Lincoln sweeps Watertown, one bent rim and other Tuesday hoops

Roger Merriam, Watertown Public Opinion
·8 min read
Watertown's Miranda Falconer (14) protects the ball against Sioux Falls Lincoln's Ciara Velasquez during their high school girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in the Watertown Civic Arena.
Watertown's Miranda Falconer (14) protects the ball against Sioux Falls Lincoln's Ciara Velasquez during their high school girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in the Watertown Civic Arena.

Sioux Falls Lincoln's girls and boys each posted high school basketball wins over Watertown that provided some exciting twists on Tuesday.

In the girls' game in the Civic Arena, Lincoln used a 17-6 surge in the fourth quarter to rally for a 53-50 win over Watertown. Second-rated Class AA Lincoln notched a 74-60 win at home in a game that had to be moved to Lincoln's old gym when 7-foot-1 junior JT Rock bent the rim on a dunk in the second quarter.

The two girls' teams went back and forth all game. They were tied at 16 after one quarter and at 25 at halftime before Watertown pulled ahead with a 19-11 spurt in the third quarter.

Lincoln answered and snapped a 46-46 tie on Kierra Lubovich's field goal with 2:50 left. Both teams had plenty of chances down the stretch. Lincoln's Addie Fawcett made two free throws with 19.5 seconds remaining to put the Pats ahead 52-48. Maddy Rohde countered for Watertown with a field goal with 11.9 seconds left. Each team missed two free throws in the final 2.6 seconds and Lincoln held on.

Lubovich finished with 19 points, Mariah Siem 15 and Fawcett 10 for Lincoln (5-8), which snapped a four-game losing streak by shooting 57 percent (20 of 35) from the field.

Jaida Young notched 12 points and six assists and Rohde and Emery Thury each 10 points for Watertown (7-6), which made 21 of 42 field-goal attempts for 50 percent.

Watertown's boys (5-8) had a four-game winning streak snapped at Lincoln, which improved to 11-1 with its ninth-straight win. The Arrows trailed only 20-14 after one quarter before Lincoln gained some more breathing room with a 19-11 surge in the eventful second quarter.

Rock, an Iowa State University commit, collected 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists to along with the bent rim. Tate Schafer contributed 11 points and Eli Olson nine for the Patriots, who shot 53 percent (31 of 59) from the field.

Caden Beauchamp drained 10-of-13 field-goal attempts and scored 25 points for the Arrows. Jake Olson added 16. Dylon Rawdon pitched in with five rebounds and four assists, Kohen Kranz five points and five rebounds and Will Engstrom five points. Watertown shot 47 percent (23 of 49) from the field.

The Watertown teams take on Sioux Falls Washington on Friday at 7 p.m. The boys host the Warriors in the Civic Arena and the girls visit second-rated Washington.

Other Girls Basketball

Aberdeen Central 51, Yankton 35: Taryn Hermansen (18 points) and Grace Kuch (13 points) led the Golden Eagles to the Eastern South Dakota Conference win. Aberdeen Central (4-6) hosts Harrisburg on Friday. Macy Drotzmann had nine points for Yankton.

Castlewood 67, Waubay-Summit 31: Maddie Horn's 23 points and Mackenzie Everson's 21 powered Castlewood to victory. Presley Knecht added seven. Faith Larson scored 17 and Eva Benike eight for Waubay-Summit.

North Central 42, Aberdeen Christian 35: Brittney Frickson produced 14 points and Ella Batie nine to go along with seven rebounds to lead North Central. Chloe Bosma finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for Aberdeen Christian.

Watertown's Kendall Paulson (35) defends against Sioux Falls Lincoln's Kierra Lubovich during their high school girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in the Watertown Civic Arena.
Watertown's Kendall Paulson (35) defends against Sioux Falls Lincoln's Kierra Lubovich during their high school girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in the Watertown Civic Arena.

Deubrook Area 65, Madison 38: The Dolphins rolled with 15 points and seven rebounds from Skyla Petersen, 14 points from Brooke Koppatschek and 12 points and nine rebounds from Kadence Bowne. Zoey Gerry had 17 points and Audrey Nelson 6 for Madison, which had only three players score.

Warner 48, Faulkton Area 40: Ava Nilsson's 14 points and 14 rebounds guided Warner to the Lake Region Conference win. Sophia Hoeft added nine points and Kamryn Anderson and Kyra Marcuson each seven. Anderson also grabbed seven rebounds. Addison Melius and Paislee Martinmaas each scored 11 points for Faulkton Area. Melius also snared 19 rebounds.

Wessington Springs 71, Iroquois-Lake Preston 65 OT: Wessington Springs prevailed in overtime with 24 points from Kate Havlik, 15 from Kirstie Munsen and 12 each from Carissa Scheel and Avery Orth. Adison Moore produced 25 points, Anna Decker seven rebounds and Hadlee Holt 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Highmore-Harrold 55, Sunshine Bible Academy 23: Brooke Palmer's 20-point, six-rebound performance led Highmore-Harrold. Sadie Konechne notched eight rebounds and eight points for SBA.

Leola-Frederick Area 40, Ipswich 17: Sofia Losure notched 10 points and Chloe Arneson nine to lead LFA to the Lake Region Conference win. Gabby Wald had five points for Ipswich.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 60, Canby 49 (Minn.): Kortney Leppke tallied 16 points and nine rebounds, Brynn Kockelman nine points and AshleeAnn Frazeur nine points, 11 rebounds and five assists for Canby.

Scores: James Valley Christian 52, Hitchcock-Tulare 19; Sisseton 56, Britton-Hecla 19; Webster Area 49, Wilmot 41; Herreid-Selby Area 58, Faith 49; Estelline-Hendricks 56, Waverly-South Shore 17; Elkton-Lake Benton 56, Deuel 30; Potter County 56, Redfield 47; Sargent County (N.D.) 82, Tri-State 52; Oakes 55, Barnes County North 13 (N.D.); and Minneota 64, Ortonvile 20 (Minn.). No other details were reported.

Watertown's Emery Thury attempts to corral the ball while being guard by Sioux Falls Lincoln's Charity Lemier during their high school girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in the Watertown Civic Arena.
Watertown's Emery Thury attempts to corral the ball while being guard by Sioux Falls Lincoln's Charity Lemier during their high school girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in the Watertown Civic Arena.

Other Boys Basketball

Yankton 59, Aberdeen Central 47: Drew Ryken poured in 25 points, Rugby Ryken 11and Mac Ryken and Michael Mors each 10 to lead Yankton (6-4) to the Eastern South Dakota Conference win. Cody Oswald grabbed nine rebounds. Carter Dingman recorded 17 points, Karson Carda 10 and Spencer Barr eight for the Golden Eagles (3-7), who visit Harrisburg on Friday.

Aberdeen Christian 73, North Central 30: Ethan Russell scored 18 points for the top-rated Class B Knights (13-0), who also got 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Malek Wieker; eight points from Andrew Brennan; and eight points and five rebounds from Ethan Russell. Dawson Walz and Cole Bukaske paced North Central with 10 and nine points, respectively.

Castlewood 70, Waubay-Summit 43: Castlewood improved to 12-3 by getting 16 points from Lane Tvedt, 14 from Joe Decker, 13 from Bryon Laue, eight from Jackson Schofield and seven from Booker Schooley. Laue also snared eight rebounds. Waubay-Summit (11-2) received 13 points and six rebounds from Damon Opdahl, 12 points from Jonathan Johnston and 10 points from Jackson Wohlleber.

Mobridge-Pollock 60, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 48: Jackson Eisemann (17 points), Michael Wald (14 points) and Kobe Goodshield (13 points) sparked Mobridge-Pollock. Tigh Garreau collected 15 points for CEB.

Highmore-Harrold 57, Sunshine Bible Academy 28: Maxon Knox led Highmore-Harrold with 14 points and seven rebounds. Carson Stephenson and Treyton Knox each contributed eight points. Nolan Triebwasser (11 points, seven rebounds) and Daniel Gerbracht (eight points, seven rebounds) paced SBA.

Groton Area 74, Langford Area 22: Groton Area rolled with 13 points apiece from Lane Tietz and Cole Simon, 12 from Teylor Diegel and 10 from Jacob Zak. Kassen Keough had 16 points and Jesse Keough six points and four assists for Langford Area.

Aberdeen Roncalli 56, Potter County 32: Roncalli won with 15 points from Maddox Miller, 14 from Jayden Munroe, 11 from Darwin Gambler and nine from Caden Shelton. Ryker Falkenhagen and Alex Tanner paced PC with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Warner 53, Faulkton Area 38: Brodey Sauerwein tallied 16 points, Hunter Cramer 11 and Zachary Evans eight for Warner in the Lake Region Conference game. All three players also collected eight rebounds. Layne Cotton finished with 16 points and Roman DiMaria 11 for Faulkton Area.

Wessington Springs 60, Iroquois-Lake Preston 46: Blake Larson poured in 27 points to lead Wessington Springs. Parker Graff and Ryder Michalek each contributed 11. Logan Peskey had 29 points and five rebounds, Toby Arbeiter eight points and Riley Casper four rebounds and four steals for ILP.

Estelline-Hendricks 73, Waverly-South Shore 56: The Redhawks won by getting 22 points from Joe McAninch, 18 from Braxton Saathoff and 13 from Wyat James. Owen Gilmour, Landon Maag and Dan Dalton recorded 21, 14 and 10 points for Wavelry-South Shore, respectively.

Britton-Hecla 39, Sisseton 33: BoDell Davidson had 11 points, Gage Storley eight points and Ashton Mills seven points and nine rebounds in the Northeast Conference game. Carter Stickland scored 10 points and Dean Shultz seven for Sisseton, which also got 14 rebounds from Colter Hanson and five steals from Ethan DeSpiegler.

Scores: James Valley Christian 68, Hitchcock-Tulare 34; Webster Area 65, Wilmot 47; Tiospa Zina 79, Hankinson (N.D.) 73; Ellendale 74, Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier 70 (N.D.), LaMoure/Litchville-Marion 50, Oakes 36 (N.D.); Dawson-Boyd 71, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 34 (Minn.); Lac qui Parle Valley 92, Renville County West (Minn.) 72; and Canby 68, Yellow Medicine East 48 (Minn.). No other details were reported.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Arrows' boys game at Lincoln moved to another gym because of broken rim.