Photo taken and used with permission by Sara Stadem
The #7 seeded Dell Rapids Quarriers (3-18) gave the #2 seeded Garretson Blue Dragons all they could handle in the opening round of the Region 3A tournament on Monday, February 20th. Garretson survived 58-53 to advance to the next round.
The two teams battled close throughout the entire first quarter. Garretson held a slim 12-11 lead going into the second quarter. The Blue Dragons continued to lead by a point, 15-14, with 6:20 to go in the first half. Garretson then went on a 13-0 run to extend their lead to 28-14 with 1:45 to play. Dell Rapids was able to cut the lead down to 31-20 by halftime.
The Blue Dragons got their lead back to 14 points, 36-22, with 5:40 left to play in the third quarter. The Quarriers got on a roll and went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead down to 36-34 with 2:25 left. Garretson, however, went on an 8-0 run to push the lead back to 10 points, 44-34, with :50. Dell Rapids ended the quarter on a 5-0 run and trailed 44-39 going into the fourth quarter.
The Quarriers continued their run into the fourth quarter. They tied the game 44-44 with 6:25 left in the game and then had a four-point lead, 49-45, with 5:30 to play completing a 15-1 run. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, and Dell Rapids led 51-50 with 3:45 to go. Garretson regained the lead and had a three-point advantage, 56-53, with under a minute to play. Jordyn Williams made a jump shot from the free-throw line with :24 to go to extend the Blue Dragon lead to 58-53. That was the final basket of the game.
Dell Rapids shot 40% (19-47) overall, 32% (6-19) on three-point shots, and 9-9 from the free-throw line. Garretson shot 35% (23-66) overall, 29% (8-28) from three-point area, but just 4-12 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons did out-rebound Dell Rapids 44-22 in the game, 20 of those rebounds on the offensive side.
Claire Wynja had 20 points to lead the Quarriers in scoring. Jenna Miller had 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Elly Olson had six points, two rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Liz Price finished with four points, five rebounds, and two steals. Kerrigan Kindopp had three points. Clara Justice added two points and seven rebounds.
