HARRISBURG, S.D. — The Harrisburg Lady Tigers used an inside-outside game and punched their ticket to the state AA basketball tournament with a 63-49 victory over Sturgis on Friday night.
The Lady Tigers came into the SoDak 16 matchup with an 18-2 record and a five game winning streak, with the Scoopers winning three of their last four.
Harrisburg came out hot in the first quarter, hitting 10 of 13 shots from the field to take a 22-13 lead into the second. Junior Emilee Boyer hit all three of her shots in the paint for the Lady Tigers and Sydney Hybertson added two long-range three pointers in the stanza.
The Scoopers could only manage one field goal on 15 attempts in the second quarter, a three-pointer by Sawyer Dennis, and trailed Harrisburg 36-18 at the half.
Harrisburg outscored Sturgis 13-11 in the third quarter and extended their lead to 49-29 headed into the fourth. Scooper senior Megan Petrocco converted all four of her field goal attempts in the final quarter and Sturgis outscored the Lady Tigers 20-14 in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough as Harrisburg punched their ticket to the state AA girls basketball tournament with a 63-49 win.
Sturgis sophomore Sawyer Dennis led the Scoopers with 10 points and Petrocco added eight tallies. The Scoopers shot 31% from the field, making 19 buckets on 62 attempts. Sturgis was six of 13 from the free throw line for 46%, with 10 turnovers and 31 rebounds.
Harrisburg junior Emilee Boyer had a double-double in the paint for the Lady Tigers, making eight of nine shots for 16 points and snaring 10 rebounds. Senior Brecli Honner added 15 points and six boards. Harrisburg was 26 of 47 from the field for 55% and two of seven from the charity stripe for 28%. The Lady Tigers had 11 turnovers and 31 rebounds with six three-pointers on the night.
The Scoopers finish the season with 8 wins and 13 losses. Harrisburg improves their record to 19-2 and moves on to the state tournament where they will meet Rapid City Stevens in the first round on Thursday, Mar. 11 in Sioux Falls.
