Trailing by a point with just under thirty seconds to play, the Dell Rapids Quarriers scored three points in a matter of seconds to get a 53-51 win over the #4 ranked Sioux Falls Christian Chargers on Tuesday, December 11th. It was the first game of the 2018-2019 season under new head coach Taylor Trohkimoinen.
Dell Rapids jumped out to an early 11-4 lead to start the game. The Chargers, however, responded with a 9-3 run to cut the lead to 14-13 at the end of the first quarter. Dell Rapids used a 11-6 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter to push their lead to 25-19, but again Sioux Falls Christian responded. The Chargers outscored the Quarriers 12-5 in the last four minutes of the quarter for a 31-30 halftime lead.
Sioux Falls Christian scored the first four points of the second half for their largest lead of the night at 35-30. Dell Rapids answered with five straight to tie the game 35-35 with 3:41 to play in the third quarter. The teams traded buckets the remainder of the quarter, and the Chargers led 41-40 heading into the fourth quarter. Neither team held more than a one-point lead over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Aspen Hensen hit a three-point shot with 4:00 to play to give Dell Rapids a 50-47 lead. The Quarriers would remain scoreless until the final seconds of the game.
The Chargers would score the next four points, taking the lead 51-50 with about :30 to play. With the shot clock turned off, the Quarriers inbounded the ball at half court after a timeout. With :11 to go, Emma Paul was fouled on a drive to the basket. The Quarriers were in the double bonus, which gave Paul two free throws. Paul made the first one to tie the game 51-51. Paul missed the second free throw, and the ball was rebounded by the Chargers. Hansen got a steal in the backcourt, and found a wide open Ravyn Hoffman. Hoffman missed the layup, but Paul was there for the offense rebound and put back with :03 to go to give Dell Rapids a 53-51 lead. Sioux Falls Christian called their last timeout with :02 to go. After the timeout, they set up for the final play of the game. The court-length pass was made with a tip out to the corner for a game-winning three-point shot, but Hoffman got her hand on the shot to block it and seal the victory for Dell Rapids.
Jayda Knuppe led the offense with 18 points. Hansen finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Both Paul and Hoffman tallied eight points and five rebounds each. The Quarriers shot 41.5% from the field, 38.5% from three-point area, and 70% from the free-throw line. Sioux Falls Christian was led by Lexi Unruh with 12 points and Kylee VanEgdom with 10 points.
The Quarriers (1-0) will travel to Tea Area to take on the Titans on Friday, December 14th as part of a girls and boys double-header. The games can be seen on Big Sioux Media.
