Last weekend, the Garretson Girls Basketball team hosted the first two games of the Big East Conference Tournament before heading to Beresford. While the team smoked its first opponent, McCook Central/Montrose, they had trouble overcoming Flandreau and Beresford, ending the tournament 1-2.
"We were number 4 seed for the tournament," said Head Coach Matt Schrank.
The Lady Dragon pulled out the first two points of the game against MCM on Thursday, thanks to some great teamwork between Jordyn Williams, Kylie Christensen, and Tayler Benson on a steal. The rest of the game was similarly executed as the team pressed their advantage, keeping the lead and widening the point spread. They went into the half 26-13.
While it seemed for a short time in the 4th quarter that MCM might catch the Dragons as they narrowed the twenty-point lead, Garretson continued sinking their shots while the Cougars kept bouncing off the rim, and the buzzer sounded with a score of 46-33.
Williams drove the game, gathering 17 points in her 26 minutes on the court, including three 3-pointers. Benson led with 10 steals and five assists, and took home 11 points of the game. She was followed closely by Sydney Olson, who scored nine points. Christensen was on point with five defensive rebounds and four offensive rebounds. Underclassmen Ava Ockenga, Ashley Harris, Alyssa Olson, and Jordan DeWitte came in clutch, providing the rest of the team's points and successful rebounds.
In the second game of the tournament, Garretson hosted Flandreau on Friday, and had a hard time with the opponents who overpowered them.
"Our second game we ran into the #1 seed Flandreau and lost 51-22," said Schrank. Flandreau ultimately won the Big East Conference Tournament, beating Sioux Valley.
Flandreau was up 6 right out of the gate, and their defense made it difficult for the Dragons to get off any shots at the basket. The first quarter ended with the Dragons down 5-19. The pressure didn't end, as Garretson was only able to snatch eight points during the second quarter to Flandreau's 14, going into the half 13-33.
In the second half, Garretson played a harder offense, but again just couldn't overcome the Flyers' defense. The visiting team continued to sink baskets while not allowing the Dragons a clear shot at their net.
S. Olson and Harris took home the most points with 8 and 5, respectively, while Christensen took home 4. Christensen also had three steals in her 21 minutes on the court.
Saturday saw the Blue Dragons travel to Beresford for the third-place game in the tournament. Unfortunately, they couldn't overcome the#2 seeded home team and took the loss, ending the game 35-58.
Both teams began the first quarter battling it out, but the Watchdogs seemed to find their footing while Garretson stalled, ending the first down 3-14.
They worked to get into a groove during the second quarter, making up some lost ground, but again had a tough time sinking the baskets. They went into the half 11-25.
Beresford didn't let up the pressure in quarters 3 and 4, widening their lead to twenty points early in the 4th quarter. Garretson was unable to make any progress on closing the gap, leaving the Watchdogs to take home the win.
S. Olson led the team in scoring on Saturday, with 15 points added to her tally. Her defensive game was also on, with four defensive rebounds. Christensen put 8 more points onto her tally while Williams, Christensen, and Harris stole the ball 3, 2, and 2 times respectively. Ava Ockenga's offensive was good, as she brought home five offensive rebounds.
The Dragons head up to Salem tonight (Thursday) to again battle it out with the Fighting Cougars. The next few games after are a double-header feature, as both girls and boys teams take on Beresford, Elkton-Lake Benton, and Parker on February 6, 10, and 13, all in the Dragons' Lair.
