The West Central Trojan girls basketball team took home third place at the 2022 South Dakota Class A Girls State Basketball Tournament held in Brookings Thursday, March 10th through Saturday, March 12th.

West Central 65, Dakota Valley 52

The Trojans faced a familiar Dak-12 opponent in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday.  West Central, the #2 seed, played #7 Dakota Valley.   The Panthers had an early 6-3 lead after a two-point basket by Jorja Van Den Hul, but that lead was short lived.  The Trojans went on a 6-0 run and led 9-6 with 5:31 to play in the opening quarter.  The Panthers pulled within one point, 12-11, with 2:03, but that was as close as they would get.

West Central finished the first quarter on a 6-2 run for an 18-13 lead.  The Trojans were able to push the lead to 11 points, 32-21, after a three pointer by Addy Kramer with 1:59 to go in the first half.  West Central led 35-23 at halftime.  The Panthers were only able to get within seven points, 47-40, with 1:13 in the third quarter.  The Trojans won the opening-round game 65-52.

Tabor Teel had 18 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.  Addy Kramer also had 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists.  Rylee Haldeman finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.  Cambell Fischer had six points and four rebounds.

Hamlin 52, West Central 38

West Central then faced #3 Hamlin in the semifinals on Friday.  The game was back and forth through three quarters of play.  The Chargers had the an 11-9 advantage after the first quarter.  The Trojans outscored Hamlin 13-9 in the second quarter for a 22-20 halftime lead.  Hamlin had the scoring advantage in the third quarter.  The Chargers led 33-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

Haldeman scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to give West Central a 34-33 lead with 6:02 to go in the game.  That’s when things completely went the way of the Chargers.  Hamlin went on a 16-0 run for a 49-36 lead with 1:15 to go in the game.  The Chargers took the win 52-38.

Haldeman led the Trojans with 14 points and three rebounds.  Teel added 10 points and seven rebounds.  Kramer finished with seven points and seven rebounds.  Josslin Jarding also finished with seven points.

West Central 62, Wagner 54

The Trojans met up with #1 seed Wagner Red Raiders in the third/fourth place game on Saturday evening.  The two teams played to a 9-9 tie after the first quarter.  Wagner had a three-point advantage, 24-21, at halftime.

West Central made their run in the second half.  The Trojans opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run for a 27-24 lead just :57 into the half.  Wagner eventually tied the game, 31-31, with 3:57 to go in the third quarter.  West Central responded with a 7-0 run and led 38-31 after a three pointer by Fischer with 2:16 to go in the quarter.  Wagner cut the lead to 40-38 heading into the fourth quarter.

The game was tied 40-40 and 42-42 early in the fourth quarter.  West Central was leading 49-48 with 4:44 to play and then went on another run.  The Trojans went on a 9-0 run and led 58-48 with 2:30 to go in the game.  Wagner cut the lead to four points, 58-54, but the Trojans ended the game on a 6-0 run for the 62-54 win.

Kramer had 20 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.  Haldeman finished with 16 points and three assists.  Teel had 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Fischer had seven points and two rebounds.  Jarding added six points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Tournament Awards

Besides taking home the third place trophy, West Central had some more tournament awards.  The Trojan cheerleaders were awarded the “Spirit of Six” winners.  Kramer and Haldeman were also All-Tournament selections.

It was a big night for the West Central Trojan girls basketball team on Thursday, March 3rd.  The Trojans played the Crow Creek Chieftains in Madison in the SoDak 16 with the winner advancing to the state tournament.  Not only did the Trojans punch their ticket to the state tournament with a 54-40 win, but Rylee Haldeman hit her 1,000 career point in the game.

It was clear from the start the Trojans were on a mission.  West Central wasted no time on the offensive end of the court and started the game on a 10-0 run.  That lead grew to 14 points, 24-10, at the end of the first quarter.  Their defensive pressure caused problems for Crow Creek in the second quarter, and West Central built a 35-14 lead by halftime.

Things continued to go in the favor of the Trojans throughout much of the third quarter.  West Central had a game-high 23 point lead, 41-18, with 2:39 to play in the quarter.  Crow Creek, however, started to make a run from that point.  The Chieftains ended the quarter on an 8-2 run and cut the lead to 43-26 heading into the fourth quarter.  They were able to get the lead down to 13 points, 48-35, but Haldeman’s 1,000 point with 1:17 to play in the game on a layup ended the Crow Creek run and sealed the victory for the Trojans.

West Central shot 39% (19-49) from the field, 20% (5-25) on three-point shots, and 42% (11-26) from the free-throw line.  Crow Creek was 25% (13-53) shooting overall, 16% (3-19) from beyond the arc, and 61% (11-18) from the free-throw line.

Two players had a double-double for the Trojans.  Tabor Teel had 17 points and 12 rebounds along with four blocked shots.  Addy Kramer finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and two assists.  Haldeman’s night ended with 10 points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals.

The Trojans will enter the 2022 South Dakota High School Class A Girls State Tournament as the #2 seed.  They will play #6 Dakota Valley in the opening round at Frost Arena in Brookings on Thursday, March 10th, at 6:00 p.m.

The #1 seed West Central Trojans advanced in Region 3A tournament after a 69-16 win over the Dell Rapids Quarriers at home on Tuesday, February 22nd.

It took most of the first quarter for the Trojan offense and defense to get going, but once they did, they cruised to the win.  West Central only lead 9-6 with 2:45 to play in the first quarter.  They then went on an 8-0 run to lead 17-6 with a minute left in the opening quarter.  The first quarter ended with the Trojans leading 20-10.  Dell Rapids made a three pointer to start the second quarter and pulled within seven points, 20-13, with 7:45 in the first half.

The Trojans took over the game from that point.  West Central ended the second quarter on a 33-0 run to lead 53-13 at halftime.  The run continued into the third quarter, and the score was 58-13 before Dell Rapids was able to make a free throw with 4:02 to play in the quarter.  The Trojans outscored the Quarriers 11-3 the rest of the game.

West Central finished the game shooting 44% (27-62) overall, 38% (9-24) from three-point area, and 6-10 from the free-throw line.  Dell Rapids was held to just 18% (6-33) shooting, 2-12 from three-point area, and 2-4 from the free-throw line.  The Trojans also forced 28 Quarrier turnovers, 20 of those on steals.

Rylee Haldeman had 23 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists.  Addy Kramer finished with 16 points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists.  Tabor Teel added 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals.  Cambell Fischer had six points, three steals, three assists, and two rebounds.

West Central will get a rematch with Tri-Valley in a SoDak 16 Qualifying game on Thursday, February 24th at 6:30 p.m. at Harrisburg High School.

The West Central Trojan girls basketball team dominated every phase of the game against the McCook Central/Montrose Cougars at home on Tuesday, February 8th.  The Trojans made more shots than the Cougars attempted in an 81-27 victory.  With 6:50 to play in the third quarter, Tabor Teel hit her 1,000 career point on a layup, which was her 18th point of the game.

It didn’t take long for the Trojans to get going in the game.  They scored 30 points in the first quarter and led 30-10 at the break.  The defense held the Cougars to just six points in the second quarter, and West Central led 56-16 at halftime.  They continued to roll in the second half outscoring the Cougars 25-11 in the final two quarters.

West Central finished the game shooting 52% (33-64) overall, 42% (8-19) from three-point area, and 7-11 from the free-throw line.  McCook Central/Montrose was 25% (8-32) shooting, 2-13 on three pointers, and 9-16 from the free-throw line.  The Trojan defense forced 27 Cougar turnovers, 18 of those coming on steals.

Teel finished with 18 points, six rebounds, five steals, and four assists.  Rylee Haldeman also had 18 points along with four steals and five assists.  Addy Kramer had 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots.  Josslin Jarding added seven points and three assists.  Keighlor Nolz finished with six points.

West Central (17-2) will end their regular season on the road in Canton on Tuesday, February 15th.

In a battle of top teams in their respective classes, the West Central Trojans played the Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers at the Dak-12/NEC girls clash in Madison on Saturday, February 5th.  The Cavaliers held the Trojans to just 16 points in the second half and got a 55-52 come-from-behind win.

West Central started hot and doubled up the Cavaliers in the first quarter.  The Trojans led 26-13 at the first quarter break.  Roncalli cut into the lead in the second quarter, but West Central led 36-27 at halftime.  The Cavaliers started making their run in the third quarter.  They outscored the Trojans 14-9 and trailed just 45-41 heading into the fourth quarter.  Roncalli again outscored the Trojans in the fourth quarter, 14-7, and took the game 55-52.

The Trojans finished the game shooting 37% (19-52) overall, 29% (7-24) on three pointers, and 55% (6-11) from the free-throw line.  They finished with 20 total team rebounds and 14 team assists.

Tabor Teel had 20 points and six rebounds.  Rylee Haldeman added 15 points and three rebounds.  Addy Kramer finished 13 points and four rebounds.

The West Central Trojan girls held the Madison Bulldogs to single-digit scoring in every quarter on their way to a 66-19 road win on Friday, February 4th.

The Trojans led from start to finish in the game.  West Central led 25-2 after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 37-9 at halftime.  The Trojans outscored Madison 29-10 in the second half.

West Central shot 39% (25-64) from the field, 32% (10-31) from three-point area, and 50% (6-12) from the free-throw line.  Madison was just 22% (8-36) shooting in the game, 15% (2-13) from three-point area, and 1-1 from the free-throw line.

Addy Kramer had 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals.  Tabor Teel had 14 points, five rebounds, and five steals.  Rylee Haldeman had nine points, three rebounds, and two steals.