Sisseton gets even and No. 1 Hamlin survives scare in State A openers

Area schools Hamlin and Sisseton provided two of the biggest highlights during the opening day of the state Class A high school girls basketball tournament on Thursday in the Watertown Civic Arena.

Top-seeded and top-rated Hamlin needed a 17-4 game-ending surge to open the day with a 42-32 win over Lake Central Conference rival Flandreau and sixth-seeded Sisseton took advantage of its first state-tournament game in 11 years by avenging a regular-season loss to third-seeded Sioux Falls Christian 58-47.

In between, fourth-seeded Red Cloud recorded its third win over the year over Lakota Tech 76-55 and second-seeded Wagner led from start to finish in a 67-47 win over Rapid City Christian.

On Friday, Flandreau takes on Lakota Tech at noon and Rapid City Christian and Sioux Falls Christian meet at 1:45 p.m. in consolation semifinals. Hamlin takes on Red Cloud in the first semifinal at 6 p.m., followed by Wagner and Sisseton at about 7:45 p.m.

Hamlin finds a way to remain unbeaten

Don't go thinking that two-time defending state runner-up Hamlin got caught looking ahead in the tourney opener. Hamlin head coach Tim Koisti didn't need Flandreau's SoDak 16 win over defending state champion St. Thomas More to know that the rematch between the Chargers and Fliers wasn't going to be easy.

Hamlin did lead 15-10 after and 22-16 at halftime, but that wasn't comfortable enough. Flandreau pulled even at 25 after three quarters and even took a 28-25 lead on Sadie Iott's 3-pointer with 6:38 left.

"I knew Flandreau was going to be good. We play them every year and it's always been tight," said Koisti. "There have been a couple of games that ended on one possession."

It didn't quite get to that point on Thursday thanks a game-tying 3 by Addie Neuendorf and five-straight points from Marissa Bawdon including a 3-pointer that put Hamlin ahead 33-28 with 3:29 left. The Chargers didn't let up and used free throws to nail down the win.

"I think we came out and we're ready to play, but it was just an early game," said Bawdon. "We really came together as a team and pulled it off."

Flandreau did a good job of trying to slow down Kami Wadsworth inside and still kept Hamlin's 3-point shooters in its sights. Wadsworth still produced 18 points to lead the Chargers (23-0). Neuendorf added 12 and Bawdon 10. Ally Abraham added nine rebounds.

Sheppard finished with eight points and six rebounds and Lizzie Pavlis six and eight for Flandreau (19-5). Lily Klein and Iott each added seven points.

"It was good for us to be able to compete and win in the first round," said Koisti. "We haven't been behind much, especially in the fourth quarter, and it was good for the girls to have that type of composure and pull through."

Sisseton settles a score with Sioux Falls Christian

Sioux Falls Christian (21-3) posted a 63-54 regular-season win over Sisseton in a game that pretty much went down to the wire. This one was much the same, although the Redmen took the lead with a 16-11 spurt in the second quarter.

Sisseton (21-2) pushed its lead into double digits early the third quarter and held on. The difference was the Redmen's size advantage and shooting. Sisseton made 21 of 42 field-goal attempts for 50 percent and Sioux Falls Christian 19 of 56 for 34 percent.

"We played really good in the first half when we played them at Madison, but our defense wasn't the best in the second half," said Sisseton's Emmalee Nielsen. "Today was really a different game. We gave 100 percent and didn't let up."

Krista Langager, a 6-foot-2 sophomore and her sister Chloe, a 6-1 junior, battled some foul trouble but still combined for 21 points and 11 rebounds (Krista 12 and 5 and Chloe nine and six). Tara Nelson added 10 points and Hannah Leverson seven.

The big key for the Redmen was Nielsen, who produced 17 points and six rebounds.

"I'm just go out and play and I'm there when they need me," said Nielsen. "I think we have something to prove. We're the underdogs and I hope everybody gets to see how good we are."

Ellie Lems led the Chargers with 20 points and seven rebounds. Maya Nelson added 10 points and Moriah Harrison seven. Peyton Poppema collected 10 rebounds.

The third time wasn't the charm for Lakota Tech

Red Cloud won their first matchup with Lakota Tech by seven points, the second one by 14 and yes, Thursday's third one by 21.

Lakota Tech (19-5) started well and led 15-14 after one quarter. Red Cloud (21-2) turned up its full-court pressure to gain a 29-28 halftime lead and put the game away with a 26-10 spurt in the third quarter.

Lakota Tech finished with 19 turnovers.

"It's a long three days of playing back-to-back so that's why we didn't press from the start," said Red Cloud's Lolo Carlow, who led all scorers in the game with 23 points.

It wasn't even just the turnovers, but really the style that seemed to get Red Cloud going.

"We like to run with the ball," she said. "We're all runners. Ashlan (Blount) is a top cross country runner and most of us do track, so we're all about running."

Maikole Carlow contributed 21 points for Red Cloud. Blount and Kennedy Fridia each chipped in with eight and Rhionna Brewer seven.

Shania Ferguson recorded 21 points and Melina Shangreaux 16 for the Tatanka, which also got seven points and seven rebounds from Shyleigh Richard.

Wagner's really good and proved it again

The Red Raiders (23-1) have kind of been sitting in Hamlin's shadow all the season, but made an early statement on Thursday night against a Rapid City Christian team that was Class B when it made its only previous state-tournament appearance in 1996.

Unfortunately for the Comets (19-5), they fell behind 12-0 and spent the rest of the night trying to catch Wagner.

A big key for Wagner was a defensive effort led by Shalayne Nagel on Rapid City Christian's senior standout Olivia Kieffer, who has scored more than 2,400 points. Kieffer did eventually get to 20 points on Thursday, but Wagner was ahead 21-7 before she scored.

"She's good, she can shoot from anywhere," Nagel said of Kieffer. "She's got quick moves so you have to really stay on here. Their other players started to score for them, so that pushed us out and let her settle in but we took care of business and that's all we can ask for."

Four players combined for 64 points for Wagner, led by freshman Ashlyn Koupal's 22 points. Emma Yost added 17, Nagel 14 and Macy Koupal 11. The Red Raiders owned the glass 39-24, getting nine rebounds from Yost and Macy Koupal and seven from Ashlyn Koupal.

Shooting also was huge. Wagner shot 52 percent (24 of 46) from the field compared the Rapid City Christian's 30 percent (16 of 54).

Hayden Thorton contributed 11 points and Alexa Ham 10 for the Comets.

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

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Red Cloud and Wagner also record first-round victories.