MADISON – No. 5 West Central raced out to a 16-1 lead and held off No 12 Flandreau for a 49-42 victory in a Class A Round of 16 girls’ basketball game Thursday evening.
The Trojans qualified for the state tourney for the 11th time in school history.
“We played against a traditionally very good team that has been in this position a lot,” said Flier coach Megan Severtson. “It took a little while for us to shake some things off early in the first quarter. And by digging ourselves into that hole, we had to expend a lot of energy to get out of it. We just didn’t have enough time.”
Severtson said she thought jitters may have played a role in the slow start.
“We understood how much pressure they apply and what they do defensively, but I just think we got kind of stagnant offensively and stood, which allowed their very aggressive guards to pick off some passes and get some easy layups,” she added.
The Trojans forced 25 turnovers, 18 of which came on steals, and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.
After pulling within 18-6 at the end of the first quarter, Flandreau used a 13-4 run in the second to get back in the game.
Hannah Parsley, who posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, hit a jumper and went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line to open the spurt.
After Ashtyn Bertram buried a jump shot, Kathy Parsley scored on a drive to the basket and converted 3-of-4 free throws as the Fliers cut the deficit to 22-19 with less than a minute to play in the half.
West Central’s Rylee Haldeman’s bucket with 14 seconds to go put the Trojans ahead 24-19 at the break.
Hannah Parsley opened the third-quarter scoring but West Central answered with four consecutive points, leaving the score at 28-21.
Ashlyn Macdonald, who dropped in a game-high 19 points, hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 20 seconds to play in the period as the Trojans held a 35-25 lead heading to the fourth.
Macdonald’s steal and breakaway layup pushed the margin to 37-25 early in the final stanza.
Flandreau countered with five points in a row, as Kathy Parsley made two charity tosses and Hannah Parsley converted an old-fashioned 3-point play following an offensive rebound to make it 37-30 with 5:21 showing on the clock.
The Fliers twice pulled within five after that – 41-36 via a Tishara Hardy trey from the left wing with 1:47 remaining and again at 45-40 on Mara Lunday’s driving basket with 43.2 seconds left.
However, Kaitlyn Meadors and Macdonald both went 2-for-2 from the line down the stretch to seal the deal.
“The culture that these seniors have built is one that is a never give up attitude; it is a fight to the last-minute push,” Severtson said of the comeback. “They do a great job. Absolutely, I’m very proud of their effort. Things could have gone very differently had they not had the fight that they do.”
Haldeman added 10 points and finished with five of the Trojans’ steals.
For the Fliers, Kathy Parsley ended up with nine points and nine boards.
Severtson agreed the Fliers, who finished with a 15-7 record, still had a successful season.
“I think there a lot of different ways to measure success and if you just measured it by the number of times you went to the state tournament, you wouldn’t have very many successful seasons as a coach,” she added. “So I tried to talk to these girls about what they’re doing tonight and this atmosphere that they were a part of. It helps our program continue to grow and get stronger.
“So, yes, absolutely I’m proud. We did a lot of good things; we made a lot of strides; and a lot of young players stepped up this year.”
The Class A State Girls’ Basketball Tournament is Thursday through Saturday at the Watertown Civic Arena. Fourth-seeded West Central (17-5) takes on fifth-seeded Crow Creek (17-4) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 1:45 p.m.
Notes: The Trojans won Class A state titles in 1999 and 2008, while adding a second-place finish in 2005. … Five of Flandreau’s seven losses this season came against state tournament qualifiers. … The Fliers were seeking their third state tourney bid all-time, and first since 1997.
WEST CENTRAL 49, FLANDREAU 42
Flandreau (15-7)
Mara Lunday 1-3 1-2 3, Kathy Parsley 2-8 5-7 9, Hannah Parsley 5-11 8-9 18, Marianna PAvlis 1-3 0-0 2, Brooke Iott 0-1 0-0 0, Ashtyn Bertram 2-4 0-0 4, Tishara Hardy 2-8 0-0 6, Makenzen Burggraff 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-39 14-18 42.
West Central (17-5)
Ashlyn Macdonald 5-16 6-6 19, Bailey Nester 1-4 4-4 6, Olivia Becker 1-2 2-4 4, Kali Nelson 1-7 0-0 2, Kaitlyn Meadors 1-5 4-6 6, Rachel Eickman 0-1 0-0 0, Kassidy Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Cheyanne Masterson 0-4 0-2 0, Cassidy Siemonsma 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor Rajewich 1-5 0-0 2, Rylee Haldeman 4-6 2-2 10. Totals 14-54 18-24 49.
Flandreau 6 13 6 17 – 42
West Central 18 6 11 14 – 49
3-point goals – F 2-13 (Hardy 2-7, Lunday 0-2, H. Parsley 0-2, Bertram 0-2), WC 3-15 (Macdonald 3-7, Nelson 0-1, Haldeman 0-1, Nester 0-2, Rajewich 0-4). Rebounds – F 38 (H. Parsley 10), WC 35 (Nelson 7). Assists – F 8 (K. Parsley 3), WC 6 (Nester, Nelson 2). Steals – F 7 (Lunday 3), WC 18 (Haldeman 5). Blocks – F 1 (H. Parsley 1), WC 1 (Masterson 1). Turnovers – F 25, WC 11. Total fouls – F 15, WC 15. Fouled out – Pavlis. Technical fouls – None.
