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.

The Dell Rapids Quarrier girls basketball season came to an end in the Round of 16 on Thursday, March 1st in Tea.  The Quarriers fell to the Vermillion Tanagers 51-48.

The game was back and forth for much of the contest.  Vermillion had the hot hand to start getting out to an 8-3 lead with 4:30 to play in the first quarter.  Dell Rapids held Vermillion scoreless the rest of the quarter and went on an 8-0 run to take an 11-8 lead after the first quarter of play.  The Tanagers were able to get the lead back and led 17-14 with 3:30 left in the half.  The Quarriers again closed out the quarter on a little 6-3 run to tie the game at 20-20 at halftime.

Vermillion again got out to a fast start in the beginning of the third quarter.  They matched their largest lead of five points at 29-24 with 4:55 to play in the third.  Dell Rapids again tied the game two and a half minutes later at 30-30.  The two teams then combined to make three total free throws the rest of the quarter as Vermillion had a 32-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  The two teams were locked at 34-34 with 6:35 remaining in the game.  Vermillion then went ahead 40-36 with 4:50 to go.  Dell Rapids responded and tied the game at 40-40 with 4:14 to go.  The Tanagers again grabbed the lead at 44-40 with 2:52 to go.  The Quarriers then went on a 7-2 run to take a 47-46 lead after an Aspen Hansen three-point shot with 1:09 to go.  Haleigh Melstad responded with a three-point shot of her own with :55 to go to give Vermillion the lead back at 49-47.  Vermillion held a 51-48 lead after a couple of free-throws with :18 to go.  Dell Rapids called a timeout with :06.7 on the clock.  Arial Hoffman launched a three-point shot from the top of the key that just hit off the front of the rim with :02 to go and the rebound went out of bounds.  The Tanager in-bound was tipped, but Vermillion was able to fall on the ball as time expired to grab the victory.

Two players finished in double figures for Dell Rapids.  Jayda Knuppe finished with 14 points and six rebounds.  Hansen had 13 points, three rebounds, and two steals.  Emma Paul had nine points and five rebounds.  Hoffman added eight points and two rebounds.  Kaylee Hennen had three points, and Sydney Stofferahn had one point and three rebounds.

Dell Rapids has their season end with a 15-7 record.  Vermillion advances to the State A tournament in Watertown March 8th through 10th.

The Dell Rapids Quarrier girls basketball team earned their second straight trip to the Class A “Round of 16” after 52-40 win over the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers in the Region 3A tournament on Thursday, February 22nd at Tea Area High School.

The Quarriers used a spurt in each of the four quarters to claim the victory.  Dell Rapids went on an 8-0 after the Chargers scored the first point of the game and took an 8-1 lead with 5:28 to play.  Sioux Falls Christian responded with an 11-4 run to tie the game at 12-12 after the first quarter of play.  The Quarriers then used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to build a double digit lead of 26-14 with 1:15 to play in the half.  The Chargers scored the final four points of the quarter, and Dell Rapids 26-18 at halftime.

Sioux Falls Christian continued their run into the third quarter and got within a point at 30-29 with 3:30 to play in the third quarter.  Dell Rapids closed out the third quarter on a 6-1 spurt to push their lead to 36-30 heading into the final quarter.  The Chargers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to make the score 36-34 with 5:45 left in the game.  The Quarriers answered with another run, this time 6-0, to push the lead back to eight at 42-34 with 2:50 remaining.  After a Charger score, Arial Hoffman made a big three-point shot with 1:40 to go in the game to give Dell Rapids a 45-36 lead.  The Quarriers were able to make their free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Emma Paul finished the game with a double-double for Dell Rapids.  Paul had 20 points, 10 rebounds as well as four steals and three assists.  Sydney Stofferahn added 13 points.  A. Hoffman had eight points, five assists, and three rebounds.  Jayda Knuppe finished with six points and four rebounds.  Ravyn Hoffman had three points, and Aspen Hansen finished with two points.  Dell Rapids had a total of 22 team rebounds, 16 team steals, and 12 team assists.

The Quarriers will advance to the “Round of 16” which will be played on a neutral court on Thursday, March 1st.  The opponent and location are yet to be determined.

The Dell Rapids Quarrier girls basketball team played their final regular season game in Madison on Thursday, February 15th.  The Madison Bulldogs snapped the Quarriers’ five-game win streak with a 48-43 win at Madison High School.

Dell Rapids got out to an early 4-0 lead in the first minutes of the game, but the offense only scored eight points in the first quarter.  Madison was able to take a 13-8 lead after the first period.  The Bulldog lead grew throughout the second quarter to as many as 11 points.  Madison led 25-17 at halftime.  Dell Rapids got the offense going in the third quarter scoring 17 points and tied the game at 34-34 heading into the final quarter.  The two teams went back and forth throughout the first few minutes, but Madison eventually pulled away late in the game for the five-point win.

The Quarriers only shot 24% from the field, 17% from three-point area, and 53% from the free-throw line.  Dell Rapids had a total of 51 team rebounds, 19 of those offensive, and only turned the ball over six times.

Jayda Knuppe finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.  Emma Paul had eight points and 15 rebounds in the game.  Kaylee Hennen gave the team a spark with six points in the third quarter.  Aspen Hansen and Sydney Stofferahn both had five points each.  Stofferahn also had eight rebounds.

The Quarriers finish the regular season with a 14-6 record.  The Region 3A tournament begins on Tuesday, February 20th.

Photo courtesy of Rhonda Rentz

The Dell Rapids Quarrier girls basketball team won their fourth straight road game and fifth straight overall after at 65-26 win over the Canton C-Hawks on Monday, February 12th.

The Quarriers led start to finish in the ball game.  Dell Rapids held Canton to under 10 points in each quarter of the game.  Dell Rapids led 18-6 after the first quarter and extended that lead to 40-11 by halftime.  Canton was held to only six points again in the third quarter as Dell Rapids extended their lead to 35 points 52-17.  The Quarriers then outscored Canton 13-9 in the final quarter for the win.

Four players scored in double figures for the Quarriers.  Jayda Knuppe led all scorers with 16 points and had three rebounds.  Sydney Stofferahn had 12 points and eight rebounds.  Arial Hoffman finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Emma Paul had 12 points and five rebounds.  Kaylee Hennen tallied six points, and Ravyn Hoffman finished with five points.

Dell Rapids (14-5) will close out the regular season when they play their fifth straight road game on Thursday, February 15th.  The Quarriers will travel to Madison to play the Bulldogs.  Big Sioux Media will have a link to a video stream.

Photo courtesy of Rhonda Rentz

Playing their third road game in a row, the Dell Rapids Quarriers won a tough Dak-12 game against the Dakota Valley Panthers on Friday, February 9th.  The Quarriers won 63-55 to earn their fourth win in a row.

Dell Rapids started the game with 22 first quarter points and built an 11-point lead at 22-11.  Dakota Valley was able to cut into the lead in the second quarter, but only by two points.  The Quarriers led 35-26 at halftime.  The Panthers were able to shave a few more points off the lead by the end of the third quarter as Dell Rapids led 46-40.  The Quarriers outscored Dakota Valley 17-15 in the final quarter for the win.

Three players finished in double figures for Dell Rapids.  Jayda Knuppe had 23 points and seven rebounds.  Emma Paul added 13 points and five rebounds.  Arial Hoffman had 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists.  Aspen Hansen finished with four steals.

The Quarriers (13-5) will travel to Canton on Monday, February 12th.  The girls and boys will play a double header.

After trailing at the end of the first and second quarters, the Dell Rapids Quarrier girls held the Mt Vernon/Plankinton Titans to just 16 second half points in a 55-38 come-from-behind win at Mt Vernon on Tuesday, February 6th.

The Titans led for most of the first quarter and lead 12-10 at the quarter break.  Both teams scored 10 points as Mt Vernon/Plankinton continued to lead by two points at halftime by a score of 22-20.  Dell Rapids got both the offense and defense working together in the third quarter.  The Quarriers outscores the Titans 20-7 to take a 40-29 lead after three quarters of play.  Dell Rapids continued the surge in the fourth quarter by holding the Titans to nine fourth quarter points.

Four Quarriers finished with double figures in the game.  Jayda Knuppe led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds.  Emma Paul had 10 points and 10 rebounds.  Sydney Stofferahn and Arial Hoffman both finished with 10 points and four rebounds each.

Dell Rapids (11-5) will hit the road again on Friday, February 9th when they travel to Dakota Valley High School for a girls and boys double-header against the Panthers.