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Viborg-Hurley earns repeat State B girls basketball title with win over Wall

roger merriam, watertown public opinion
·4 min read
Viborg-Hurley players hold up the championship trophy after the Cougars repeated as the state Class B girls basketball champions with a 71-61 win over Wall on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in the Huron Arena.
Viborg-Hurley players hold up the championship trophy after the Cougars repeated as the state Class B girls basketball champions with a 71-61 win over Wall on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in the Huron Arena.

HURON — Viborg-Hurley repeated as the state Class B high school girls basketball champion with a 71-61 victory over Wall in the Huron Arena.

The third-seeded and top-rated Cougars put the finishing touches on a 23-3 season behind Coral Mason's 28-point, 16-rebound performance.

Denae Mach added 16 points and six rebounds and Charley Nelson 14 points for Viborg-Hurley.

Fifth-seeded and unranked Wall received 21 points and 10 rebounds from Paige Kjerstad. Nora Dinger contributed 13 points and Alexis Stephan 11.

Other Saturday Games

Third Place (Wolsey-Wessington 60, Ethan 55): The top-seeded Warbirds (23-3) won by getting 22 points and 14 rebounds from Mallory Miller, 15 points from Leah Williams and 13 from Mya Boomsma. Ava Lingemann scored 18 points and Marissa Storm 17 for Ethan (21-4).

Fifth Place (Castlewood 48, Jones County 43): Castlewood (18-8) used two free throws by Maddie Horn with 1:22 left and two more by Mackenzie Everson with 19 seconds left to pull out the victory. Horn finished with 22 points and seven rebounds and Everson 11 and seven. Lyndsey Archer contributed nine points.

Castlewood's Maddie Horn pulls down a rebound during the consolation championship of the South Dakota state Class B girls basketball tournament on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in the Huron Arena.
Castlewood's Maddie Horn pulls down a rebound during the consolation championship of the South Dakota state Class B girls basketball tournament on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in the Huron Arena.

Mallory Valburg tallied 22 points and nine rebounds and Jadyn Jensen nine and seven for Jones County (19-6), which also got nine points from Emma Hunt.

Seventh Place (Howard 54, Sully Buttes 44): Abby Aslesen produced 19 points and 10 rebounds, Kate Connor 19 points and Trinity Palmquist nine points for Howard (20-6). Stevie Wittler scored 17 points, Allyson Wittler 10 and Calleigh Chicoine nine for Sully Buttes (20-6).

Friday's Games

Viborg-Hurley's Shelby Lyons passes the ball from the floor against Ethan's Ella Pollreisz (22) during their semifinal game in the state Class B high school girls basketball tournament on Friday, March 10, 2023 in the Huron Arena.
Viborg-Hurley's Shelby Lyons passes the ball from the floor against Ethan's Ella Pollreisz (22) during their semifinal game in the state Class B high school girls basketball tournament on Friday, March 10, 2023 in the Huron Arena.

It isn't a surprise that defending champion Viborg-Hurley made its way back to the title game in the South Dakota state Class B high school girls basketball tournament.

The same can't be said for the Cougars' opponent in Saturday's championship: fifth-seeded Wall.

The third-seeded Cougars (22-3) have been rated No. 1 throughout the season and completed the inevitable with a 52-34 semifinal win over Ethan.

The victory came after Wall (20-5) knocked off top-seeded and second-rated Wolsey-Wessington 76-72 in Friday night's first semifinal game.

Viborg-Hurley 52, Ethan 34

Denae Mach scored 21 points and Charley Nelson 16 to lead the Cougars, who also got seven points and six rebounds from Coral Mason.

Eva Lingemann's 13 points paced Ethan (21-3), which also received six points and six rebounds from Ella Pollreisz and six points from Annalise Buenning.

Viborg-Hurley made 18 of 44 field-goal attempts for 41 percent and snared 26 rebounds. Ethan shot 32 percent (12 of 38) from the field and hauled in 20 rebounds.

Wolsey-Wessington's Mallory Miller blocks a shot by Wall's April Schulz during their semifinal game in the state Class B high school girls basketball tournament on Friday, March 10, 2023 in the Huron Arena.
Wolsey-Wessington's Mallory Miller blocks a shot by Wall's April Schulz during their semifinal game in the state Class B high school girls basketball tournament on Friday, March 10, 2023 in the Huron Arena.

Wall 76, Wolsey-Wessington 72

The Eagles used 24 points and seven rebounds from Nora Dinger, 17 and eight from Paige Kjerstad and 16 and 15 from Rhea Tuckers to advance. Alexis Stephan chipped in with nine points.

Wall shot 40 percent (28 of 70) from the field and collected 38 rebounds.

Mya Boomsma tallied 21 points, Mallory Miller 20 points and 15 rebounds and Leah Williams 20 points for Wolsey-Wessington (22-3). Taylor Horn scored nine points.

The Warbirds converted 25 of 57 field-goal attempts for 44 percent and finished with 30 rebounds.

Jones County 47, Sully Buttes 38

EIghth-seeded Jones County downed fourth-seeded Sully Buttes in a consolation semifinal with the help of 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals from Jadyn Jensen. Mallory Valburg added 10 points for Coyotes (19-5).

Jones County opened the game with a 9-0 start and added 7-0 and 10-1 runs in the first half for a 26-10 halftime lead. The Coyotes made 14 of 47 field-goal attempts for 30 percent.

Lydia Hill's 17 points paced Sully Buttes (20-5), which buried 13 of 46 attempts from the field for 28 percent and gained a 32-30 edge in rebounding.

Castlewood's Mackenzie Everson (10) challenges a shot by Howard's Canyon Kidd during their consolation semifinal game in the state Class B high school girls basketball tournament on Friday, March 10, 2023 in the Huron Arena. At Left is Castlewood's Lyndsey Archer.
Castlewood's Mackenzie Everson (10) challenges a shot by Howard's Canyon Kidd during their consolation semifinal game in the state Class B high school girls basketball tournament on Friday, March 10, 2023 in the Huron Arena. At Left is Castlewood's Lyndsey Archer.

Castlewood 51, Howard 47

Gracie Haug's two free throws with four seconds remaining sealed the victory for the seventh-seeded Warriors (17-8) against sixth-seeded Howard (19-6).

Maddie Horn recorded 15 points and eight rebounds and Mackenzie Everson 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Castlewood. Haug and Presley Knecht added seven points apiece and Lyndsey Archer six.

Kate Connor had 17 points and nine rebounds for Howard. Abby Aslesen added eight points and 12 reboundsa nd Canyon Kidd 10 points.

Castlewood shot 40 percent (17 of 43) from the field with 28 rebounds and Howard 30 percent (18 of 59) with 34 rebounds.

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

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Castlewood bounces back to claim consolation championship.