HURON - After a second quarter run evened the game, the Castlewood Warriors pulled out a victory 48-43 over the Jones County Coyotes in the consolation championship Saturday at Huron Arena to claim fifth place in the girls’ State B Basketball Tournament.

Castlewood’s Mackenzie Everson broke a scoreless tie 90 seconds into the game, but Mallory Valburg was able to get a bucket down low for the Coyotes on the ensuing possession.

Valburg got a free throw and Emma Hunt hit three free throws after getting fouled on a long-range attempt to quickly put the Coyotes up 6-2.

Madeline Horn was able to get a bucket, but the Coyotes pounded the ball into Valburg to push the lead out to 15-7 by the end of the first quarter, with Valburg scoring nine of Jones County’s points.

The Coyotes opened the second quarter on a 5-1 run over the first two minutes before Castlewood coach Tyler Snaza called timeout to gather his troups.

It certainly worked as Everson hit a three out of the timeout. After a steal, Presley Knecht made a layup and Horn was able to get a put back bucket to allow the Warriors to quickly climb back within 20-15.

Valburg made a bucket inside, but Horn answered with a three. After Jadyn Jensen drove in for Jones County to make it 24-16, the Warriors got three straight baskets to take the first lead since 2-0. Hunt hit a three with less than a minute left on the clock to send Jones County to halftime with a 27-26 edge.

The third quarter saw the two teams battle early, but Jones County use a 9-0 run in the middle of the quarter to go up 38-32 with 1:45 left in the quarter. Horn would then nail a long three and Everson would find Lyndsey Archer for a three with six seconds left in the quarter to knot the game at 38 heading into the final frame.

Horn nailed a three to open the fourth quarter, and Castlewood was able to play from the lead the entire fourth quarter, though never with a lot of margin. Free throws at the very end led to the Warriors’ largest margin, the final score of 48-43.

Horn led the Warriors, who finish the year 18-8, with 22 points and seven rebounds. Everson added 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

The Coyotes finish 19-6 despite the efforts of Valburg, who finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.

Castlewood       7 26 38 48
Jones County     15 27 38 43

Castlewood (18-8): Presley Knecht 1 1-2 3, Madeline Horn 8 2-2 22, Mackenzie Everson 3 4-6 11, Gracie Haug 1 0-0 3, Lyndsey Archer 3 0-0 9. Totals: 16 7-10 48.

Jones County (19-6): Peyton Rankin 1 0-0 3, Emma Hunt 2 3-3 9, Mallory Valburg 8 6-7 22, Jadyn Jensen 4 0-0 9. Totals: 15 9-10 43.

FG: C - 16/46 35%; JC - 15/53 28%. 3-pt FG: C - 9/28 (Horn 4, Archer 3, Everson, Haug); JC - 4/20 (Hunt 2, Rankin, Jensen). Rebounds: C 29 (Horn, Everson 7), JC 32 (Valburg 9). Assists: C 6 (Everson 3), JC 9 (Hunt, Dugan 3). Steals: C 6 (Everson 3), JC 7. Turnovers: C 7, JC 7. Fouls: C 7, JC 12 (Valburg out).

Seventh place
Howard 54, Sully Buttes 44
HURON - The Howard Tigers jumped out to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter and were in control throughout as they claimed seventh place in the girls’ State B Basketball Tournament Saturday with a 54-44 victory over the Sully Buttes Chargers at Huron Arena.

Both teams finish the season with 20-6 records.

The two teams went back and forth to open the game, but Howard turned on the jets with two minutes remaining in the first quarter and the score knotted 8-8. The Tigers went to their two 6-foot post players, Abby Aslesen and Kate Connor, to key the offense.

Aslesen was able to get a three point play after driving coast to coast with a rebound. She then got another bucket. Aslesen then found Trinity Palmquist for a long-range shot as the quarter ended to give Howard a 16-8 lead at the end of one.

Connor opened the second quarter with a bucket down low, but the Chargers responded with a three-point play by Stevie Wittler and a 3-point basket by Calleigh Chicoine to get within four at 18-14.

Sully Buttes continued to get shots, but each time they did, Connor and Aslesen would respond.

The two Tigers posts combined for 16 of Howard’s 19 points in the frame as the Tigers expanded their lead to 35-22 going into the break.

The Chargers simply went cold in the third quarter as Howard was able to continue pounding the ball inside. By the end of the third, Howard had expanded the lead to 20 at 48-28.

With a 20-point lead and five minutes remaining in the game, Howard coach Wade Erickson began to substitute from his bench, but the Chargers quickly closed the gap on the game, causing Erickson to have to bring back in his starters after the Chargers closed the lead to 50-39 on a putback by Stevie Wittler.

Connor quickly got a pair of baskets, and the Tiger defense held serve, so Erickson could give his seniors a final ovation with a minute left in the game.

The Tigers were led by Aslesen with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Connor had 19 points as well.  

Stevie Wittler led the Chargers with 17 points. Allyson Wittler added 10 points.

Howard         16 35 48 54
Sully Buttes       8 22 28 44

Howard (20-6): Trinity Palmquist 3 2-3 9, Canyon Kidd 0 0-1 0, Dakota Spader 1 0-0 3, Landree Callies 1 0-0 2, Abby Aslesen 7 5-6 19, Rylee Rudebusch 1 0-0 2, Kate Connor 9 1-2 19. Totals: 22 8-12 54.

Sully Buttes (20-6): Payge Bakker 0 1-2 1, Calleigh Chicoine 3 0-0 9, Stevie Wittler 7 2-3 17, Allyson Wittler 3 2-2 10, Lydia Hill 1 3-4 5. Totals: 15 8-11 44.

FG: H - 22/57 39%; SB - 15/52 29%. 3-pt FG: H - 2/15 (Palmquist, Spader), SB - 6/19 (CChicoine 3, AWittler 2, SWittler). Rebounds: H 40 (Aslesen 10), SB 24 (Hill, AChicoine 4). Assists: H 9 (Aslesen 4), SB 4 (SWittler 2). Steals: H 8 (Connor 2), SB 12 (AChicoine 4). Turnovers: H 13, SB 10. Fouls: H 15, SB 17 (CChicoine out).