2 5-7 5, Lauren Van Overschelde 1-9 1-2 3, Addie Siemsen 0-4 3-6 3, Sarah Sebert 0-9 3-8 3, Keira Hofer 0-1 0-0 0, Delaney Degen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-46 25-42 50.
Campbell County (3-6): Field goal stats were not provided. Total 49.
CC 8 18 35 49
MHS 16 28 37 50
3-point field goals: CC: stats were not provided; M: 1-10 (Stoebner 1-2, Siemsen 0-1, Giblin 0-1, Van Overschelde 0-2, Sebert 0-4). Rebounds: M: 33 (Stoebner 10, Christensen :sunglasses:. Assists: M: 7 (Christensen 4). Steals: M: 13 (Stoebner 9). Blocks: M 1 (Stoebner 1). Turnovers: M 16.
