RAPID CITY — Playing tough basketball in all three games, the James Valley Lady Vikings were able to win their final contest, earning seventh place in the Class B State Girls’ Basketball tournament with a 56-50 victory over the Warner Monarchs Saturday at the Monument in Rapid City.

JVC finishes the season 17-8 while Warner falls to 21-5.

The Monarchs got on the board first with a three from Kyra Marcuson, which the Lady Vikings answered after both teams had multiple empty possessions when Kaylie Robinson hit a three.

While both teams were efficient shooting on Friday, the first television break with 4:46 left in the first quarter saw both clubs with multiple missed shots and Warner up 5-3.

Warner begin working a high-low, leading to buckets from Stacia Carda and Anna Schwab that pushed the lead out to 9-3 before another three ball by Robinson with just over a minute left in the first period brought the score to 9-6 Warner.

Schwab hit a bucket with 30 seconds left in the first and Robinson’s shot at the buzzer fell short, so Warner entered the second quarter with an 11-6 lead.

Alexa Goertz hit a three for James Valley to open the second period. A minute later, she hit another to give JVC a 12-11 lead.

With Warner’s defense focused on the interior, Addison Bartholow hit another three for the Lady Vikings and then Goertz was fouled on a trip to the basket and hit a pair of free throws to make it a 17-11 lead and give JVC their first points of the game that were not from behind the arc.

Strong defense led to offense for the Vikings, allowing them to push the lead out to 26-13 with 3:37 left in the half. Warner was able to get a few baskets to end the half, but JVC went into the break with a 28-20 lead.

The teams came out playing stout defense to open the second half, with Robinson hitting one of two free throws for the only point for either team in the first two minutes of the second half.

Daril Frandsen got a layup at the end of a transition for JVC to push the lead to 31-20 with 4:58 left in the third.

Lauren Marcuson scored Warner’s first points of the second half out of the break, and that started a quick-paced portion of the game that saw Warner outscore the Lady Vikings 11-7 over a two minute burst in the game, but JVC maintained a 38-31 lead as JVC coach Krista Robinson called a timeout to settle her squad.

The Monarchs pushed the ball into the paint, but Warner had also picked up their fifth foul of the third, leading to multiple free throw attempts for JVC. Three free throws from Kyra Marcuson at the end of the third quarter chipped the JVC lead down to 40-36 at the end of the third.

Warner pushed in transition to earn a trio of free throws and a bucket to chip into the lead as JVC committed four turnovers in the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, allowing the Monarchs to take a 41-40 lead.

Goertz immediately responded with a three to give JVC back the lead at 43-41, but Warner hit another pair at the free throw line to tie the game with 4:39 left.

JVC got a steal on the next two defensive possessions and turned them both into buckets to push the lead back out to 47-43.

The teams went back and forth, with Warner’s press getting layup attempts that led to foul shots, allowing the Monarchs to climb back to 49-48 with 1:15 left in the game.

Bartholow nailed a three from the top of the key, then with 32 seconds left, Ava Nilsson hit a pair of free throws to cut the JVC lead to 52-50.

Warner was forced to foul, and Goertz four of six down the stretch to seal a 56-50 victory for the Lady Vikings.

Goertz led JVC wth 25 points. Robinson chipped in 14 points and had seven steals. Robinson and Addyson Knight each hauled in five rebounds to pace the Lady Vikings.

Kyra Marcuson went 11-12 from the line to finish with 14 points for Warner. Lauren Marcuson added 11 points before fouling out.

Ava Nilsson hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds along with five assists and five steals.

James Valley Christian 6 28 40 56
Warner 11 20 36 50

James Valley Christian (16-8): Daril Frandsen 2 0-0 5, Rhayonna Hood 2 0-0 4, Kaylie Robinson 5 2-6 14, Addison Bartholow 3 0-0 8, Alexa Goertz 6 9-13 25. Totals: 18 11-19 56.

Warner (21-4): Kyra Marcuson 1 11-12 14, Ava Nilsson 0 2-2 2, Kyleigh Schopp 3 0-0 6, Stacie Carda 2 0-0 4, Jordyn Jensen 2 0-0 4, Sophia Hoeft 2 1-4 7, Lauren Marcuson 5 1-2 11, MaKenna Leidholt 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 15-20 50.

FG: JVC - 18/41 44%; W - 16/56 29%. 3-pt FG: JVC 9/22 (Goertz 4, Robinson 2, Bartholow 2, Frandsen); W 3/19 (Hoeft 2, KMarcuson). Rebounds: JVC 30 (Knight, Robinson 5), W 39 (Nilsson 14). Assists: JVC 11 (Hood 5), W 13 (Nilsson 5). Steals: JVC 15 (Robinson 7), W 13 (Nilsson 5). Turnovers: JVC 25, W . Fouls: JVC 15, W 17 (Hoeft, LMarcuson out).