After making waves in Class A girls basketball by beating the #2 ranked West Central Trojans in the Region 3A tournament, the magical run for the Tri-Valley Mustangs came to an end in the SoDak 16 against the Winner Warriors on Thursday, March 4th.  The Warriors defeated Tri-Valley 50-35 in Wagner.

The Mustang game plan was a slow-paced tempo, and it worked as Tri-Valley held Winner to the second lowest point total of the season.  But the Warriors used a strong cull-court pressure defense to spark a game-clinching run in the third quarter.

Tri-Valley took an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter, but Winner went on a 7-4 run tying the game 9-9 at the end of the quarter.  The Warriors then outscored the Mustangs 19-10 in the second quarter for a 28-19 halftime lead.

Winner scored the first three points of the third quarter for a 31-19 lead.  Tri-Valley went on a 7-0 run to cut the Warrior lead to 31-26, but the Mustangs weren’t able to score again in the third quarter.  Winner finished the quarter on a 6-0 run for a 37-26 lead.  They also scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 41-26.  That 10-0 run was enough to secure the victory for Winner.

Tri-Valley’s season ends with a record of 13-10.

The Tri-Valley Mustangs will have at least a .500 regular season record after they won their tenth game of the year on Thursday, February 18th.  The Mustangs got a 57-38 home win against the Lennox Orioles.

The first and fourth quarters were the two big quarters for the Mustangs in the win.  Tri-Valley held an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 16-8.  Lennox cut the lead down to two points at halftime, 24-22.

The Mustangs were able to extend their lead from halftime in the third quarter.  Tri-Valley built the lead to nine points, 40-31, heading into the final quarter.  The Mustangs then outscored Lennox 17-7 in the final quarter for the win.

Three players finished in double figures.  Paige Jewett led the Mustang scoring with 15 points.  Kaitlyn Mohnen and Tabor Teel both ended with 11 points each in the game.

Tri-Valley (10-9) will end the regular season with a home game against the Beresford Watchdogs on Friday, February 19th.

The Tri-Valley Mustangs were able to cut a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit down to six against the McCook Central/Montrose Fighting Cougars, but the rally fell short as the Cougars won 64-56 on Monday, February 15th.

The first quarter action was back-and-forth as the two teams traded made baskets all quarter long.  The game was tied 18-18 at the end of the first quarter.  The Cougars got on a hot streak in the second quarter, making half of their total three-pointers for the game in the quarter.  McCook Central/Montrose was able to build a 41-34 halftime lead.

The Cougars continued to extend the lead in the third quarter making three more three-pointers and led 56-44 heading into the final quarter.  Tri-Valley rallied in the fourth quarter and cut the lead down to six points with minutes remaining.  The Mustangs had some good looks offensively to try to tie the game, but the shots just didn’t fall as the Cougars hung on for the win.

Three players finished in double figures for the Mustangs.  Paige Jewett had 19 points, three rebounds, and three steals.  Tabor Teel had 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists.  Blayne Gacke added 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists.  Steph Buchmann had eight points, three steals, and two assists.

Tri-Valley (9-9) will host Lennox on Thursday, February 18th.

The Tri-Valley Mustangs fell to the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers on the road, 69-47, on Tuesday, February 9th.

The Mustangs held a lead on the #2 Chargers throughout the first quarter and into the second, but the Chargers got their offense going in the middle of the second quarter.  Tri-Valley got off to a 6-0 start and led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.  They pushed their lead back to six points at 19-13 with 6:45 to play in the first half, but the Chargers outscored the Mustangs 23-6 from that point for a 36-25 halftime lead.

The Chargers continued to pull away from the Mustangs throughout the second half.  They led 49-33 at the end of the third quarter and then outscored Tri-Valley 20-14 in the final quarter.

Tri-Valley (8-8) will travel to Milbank on Saturday, February 13th.

The Tri-Valley Mustangs won their second straight game for the first time since before Christmas after beating the Groton Area Tigers at the Dak-12/NEC Clash on Saturday, February 6th in Madison.

The Mustangs used a big second and fourth quarter to get the win.  Both teams only scored six points each in the first quarter.  Tri-Valley then took control of the game in the second quarter.  They outscored the Tigers 20-4 for a 26-10 lead at halftime.

Tri-Valley was held to just six points in the third quarter, but the Mustang defense did almost as well.  They held Groton Area to just eleven points to help keep the Mustangs in front 32-21 heading into the final quarter.  Tri-Valley got another 20-point quarter in the fourth quarter while holding the Tigers to just eleven points for a 52-32 victory.

Both Steph Buchmann and Paige Jewett finished with 12 points each.  Tabor Teel and Blayne Gacke both had seven points each.

The Mustangs (8-7) will travel to Sioux Falls to play the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers on Tuesday, February 9th.

The Tri-Valley Mustangs held Dell Rapids to just five made field goals and forced 26 turnovers in a 54-17 win over the Quarriers on Thursday, February 4th at Tri-Valley High School.

After leading by just four points at 9-5 with a minute to play in the first quarter, Tri-Valley finished the quarter on a 6-3 run to lead 15-8.  The Mustangs then outscored Dell Rapids 20-3 in the second quarter for a 35-11 halftime lead.  Tri-Valley then outscored Dell Rapids 19-6 in the second half.

Two players finished in double figures.  Tabor Teel had 22 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.  Paige Jewett had 15 points.  Steph Buchmann had seven points, and Kaitlyn Mohnen had five points, seven rebounds, and three steals.

Tri-Valley shot 39% (20-51) from the floor, 33% (9-27) from three-point area, and 50% (5-10) from the free-throw line.  The Mustangs had 20 steals as a team.

Tri-Valley (7-7) will play Groton at the Dak-12/NEC Clash on Saturday, February 6th in Madison.

The Canton C-Hawks stunned the Tri-Valley Mustangs when Paige Schroedermeier hit the game-winning buzzer-beater from the free-throw line to give Canton a 49-47 road victory on Tuesday, January 26th.

Both teams went on scoring runs in the first three quarters, while most of the fourth quarter was back-and-forth.  Tri-Valley had the first advantage outscoring Canton 16-9 in the first quarter.  The C-Hawks reversed that trend and outscored the Mustangs 16-6 in the second quarter for a 25-22 halftime lead.

The Mustangs started the second half on a 10-2 run and led 32-27 with 3:45 to go in the third quarter.  Canton closed the quarter on an 8-5 run to cut into the lead.  Tri-Valley led 37-35 heading into the final quarter.  The lead changed hands multiple times, and Canton had a 47-46 lead with 1:30 to play.  Tri-Valley tied the game from the free-throw line with :45 on the clock.  The game-winning shot came off of a Tri-Valley turnover for Canton.

The Mustangs shot 32% (13-41) from the field, 18% (3-17) from three-point area, and 62% (18-29) from the free-throw line.  Tri-Valley also out rebounded the C-Hawks 39-25, but the Mustangs turned the ball over 24 times in the game.

Kaitlyn Mohnen had 17 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.  Steph Buchmann finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and two steals.  Paige Jewett had eight points.  Tabor Teel had four points, 15 rebounds, and five steals.

Tri-Valley (5-6) will travel to Elk Point to play the Elk Point-Jefferson Huskies on Thursday, January 28th.

The Dakota Valley Panthers made a big run late in the second half and outlasted the Tri-Valley Mustangs on Friday, January 22nd at Dakota Valley High School.  The Mustangs fell to the Panthers 51-60.

Dakota Valley did have the lead early in the game.  They held a 12-10 advantage after the first quarter.  The Mustangs went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter and finished the first half with a 25-22 lead.

The Mustangs shot the ball well in the third quarter and extended their lead.  Tri-Valley led by seven points at 43-36 with seconds remaining in the quarter before Dakota Valley made a three-point shot at the buzzer.  The Panthers then made a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 43-42.  Those back-to-back three pointers sparked the Panther offense.  They were 7-10 shooting in the quarter and a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line and outscored Tri-Valley 21-8 in the final quarter for the win.

Tri-Valley finished the game shooting 37% (18-49) from the field, 23% (5-22) from three-point area, and 77% (10-13) from the free-throw line.

Tabor Teel ended the game with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.  Blayne Gacke had 10 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.  Steph Buchmann had nine points, and Kaitlyn Mohnen had eight points and four rebounds.

The Mustangs (5-5) will host Canton on Tuesday, January 26th.