Cossacks win wild finale

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VOLGA – Sioux Valley closed out the regular season in style, beating Flandreau Indian School 56-48 in a wild girls’ basketball game Tuesday night.

Ellie Schmidt banked in a 3-pointer from the left wing with 21 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Abbie Schneider posted a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. She hit five treys.

Schmidt also scored 16 points, finishing with four 3s.

The Cossacks were limited to just three points in the opening quarter, as they trailed by 10. Sioux Valley cut the deficit to 20-18 at halftime.

Tied at 33 at the end of three, the teams exchanged buckets to open the final period before the home squad rattled off nine consecutive points. Schneider sandwiched 3-pointers around a Schmidt trey, leaving the score at 44-35 with 4:37 remaining.

The Lady Indians’ Gabby Flute Player canned a pair of 3-balls – Sioux Valley’s Perri Liedtke scored in between – to cut the deficit to 50-48 with 1:28 showing on the clock.

Liedtke hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1:11 to play.

The Cossacks came up with a pair of defensive stops before Schmidt’s big 3-pointer made it 54-48 with 21 seconds to go.

“I’m just really, really happy for our kids,” said Sioux Valley coach Jamie Granum. “When you struggle like we have this year and you get a win like that – our locker room was as excited as I’ve seen it in my years of coaching. And the kids know; they know we struggle offensively – it hasn’t been pretty offensively at all.

“The biggest thing about that game was we didn’t get down. I mean, we scored three points in the first quarter and we didn’t give up. We kept talking about effort in our timeouts and the kids came back and made some tough shots.

“They’re a great group to be around; I’m proud of them.”

The Cossacks overcame 36 turnovers in the win.

FIS had 29 turnovers.

Flute Player scored 13 points, Jerusha Bain and Shana Makes Him First added 12 apiece, and Diana Makes Him First had 11.

The Cossacks (5-15) and Lady Indians (11-7) begin play in the Region 2A Tournament on Monday.

SIOUX VALLEY 56, FLANDREAU INDIAN SCHOOL 48

Flandreau Indian School (11-7)

Jerusha Bain 4-11 3-6 12, Shania Makes Him First 4-15 3-5 12, Diana Makes Him First 4-13 0-2 11, Kianna Haas 0-0 0-0 0, Gabby Flute Player 5-15 1-2 13, Sinona Flute 0-1 0-0 0, Justinlyn Romero 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-55 7-15 48.

Sioux Valley (5-15)

Perri Liedtke 2-4 3-4 7, Ellie Schmidt 5-14 2-6 16, Julia Schneider 2-4 3-4 7, Reagan Johnson 3-8 4-5 10, Abbie Schneider 5-14 1-2 16, Ashley Bjerke 0-8 0-0 0, Taylor Jung 0-0 0-0 0, Audrey Fields 0-0 0-0 0, Laryn Stevens 0-2 0-0 0, Alicia VanderWal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 13-21 56.

Flandreau Indian School 13    7  13  15    48

Sioux Valley                       3  15  15  23    56

3-point goals – FIS 7-18 (D. Makes Him First 3-8, Flute Player 2-5, S. Makes Him First 1-1, Bain 1-4), SV 9-32 (A. Schneider 5-12, E. Schmidt 4-12, J. Schneider 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Stevens 0-1, Bjerke 0-5). Rebounds – FIS 25 (Bain, S. Makes Him First 7), SV 43 (A. Schneider 12). Assists – FIS 10 (D. Makes Him First 3), SV 16 (J. Schneider 8). Steals – FIS 17 (Bain 6), SV 12 (J. Schneider, Johnson 3). Blocks – FIS 1 (Flute Player 1), SV 2 (Liedtke, A. Schneider 1). Turnovers – FIS 29, SV 36. Total fouls – FIS 17, SV 15. Fouled out – Bain. Technical fouls – none.