Britton-Hecla picked up a win in three starts to wrap up regular season play and met Sisseton in the first round of Region 1A in Groton last night Tuesday.
The Lady Braves took a 5-15 record into postseason play after topping Waverly-South Shore 40-34, and falling to Hamlin 79-23 and Groton Area 61-21 last week. The winner between Britton-Hecla and Sisseton will take on the Groton Area-Redfield winner on Thursday at the highest seed.
“We had some good quarters and bad quarters but haven’t really put four quarters together all year,” said B-H coach Terry Nelson. “We just have to keep positive, go out and have fun, and hopefully put it all together this week.”
Britton-Hecla 40
Waverly-South Shore 34
Waverly-South Shore cut a nine-point Britton-Hecla halftime lead down to five after three quarters but the Lady Braves hung on for the win.
B-H threatened to take charge on several occasions but the visitors kept hanging around. Mallory Grupe hit a couple of buckets and Daynika Zuehlke netted a trey to spark a 12-1 first quarter run but W-SS hit a pair of three-pointers in the final minute to cut the margin to 14-9 at the break. Then RaeAnn Hagneon and Heather Storbakken hit from downtown to fuel a 10-1 run and a 24-10 margin, but W-SS scored the last five points to make it 24-15 at the half.
The visitors cut the margin to 29-26 just 30 seconds into the final quarter but Maddi Micko answered with a trey and a free toss, Karlie Zuehlke hit a corner fielder and a follow shot, and Storbakken added a free throw for a 38-30 lead and W-SS wasn’t able to get closer than five the rest of the way.
Karlie Zuehlke, Daynika Zuehlke, and Micko led a balanced scoring effort with nine points each. Karlie Zuehlke added 12 rebounds, Micko had eight boards, four assists and four steals, and Daynika Zuehlke had five assists and five steals.
WAVERLY-SOUTH SHORE: Brianna Gottschalk 1 0-0 3, Jolene Kranz 2 1-2 5, Dashaya Koch 1 0-0 3, Jaina Johnson 2 5-5 9, Annie Stricherz 2 3-6 9, Marlie Riter 2 1-6 5, Gypsy Carlson 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 10-19 34.
BRITTON-HECLA: Karlie Zuehlke 4 1-4 9, Rae Ann Hagenson 1 1-2 4, Heather Storbakken 1 1-2 4, Daynika Zuehlke 3 2-6 9, Mallory Grupe 1 1-2 3, Maddi Micko 3 2-4 9, Chellon Pruitt 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 8-20 40.
WSS (6-12) 9 15 24 34
BH (5-14) 14 24 29 40
3-point goals – Gottschalk, Koch; Hagenson, Storbakken, D. Zuehlke, Micko. Total fouls – WSS 18,BH 19.
Groton Area 61
Britton-Hecla 21
Britton-Hecla rallied from an early 8-0 deficit to cut the margin to 9-4 midway through the opening quarter, but Groton Area followed with a 25-5 run and led 41-16 at halftime on the way to a big win.
Heather Storbakken led the Lady Braves with 10 points and Karlie Zuehke pulled down eight rebounds.
GROTON AREA: Jerica Locke 4 1-2 10, Jaedyn Penning 3 2-2 8, Kennedy Hansen 2 2-4 7, Rylee Dunker 3 0-1 6, Faith Traphagen 1 0-0 2, Laila Roberts 3 0-0 7, Taryn Traphagen 2 3-4 8, Talli Wright 0 0-2 0, Mia Crank 1 0-0 2, McKenna Tietz 1 0-0 2, Chesney Weber 3 1-1 7, Sydney Locke 1 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 9-16 61.
BRITTON-HECLA: Karlie Zuehlke 0 1-4 1, Rae Ann Hagenson 1 1-4 3, Heather Storbakken 2 4-6 10, Daynika Zuehlke 0 2-2 2, Maddie Micko 2 0-0 4, Chellon Pruitt 1 0-0 2. Totals 6 7-16 21.
GA (14-6) 23 41 55 61
BH (5-15) 6 16 20 21
3-point goals – Locke, Hansen Roberts, T. Traphagen; Storbakken 2. Fouled out – Hagenson. Total fouls – GA 13, BH 15.
Hamlin 79
Britton-Hecla 23
Hamlin exploded for 44 first half points and rolled past Britton-Hecla.
The Lady Braves’ RaeAnn Hagenson scored the first bucket of the game but Hamlin proceeded to go on a 29-1 run over the next eight minutes. The visitors padded that margin to 44-11 at intermission to put the game out of reach, hitting 10 treys in the contest.
Karlie Zuehlke, Daynika Zuehlke, Maddi Micko, and Chellon Pruitt each had four points for B-H. Karlie Zuehlke grabbed 10 rebounds and Daynika Zuehlke hauled in six missed shots.
HAMLIN: Addie Steffensen 10 0-0 21, Addie Neuendorf 5 2-2 16, Issie Steffensen 6 3-3 18, Jo Steffensen 0 2-2 2, Paxton Neuendorf 1 2-2 4, Ava Taschner 1 0-0 3, Kayde Nebel 5 0-1 10, Ruby Uecker 1 0-0 2, Paige Stormo 1 0-0 3. Totals 30 9-10 79.
BRITTON-HECLA: Karlie Zuehlke 1 2-4 4, Rae Ann Hagenson 1 1-2 3, Heather Storbakken 1 1-2 2, Daynika Zuehlke 2 0-0 4, Maddi Micko 1 2-2 4, Chellon Pruitt 2 0-0 4, Paityn Erickson 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 5-10 23.
Hamlin (16-3) 27 44 68 79
BH (4-14) 3 11 21 23
3-point goals – A. Steffensen, A. Neuendorf 4, I. Steffensen 3, Taschner, Stormo. Total fouls – Hamlin 13, BH 14.
