In one of the most anticipated games of the 2nd Annual Sacred Hoops Classic in Mitchell on Saturday, January 2nd, the undefeated West Central Trojan girls played the undefeated White River Tigers.  The game matched all of the hype leading to the game.

Neither team was able to get a sizeable advantage during the game, and it all game down to a shot at the buzzer.  Unfortunately for the Trojans, the winning basket came at the hands of Caelyn Valandra-Prue as the Tigers won the game 62-60.

Each team held a lead at the different quarter breaks.  West Central had the first quarter break leading 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.  White River was able to grab a four-point lead at halftime of 37-33.

The Trojans took the lead again in the third quarter, and pushed the lead to 47-42 with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.  White River ended the quarter on a 4-0 run, and the Trojans led 47-46 heading into the final quarter.  Both teams traded leads in the fourth quarter.

Addy Kramer made her seventh three-point basket with 1:41 to go in the game to give West Central a 60-58 lead.  The Tigers tied the game at the free-throw line with 1:06 to play.  Both teams had an opportunity to take the lead in the final minute, but it was the shot of Valandra-Prue as the buzzer sounded that won the game for the Tigers.

West Central finished the game shooting 41% (23-56) from the field, 42% (11-26) from three-point area, and just 3-10 from the foul line.  The free-throw line is where White River held a huge advantage.  The Tigers finished the game 22-27 for 81%.

Kramer, who was named the game’s MVP for West Central, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.  Rylee Haldeman had 14 points and nine assists.  Cassidy Siemonsma had 13 points and six rebounds.

Playing in their third home game out of their first four of the season, the West Central Trojan girls beat another AA team on Tuesday, December 22nd.  The Trojans had no trouble with the Watertown Arrows in a 53-30 victory.

The West Central defense caused problems for Watertown all night long.  The Trojans forced 26 Arrow turnovers, with 15 of those turnovers coming on steals.  West Central also held Watertown to just 24% shooting from the field and 0-13 from three-point area.

The Trojans had the lead from the start of the game getting out to a 14-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.  The lead grew to 12 points by halftime at 24-12.  Watertown pulled within six points at 26-20 with 3:30 to play in the third quarter, but that was as close as they would get.  West Central closed out the third quarter on a 7-0 run to lead 33-20.  The Trojans then outscored Watertown 20-10 in the final quarter for the win.

West Central finished the game shooting 32% (18-56) from the field, 30% (6-20) from three-point area, and 58% (11-19) from the free-throw line.  Two players finished in double figures.  Rylee Haldeman had 12 points, seven steals, four rebounds, and three assists.  Molli Thornton also had 12 points with two rebounds.  Addy Kramer finished with eight points and nine rebounds.  Cassidy Siemonsma added eight points and six rebounds, while Josslin Jarding ended with seven points and seven rebounds.

West Central (4-0) will play White River at 6:00 p.m. in the Sacred Hoops Classic in Mitchell on Saturday, January 2nd.

The last time the West Central Trojan and Winner Warrior girls basketball team met was in the South Dakota Class A state championship game in 2019.  Both teams were undefeated going into the game, and it was Winner that was took home the championship and perfect season after a 60-53 victory.  The Warriors had not lost a game since then.  They finished last year’s season undefeated (no championship games played) and had won their first two games of this season.

The Trojans and Warriors met again in Hartford on Friday, December 18th, for a battle of top five teams.  West Central came into the game ranked fifth in the latest media poll, and Winner entered the game as the number one ranked team.

West Central led at the end of every quarter break and snapped the long winning streak of the Winner Warriors with a 53-43 victory.

The Trojans found themselves leading by four points at the end of the first quarter at 12-8.  They were able to grow the lead to seven points by halftime at 25-18.  Winner kept within striking distance in the third quarter as the Trojans led 36-30 heading into the fourth.  West Central outscored Winner 17-13 in the final quarter to secure the win.

Cassidy Siemonsma finished with a team-high 18 points for West Central.  Josslin Jarding added 13 points.  Addy Kramer had 12 points along with seven rebounds.

West Central (3-0) will host Watertown on Tuesday, December 22nd.