HURON – The Jones County Coyotes used strong defense to jump out to an early lead and held on for a 47-38 victory over the Sully Buttes Chargers Friday in the State B Girls’ Basketball Tournament consolation semifinals at Huron Arena.

Jones County used the defensive intensity of its opening-round matchup with top seed Wolsey-Wessington Thursday as a springboard into its matchup against the Chargers, as the Coyotes used a box-and-one on Charger junior guard Stevie Wittler that really disrupted the Sully Buttes attack.

The Coyotes had a balanced offensive attack that featured post Mallory Valburg and guard Jadyn Jensen, both seniors, on an inside-outside dynamic that gave Sully Buttes matchup fits throughout the first two quarters.

Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half, which was the one thing that held Jones County from pulling away even further in the first half, hitting the halfway mark with a 26-10 lead while outrebounding the Chargers 19-9 and shooting 50 percent from three in the first half.

After the Coyotes scored the first three points of the second half, Sully Buttes went inside to post Lydia Hill. Other offensive options seemed to struggle, but Hill was successful for the Chargers three straight times that she touched the ball. That was really the best offense the Chargers could put together, however, and the Coyotes still held a 33-21 lead entering the final frame.

Foul trouble began to plague Jones County to begin the fourth quarter as Emma Hunt, who had been assigned Stevie Wittler during most of the game defensively, picked up her fourth foul on the first Charger possession of the quarter. The Chargers could not take advantage, however, as shots did not fall enough, and Jones County was able to sink just enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

The Coyotes move to 19-5 behind 17 points and eight rebounds from Jadyn Jensen. Mallory Valburg added 10 points, three assists, and five steals.

The Chargers fell to 20-5 despite a strong showing from Lydia Hill with 17 points and three steals.

Jones County will tassle with Castlewood for the consolation championship today while Sully Buttes plays Howard at noon in the seventh place game.

Sully Buttes       5 10 21 38
Jones County     13 26 33 47

Sully Buttes (20-5): Payge Bakker 1 0-0 2, Calleigh Chicoine 1 0-0 3, Stevie Wittler 3 1-4 7, Addison Chicoine 0 1-2 1, Allyson Wittler 2 2-2 8, Lydia Hill 6 5-8 17. Totals: 13 9-16 38.

Jones County (19-5): Sophie Dowling 1 0-0 3, Peyton Rankin 1 2-5 5, Emma Hunt 2 2-3 7, Mallory Valburg 3 4-4 10, Mallory Venard 2 1-3 5, Jadyn Jensen 5 5-8 17. Totals: 14 14-23 47.
FG: SB - 13/46 28%; JC - 14/47 30%. 3-pt FG: SB - 3/13 (AWittler 2, CChicoine); JC - 5/15 (Jensen 2, Rankin, Hunt, Dowling). Rebounds: SB 32 (SWittler, AChicoine 7), JC 30 (Jensen 8).

Assists: SB 5 (AWittler 2), JC 6 (Valburg 3). Steals: SB 17 (Hill 3), JC 18 (Valburg 5). Turnovers: SB 19, JC 17. Fouls: SB 16, JC 17.

Peyton Rankin of Jones County puts up a shot against Payge Bakker of Sully Buttes during their consolation game in the Class B State Tournament on Friday at Huron Arena.

Castlewood 51, Howard 47
HURON – The Castlewood Warriors hit a pair of free throws with seconds remaining to clinch the game over the Howard Tigers 51-47 Thursday afternoon in consolation semifinal action in the girls’ State B Basketball Tournament at Huron Arena.

The Warriors move to 17-8 with the victory, while the Tigers fall to 19-5.

The 2-3 zone of Castlewood and the 3-2 zone defense of Howard made getting an open look very difficult in the early going inside for either team. With neither team hitting shots from the outside, the score was depressed in the first quarter. A long three from Castlewood’s Madeline Horn as the first period expired gave the Warriors an 11-8 advantage at the end of one.

Horn then opened the second quarter with another three, but then she picked up a second foul, so she had to be cautious on the defensive end. Howard used the high-low game between Abby Aslesen and Kate Connor to keep pace as neither team was able to truly establish heavy momentum in the first half.

A pair of threes from Canyon Kidd and Rylee Rudebusch gave Howard a short-lived lead at 19-17, but Horn answered with a long ball of her own to give the Warriors the lead back at 20-19.

The two big girls for Howard both ended up in foul trouble in the final three minutes of the first half, but Horn followed suit, picking up her third with a minute left, leaving the three tallest players on the court in foul trouble as the first half came to a close. A pair of free throws just before half gave Howard the one-point edge at the break, 25-24.

Connor played strong offensively to open the second half with three fouls, but the Warriors were able to attack inside with both Connor and Aslesen wary of picking up a fourth foul. At the media timeout, Castlewood had pulled ahead 34-31.

The Warriors held a lead until Horn fouled out with two minutes remaining in the game, giving the two post players for Howard the ability to work inside more freely. The Castlewood lead was cut to two, but the Warriors were able to hit key free throws down the stretch.

A three by Tana Hoyer brought Howard within two at 49-47 with 21 seconds remaining. After Mackenzie Everson missed a free throw, the Tigers got the three-point look they wanted with Dakota Spader, but Spader missed the shot. Gracie Haug then sank two free throws for Castlewood, clinching the 51-47 victory.

Horn led the Warriors with 15 points, eight rebounds, and two steals before fouling out.

Mackenzie Everson added 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Connor led the Tigers with 17 points. Canyon Kidd chipped in 10 points and four assists before fouling out. Aslesen grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

Howard will meet Sully Buttes today for seventh place, with Castlewood and Jones County squaring off for the consolation championship.

Howard           8 25 35 47
Castlewood     11 24 36 51

Howard (19-6): Canyon Kidd 4 0-0 10, Tana Hoyer 1 0-0 3, Dakota Spader 1 0-0 3, Abby Aslesen 3 2-2 8, Rylee Rudebusch 1 3-4 6, Kate Connor 8 1-2 17. Totals: 18 6-8 47.

Castlewood (17-8): Presley Knecht 3 0-0 7, Madeline Horn 5 2-2 15, Mackenzie Everson 5 3-6 10, Olivia Akin 1 0-0 3, Gracie Haug 1 4-4 7, Lyndsey Archer 2 0-0 6. Totals: 17 9-12 51.

FG: H - 18/59 31%; C - 17/43 40%. 3-pt FG: H - 5/26 (Kidd 2, Rudebusch, Hoyer, Spader); C - 8/21 (Horn 3, Archer 2, Knecht, Akin, Haug). Rebounds: H 34 (Aslesen 12), C 28 (Everson, Horn 8). Assists: H 9 (Kidd 4), C 8 (Everson 5). Steals: H 15 (Palmquist, Rudebusch 3), C 15 (Horn, Archer 2). Turnovers: H 16, C 16. Fouls: H 16 (Kidd out), C 10 (Horn out).