In a battle two top teams in Class B, the Arlington Cardinals edged the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals (14-3) by a score of 49-47 on Monday, February 6th. The game between two teams that received votes in the latest polls lived up to the hype.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the first half. St Mary shot 6-31 in the first two quarters while Arlington shot 8-27. Arlington led 12-11 at the end of the first quarter and 23-16 at halftime. St Mary got the offense going in the third quarter. St Mary had the game tied 28-28 and 30-30, but a three-pointer at the buzzer gave Arlington a 33-30 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Arlington was able to extend their lead to 49-42 with 3:53 to play in the game after two free-throws. St Mary went on an 5-0 run and pulled within two, 49-47, after a three-point shot by Whitney Warwick with 1:20 to go. St Mary had an opportunity to tie the game. Arlington missed two free-throws, and St Mary was able to grab the rebound. The game-tying shot, however, did not fall.
St Mary finished the game shooting 26% (13-51) overall, 17% (4-24) from three-point area, and 74% (17-23) from the free-throw line. Arlington shot 33% (15-46) from the field, 21% (4-19) on three-poitn attempts, and 63% (15-24) from the free-throw line.
Madala Hanson had 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Ella Griffin also had 17 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Warwick had five points, three rebounds, and two steals. Sydney Klein had three points and 12 rebounds. Brianna Griffin had three points, and Maya Heinitz had two points and three rebounds.
