SoDak 16 Girls Hoops: Hamlin, Sisseton and Castlewood advance to state

It really takes a good basketball mind to appreciate just how good Hamlin High School's girls basketball team is at doing what they do.

The two-time defending state Class A runner-ups and No. 1-rated Chargers improved to 22-0 with an impressive 60-24 victory over fellow Northeast Conference foe Milbank on Thursday night in a SoDak 16 Class A state-qualifying game in the Watertown Civic Arena.

Most importantly for the Chargers, it clinched a third-straight trip to the state A tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday in the Civic Arena. Hamlin is the No. 1 seed and will face another familiar foe, fellow Lake Central Conference member Flandreau, in the tourney opener at noon on Thursday.

It's a chance to take care of some unfinished business.

"This win tonight was huge especially since the last two years we've come up short in the championship game at state," said Hamlin senior standout Kami Wadsworth. "To earn the No. 1 seed and get a game we think we can win, it's fun."

Here's some takeaways from the Hamlin-Milbank game"

Don't worry, the Chargers will be very competitive at state

If the ranking or record doesn't convince you, the Chargers proved again Thursday that no one should be surprised if they make another run at a title in next week's state tournament.

Hamlin isn't flashy and may not look as athletic as some other teams, but there's just a lot of things the Chargers do very well. Wadsworth, a 5-foot-11 senior who is heading to the University of Sioux Falls to play college basketball, and cousin Ally Abraham, also a 5-11 senior, have played key roles during this three-year stretch and give Hamlin a powerful inside duo both offensively and defensively.

When teams focus too much attention on the inside game, there's senior Brooklyn Brandriet, junior Marissa Bawdon and freshman Addie Neuendorf showing off their ability from 3-point range.

"When we're patient, we're really to defend," said Hamlin head coach Tim Koisti. "We have a good inside-out game. We preach to the girls that inside-out or reversal 3's are what we want to take. Once you make a couple of those, they have to start coming to you and that opens up Kami and Ally on the inside."

Hamlin didn't give Milbank a chance for an upset

Hamlin recorded a 69-35 win at Milbank about a month ago, but certainly didn't get caught looking ahead or taking anything for granted on Thursday.

Brandriet capped Hamlin's opening possession with a 3-pointer and propelled the Chargers to a 14-3 lead after one quarter. The lead grew to 28-9 late in the second quarter and 33-14 at halftime.

"It was something we talked about in the locker room before the game. They're here and excited to play us again," said Koisti. "We needed to match their energy and I think we did that. We got some early buckets and went from there."

Head coach Brian Pauli and the Bulldogs were making their first SoDak 16 appearance since 2017 and knew they needed to have a lot of things go right. It didn't help when they made only five of 24 field-goal attempts (21 percent) in the first half, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range.

The numbers didn't get any better in the second half, dropping to 17 percent (two of 12) and 0-for-5 (3-pointers). Hamlin opened the quarter with an 11-0 run to move clearly into the driver's seat.

"We knew this might be a tougher game and it was closer in the first half," said Wadsworth. "In the second half, we just came out strong and started pulling away."

What's ahead for Hamlin and Milbank?

As previously mentioned, Hamlin will set its sights on the state A tournament next week with the hopes of having at least something to say about who eventually wins the championship.

Wadsworth finished with 18 points to again lead Hamlin. Bawdon drained four 3's and scored 14 points and Brandriet three 3's on the way to 11 points. Abraham added six points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Neuendorf nine points, five rebounds and six assists despite battling foul trouble. Hamlin shot 41 percent (21 of 51) from the field, included 8-for-22 in 3's, and gained a 35-23 rebounding advantage.

It was a sour finish to what otherwise has been a pretty good season for a Milbank team that started four sophomores on Thursday. Senior standout Maurina Street, the team's leading scorer who was limited to four points, will graduate. Sophomores Isabella Anderson and Tyra Berry led Milbank with 11 and six points, respectively.

Street's loss will hurt, but there's plenty of hope for the future for a program that fell one win short of qualifying for the state tourney for the first time since 2007.

Class A (No. 7 Sisseton 59, No. 10 Parkston 46)

A 19-10 surge in the third quarter helped the Redmen (20-2) qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2012.

Krista Langager tallied 22 points and Hannah Leverson 19 for the Redmen, who shot 47 percent (22 of 47) from the field and used Langager's nine rebounds to win the board battle 31-27. Ruby Rice and Emmalee Nielsen each added eight points.

Faithy Oakley had 15 points and six rebounds, Mya Thuringer 11 and six and Abby Hohn 10 and six for Parkston (16-7), which shot 30 percent (16 of 54) from the field.

Sisseton faces Sioux Christian (21-2) at 7:45 p.m. Thursday (March 9) in the opening round of the state tourney in the Watertown Civic Arena.

Class B (No. 1 Wolsey-Wessington 58, No. 16 Leola-Frederick Area 23)

The second-rated Warbirds (21-2) secured their berth in the state tournament with 22 points and four steals from Mallory Miller and 15 points from Leah Williams. Mya Boomsma added eight points for Wolsey-Wessington, which led 33-11 at halftime and shot 47 percent (24 of 51) from the field.

Sofia Losure finished eight eight points and Chloe Arneson six for LFA (16-7). The Titans made eight of 36 field-goal attempts for 22 percent and lost the rebounding battle 33-24.

Wolsey-Wessington faces Jones County (18-4) at noon Thursday (March 9) in the opening game of the state tourney in the Huron Arena.

Class B (No. 7 Castlewood 74, No. 10 Timber Lake 46)

The Warriors (16-7) used a 22-12 start and a combined 44 points from senior standouts Maddie Horn (23) and Mackenzie Everson (21) to roll to the victory in a game played at Redfield High School.

Presley Knecht added 16 points and Lyndsey Archer nine for Castlewood.

Timber Lake (16-6) was paced by Shay Kraft's 18 points. Jasmine Nash contributed 12 and Carlie Lawrence eight.

Castlewood takes on Ethan (20-2) at 6 p.m. on Thursday (March 9) in the opening round of the state tourney in the Huron Arena.

Class B (No. 5 Wall 74, No. 12 Warner 64)

A 28-point fourth quarter that included 10 points from Paige Kjenstad and a 10-for-11 free-throw shooting performance by Alexis Stephan helped Wall (18-5) earn a repeat trip to state with the win at Stanley County High School in Fort Pierre.

Kjenstad poured in a game-high 31 points, Nora Dinger 17 and Stephan 14 (11-13 in free throws) for Wall, which trailed 47-46 after three quarters.

Ava Nilsson and Kendyl Anderson each notched 11 points, Kyra Marcuson 10 and Sophia Hoeft and Lauren Marcus eight each for Warner (16-7).

Wall takes on Sully Buttes (20-3) at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday (March 9) in the opening round of the state tourney in the Huron Arena.

Other Thursday Basketball

Region 6A Boys: In Region 6A quarterfinal games that were postponed on Tuesday, No. 1 seed McLaughlin handled No. 8 North Central 61-27 and No. 4 Mobridge-Pollock defeated Dupree 60-48. McLaughlin (11-8) is slated to host Mobridge-Pollock (11-10) on Friday in the semifinals.

North Dakota Region 1B Boys: In a Region 1B play-in game, Maple River turned back Tri-State 71-49. Tri-State concluded its season with a 3-17 record.

Minnesota Section 3A Boys: In a Section 3A South play-in game, Lac qui Parle Valley downed Renville County West 76-55.

Minnesota Section 6A Girls: Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg rolled past Ortonville 71-32 in a Section 6A South quarterfinal game.

Other South Dakota SoDak 16 Scores

Class A Girls Basketball

Flandreau 47, St. Thomas More 38

Lakota Tech 68, Dupree 34

Rapid City Christian 60, Miller 47

Red Cloud 63, Garretson 58

Sioux Falls Christian 61, Lennox 29

Wagner 72, Tea Area 52

Class B Girls Basketball

Castlewood 74, Timber Lake 46

Ethan 34, Corsica-Stickney 31

Howard 61, Wessington Springs 40

Jones County 54, Centerville 37

Sully Buttes 44, Harding County 26

Viborg-Hurley 63, Lyman 34

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

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Hamlin and Sisseton reach State A and Castlewood State B.