For the second game in a row at the Dakota Valley Conference tournament, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal girls found themselves in a game that came down to a last-second shot.  This time the Cardinals were on the winning side as St Mary beat the Arlington Cardinals 25-24 to take third place on Saturday, January 23rd in Elkton.

Both St Mary and Arlington struggled offensively all game long.  St Mary finished the game shooting just 22%, and Arlington shot just 15% in the game.  The two teams combined for 65 rebounds.

St Mary had the early advantage in the first quarter.  They held an 8-2 lead heading into the second quarter.  Arlington scored over half of their total points in the second quarter.  They outscored St Mary 13-6 for a 15-14 halftime lead.

The teams struggled to get any offensive rhythm in the second half.  St Mary held Arlington scoreless in the third quarter while scoring five points for a 19-15 lead heading into the fourth quarter.   The two teams found themselves tied 22-22 with 1:18 to play.  Arlington got the next basket to go ahead 24-22 with :40 on the clock.  On the next St Mary possession,  Brianna Griffin hit the game-winning three-point shot from the left win with just :05 to go to give St Mary the victory.

Ella Heinitz had seven points, three steals, and two rebounds.  B. Griffin had six points, one rebound, and one steal.   Madala Hanson had four points, five rebounds, and two steals.  Karlie Klein had three points and five rebounds, and Ella Griffin had three points and four rebounds.  Sydney Klein had seven rebounds, and Courtney Brown had six rebounds and two steals.

St Mary (8-3) will travel to Alcester to play the Alcester-Hudson Cubs on Thursday, January 28th.

Leading 35-34 over Colman-Egan with just seconds to go in the game, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals was at the free-throw line with a one-and-one opportunity.  The free throw shot missed, but the Cardinals grabbed the offensive rebound.  However, a steal and a race down the court to beat the clock resulted in a game-winning, last second shot by the Colman-Egan Hawks to send them to the championship game of the Dakota Valley Conference Tournament with a 36-35 victory on Thursday, January 21st.

Both of the offenses had some struggles in the first quarter.  The Cardinals held a slim 6-5 advantage at the quarter break.  The Hawks were able to build an eight point lead at 21-13 late in the second quarter, but the Cardinals ended the half on a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to 21-18 by halftime.

St Mary continued to chip away at the small Colman-Egan lead in the third quarter.  The two teams headed into the fourth quarter tied 28-28.  Colman-Egan was leading 32-30, but St Mary went on a 5-0 run to lead 35-32 with 2:00 to go in the game.  The Hawks ended the game on a 4-0 run, including the last second game-winning shot, to get the win.

The stats were fairly even between the two teams.  Both teams finished the game shooting 33% from the field.  St Mary was 25% from three-point area, while the Hawks were 23%.  Colman-Egan out rebounded St Mary 31-29.

Ella Heinitz had 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.  Courtney Brown finished with seven points and three rebounds.  Brianna Griffin had six points, and Karlie Klein had four points and four rebounds.

St Mary (7-3) will play Arlington in the 3rd/4th place game of the DVC Tournament on Saturday, January 23rd.  The game will be at 4:00 p.m. in Elkton and can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal girls had to battle hard to get a 54-48 over the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks in the opening round of the Dakota Valley Conference tournament in Colman on Monday, January 18th. 

The Cardinals looked like they might be able to coast into the semifinals after starting the first three and a half minutes of the game on an 11-0 run.  St Mary led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter.  They pushed the lead to 14 points at 20-6 with 4:30 to play in the half, but the Redhawks cut the lead down to 10 points by halftime at 25-15.

Estelline/Hendricks tried to make make runs at the Cardinals in the third quarter, but every time they did, St Mary had an answer.  The Cardinals held a 38-27 lead heading into the final quarter.  The lead was still double digits at 52-40 with 1:55 to play, but the Redhawks went on an 8-0 run to make the score 52-44 with :29 to go.  The Cardinals made a couple of three throws in the closing seconds to take the win.

Ella Griffin led the team in scoring with 15 points and also had five rebounds and three assists.  Karlie Klein had 11 points and five rebounds.  Courtney Brown had eight points, seven rebounds, and three assists.  Ella Heinitz had eight points.  Sydney Klein had two points, four rebounds, and four assists, and Addyson Gilbert had two points and five rebounds.

The Cardinals (7-2) will play Colman-Egan in the semifinals on Thursday, January 21st at 7:30 p.m. in Colman.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal girls basketball team notched another road victory after a 54-20 win in Elkton against the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks on Monday, January 11th.  This was the fourth road win on the season thus far for the Cardinals.

St Mary used a full-court pressure defense that led to easy fast break points to start the game on a 12-0 run as they never trailed in the game.  The Cardinals finished the quarter leading 15-4.  The defensive pressure continued in the second quarter allowing St Mary to outscore the Elks 12-4 in the quarter for a 27-8 halftime lead.  The Cardinals again scored 27 total points in the second half while holding Elkton-Lake Benton to 12 for the big 54-20 win.

Ella Heinitz had a game-high 17 points along with five steals, three rebounds, and two assists.  Brianna Griffin was 3-4 on three-point attempts for nine points.  Ella Griffin ended with seven points, six rebounds, and four assists.  Karlie Klein had six points.  Ten of the thirteen players scored in the game for the Cardinals.

St Mary (6-2) will host Oldham-Ramona/Rutland on Thursday, January 14th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal girls basketball team finally got to play another home game after nearly a month.  The Cardinals hosted the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks on Thursday, January 7th, their first home game since December 17th.

The Cardinals used a big first half on their way to a 58-42 victory over the Redhawks.  St Mary ended the first quarter with a 14-6 lead and then extended that margin to 33-17 by halftime.  The Cardinals maintained the 16-point lead throughout the second half as both teams finished with 25 points each.

St Mary had a very balanced scoring attack in the game.  Courtney Brown and Ella Heinitz both had 10 points each.  Ella Griffin and Addyson Gilbert both finished with nine points.  Brianna Griffin had seven points, and Madala Hanson had six points.  Gilbert, E. Griffin, and Karlie Klein all had five rebounds each.  Gilbert also had a team high four assists.  Brown led the team with four steals.

The Cardinals (5-2) will head to Elkton on Monday, January 11th, to play the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks.