RAPID CITY – For the first time in school history, the Arlington Cardinals are heading to the state championship game.
The top-seeded Cardinals defeated Ethan 43-41 in the semifinals of the State Class B Girls Basketball Tournament on Friday night and will face Centerville in the state championship game at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday.
The game got off to a tough start for the Cardinals as Ethan used its zone defense to force seven Arlington turnovers. While the Rustlers held a 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals hit their stride in the second half, going on a 10-2 run that was highlighted by Jaelyn Huntimer’s 3-pointer to tie the game at 22-22 and a layup by Huntimer to give Arlington a 24-22 lead.
The Cardinals used that momentum to take a 27-25 lead into halftime but the Rustlers came back to tie the game at 34-34 on Madeline Bartscher’s layup with two seconds left.
With the game being reduced to eight minutes, the Cardinals' defense that had gotten them to the state tournament stepped up again, holding the Rustlers without a point for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
Arlington’s air-tight defense allowed the Cardinals to take the lead on Addalyn Steffensen’s 3-pointer with 6:12 to play and the Cardinals took a 40-34 lead on a 3-pointer by Huntimer with 1:14 to go.
Bartscher hit a 3-pointer on the following possession to bring the Rustlers within 40-37 and Addalyn Steffensen made one of two free throws before Rachel Klock’s layup made it a 41-39 game with 30 seconds left. Another free throw by Huntimer made it a three-point game again and Klock missed a 3-pointer to tie it before Huntimer grabbed the rebound and made two free throws to ice the game and finish with a game-high 24 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Jolyssa Steffensen had seven points and five rebounds in the win while Addalyn Steffensen finished with five points and ten rebounds.
Bartscher led the Rustlers with 15 points while Klock had eight points and 12 rebounds. Ava Lingemann had eight points and Marissa Storm also had seven points for Ethan.
The Cardinals shot 39 percent including 9-for-25 (36%) on 3-pointers. Arlington went 5-of-10 from the free throw line, out-rebounded Ethan 43-28 and committed 15 turnovers.
The Rustlers shot 25 percent including 6-for-30 (20%) on 3-pointers. Ethan went 7-for-13 at the free throw line and committed nine turnovers.
