The Flandreau Flier girls took an opening round loss and then came back to win the Consolation Championship at the State Class A Girls Basketball Tournament last weekend in Brookings.
The Fliers lost to Tea Area, rebounded and won over Hanson and Mahpya Lta.
Two Fliers, Lily Klein and Lizzie Pavlis, were named to the All-Tournament team.
Flandreau upset by Tea Area in Class A quarterfinals
BROOKINGS The third seeded Flandreau Fliers were upset in the quarterfinals of the State Class A State Girls Basketball Tournament, falling to the sixth-seeded Tea Area Titans 52-47 at the Dacotah Bank Center on Thursday night.
The loss stung as the Fliers entered with a 23-0 record but the teams effort to rally from a double-digit deficit in the first half and bring the game within a possession in the fourth quarter was something that helped them hold their heads high.
My kids are tough, Flandreau head coach Megan Severtson said. I knew that going in, we were excited about the matchup. Tea is a really nice team and we knew it was going to be a battle. They just had girls that knocked down shots and unfortunately, tonight wasnt our best shooting night.
The Titans set the tone early with a 9-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and built a 26-17 lead with 1:48 left in the second quarter. Lily Klein knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Katie Vasecka made a layup with seven seconds to go to give Tea a 28-23 lead at halftime.
While Flandreau was within striking distance, the Titans made things difficult with a zone defense that clogged up the paint and the Fliers couldnt convert their opportunities on the outside, shooting 3-for-21 on 3-pointers in the game.
I think the style of zone they were playing put them into some passing lanes and our girls just werent quite prepared for that, Severtson said. We did a better job in the second half taking care of the basketball, but we just dug ourselves too big of a hole.
The Titans built their lead to as many as 11 points and led 44-36 at the end of the third quarter but the Fliers went on a 6-2 run to make it a 46-42 lead on Sadie Iotts layup with 4:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The Fliers had a chance to cut it to a one-possession game after Klein came up with a steal but a missed 3-pointer and layup by Claire Sheppard allowed Tea Area to extend their lead on Mara Grants lay-up with 2:31 to play.
After both teams exchanged a pair of scoreless possessions, Klein knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:36 to play to make it a 48-45 game. The Fliers got a stop on the other end when Vasecka missed a layup and committed her fifth foul of the game with 1:01 to play but the Fliers missed a hook shot at the rim on the next possession and Reese Hammerquist came up with a steal with 42 seconds to go.
With a couple of free throws down the stretch, the Titans advanced to a state semifinal matchup with Sioux Falls Christian on Friday night but Severtson still admired the effort of her team to fight their way back into the game.
Thats just my girls, Severtson said. Their attitude. Their effort. They have a never-give-up mindset. I was really proud of how they responded.
Klein finished with a team-high 19 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Fliers while Claire Sheppard finished with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, a pair of blocks and a steal. Pavlis had eight points and 13 rebounds while Iott had six points and four boards.
Ellie Clayberg led Tea Area with 17 points while Vasecka had 14 points, eight points, five assists and three steals. Haidyn West had nine points and Mara Grant had six points and five rebounds.
Flandreau shot 39 percent for the game and made 2-of-10 (20%) free throws. The Fliers out-rebounded the Titans 33-26 and committed 14 turnovers.
Tea Area shot 48 percent in the game including 5-of-9 (55.6%) on 3-pointers. The Titans made 9-of-14 (64.3%) free throws and committed 14 turnovers.
The loss dropped the Fliers to 23-1 on the season and sent them to the consolation bracket where they faced Hanson on Friday afternoon. While Thursdays loss was disappointing, Severtson says her team is focused on finishing the season strong in the final two games.
Flandreau shuts down Hanson in Class A consolation semifinal
Shortly after the Flandreau Fliers lost to Tea Area in the quarterfinals of the State Class A Girls Basketball Tournament on Thursday night, head coach Megan Severtson stated that one of the goals over their next two games was to not let the loss define them or their season.
In wins over Hanson on Friday and Mahpya Lta on Saturday, the Fliers showed just what kind of team they are and how a program that was built in large part by their five seniors rallied from a tough loss to win the consolation championship.
I have a really gritty group of girls, Severtson said after Saturdays win. They had to work for this. Weve had to work to get our program to this position and my senior class has been a big part of getting us to a program thats well-respected across the state.
The weekend began with the Fliers shaking off Thursdays loss and turning in a dominant performance against Hanson in the consolation semifinals. Flandreaus defense had been a calling card all season and was prominent on Friday afternoon, holding Hanson to just eight percent shooting in the first quarter and 20 percent in the first half.
After racing to leads of 12-4 at the end of the first quarter and 30-12 at halftime, Flandreau put an exclamation point on the win, extending their lead to 51-24 after three quarters and sealing the win with a 14-9 fourth quarter advantage. Flandreau forced 14 turnovers and out-rebounded Hanson 40-29 on the way to a 65-33 victory.
Our defense going into this tournament is what we really relied on all year long, Severtson said. But in the first game against Tea, we probably came out with a little too many jitters. We settled in on the second day of the tournament with a little less pressure and we had something to prove. My girls responded well to it.
(Severtson, in her high school days, played basketball for long-time Hanson Head Coach Jim Bridge.)
Lily Klein led the way with 23 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Fliers in Fridays win while Claire Sheppard knocked down six 3-pointers on the way to 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Lizzie Pavlis had 10 points and eight rebounds while Morgan Sheppard and Sadie Iott had six points each.
Eliza Oltmanns led Hanson with nine points and three rebounds while Alyssa Moschell had eight points and five rebounds.
Flandreau shot 53 percent in the game including 10-of-18 (60%) on 3-pointers. The Fliers also made 3-of-5 (60%) free throws, outrebounded Hanson 40-29 and committed 17 turnovers.
Hanson shot 22 percent in the game including 3-for-22 (14%) on 3-pointers. The Beaverettes made 8-of-9 (89%) free throws and committed 14 turnovers.
Win battle over Mahpya Lta
In a battle of the two undefeated teams heading into the tournament, the Fliers got off to a fast start with an 11-2 run to open the game. But Mahpya Lta had their response, using a full-court press to turn up the tempo and cutting Flandreaus lead to 13-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The Fliers pulled away by doing some of the things that they did best. Their defense held Mahpya Lta to five points in the second quarter and Flandreau closed the first half on an 11-1 run to take a 27-17 lead into the half. Flandreaus lead swelled to as many as 19 points before taking a 46-29 lead into the fourth quarter and the Fliers closed out the game to win the consolation title with a 56-41 victory.
They made us play way too fast in the first quarter but I thought once we settled in, we were able to get some open looks, Severtson said. We were able to rely on our defense to create a couple of things on offense for us, so it was fun to come out of here with a win.
It was a fitting finale for Flandreaus five seniors including Klein, who had 17 points, 15 rebounds and five assists and Pavlis, who also had a double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
Sheppard had 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks and Grace Krull and Hayden Neises checked in near the end of the game to get their final moment as part of a group that helped put Flier girls basketball on the map both in the South Dakota basketball scene and in their community.
They bought into the program, Severtson said of her senior class. Theyve always been excited to be a Flandreau Flier. Because of them, there are a lot of little girls in our community that are really excited to play Flandreau basketball.
Severtson said the way her team responded this weekend will define her team more than how they finished the season and at 25-1, the Fliers had a lot to be proud of.
I love these girls, Severtson said. Theyre a part of my family. My kids love these girls. My husband has to hear a lot about girls basketball for months. But what I think weve built here is a community that supports these kids and supports their students. Thats really fun to see because when these girls leave this program, Ive always wanted them to be proud that theyre from Flandreau.
At the welcome home rally on Sunday, Severtson echoed those thoughts in talking to her team.
We had a saying this season of Finish the Dream and while you may feel that you didnt do that (not winning the state championship), youve done this by leaving your legacy on Flier girls basketball for many young girls.
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