STURGIS, SD — The Sturgis Scooper girls needed a win against the Yankton Gazelles on Saturday afternoon to keep their SoDak 16 postseason hopes alive, but came up short in a close game, 53-52. The loss eliminates the Scoopers from the SoDak 16.
The Scoopers had a strong first quarter, hitting seven of 15 shots and led Yankton 16-11 after one. Sturgis could only manage a field goal and six free throws in the second quarter and were down 27-19 at halftime.
The third quarter was the Reece Ludwick show, as the senior caught fire, hitting five of five from the field, scoring 11 points in the quarter to pull the Scoopers within five at 41-36. But Ludwick committed two fouls midway through the fourth with Sturgis down 46-42 and fouled out with 4:21 left in the game.
“Losing Reece with four minutes left really hurt us,” said Sturgis girls head coach Jordan Proefrock.
Ludwick left the game with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Scoopers kept battling as senior Kaylee Whatley stole a Gazelle pass with 2:20 left to get Sturgis within two at 48-46, but Yankton senior Ellie Karolevitz knocked down two free throws to give the Gazelles a 50-46 lead.
In a crazy sequence of events, Karolevitz and Whatley got tied up with :37 seconds left. Whatley was called for a foul but Karolevitz retaliated and was called for a technical foul. Karolevitz missed the front end of a one-and-one and Tatum Lightenberg calmly made two charity tosses to tie the game at 52. The Scoopers kept possession of the ball following the technical but turned it over on a traveling violation.
The Scoopers fouled Claire Tereshinski with :16 seconds left and she made one of two free throws to give Yankton a 53-52 lead. Whatley brought the ball down the court and missed a six-footer, forcing the Scoopers to foul again. Mary Drotzmann missed both free throws, but the Scoopers couldn’t hit a half court shot at the buzzer, giving Yankton the win.
Ludwick led the Scoopers with 15 points and Whatley added 11 and five boards. Karolevitz finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Yankton (6-14).
“It’s really going to hurt, losing our six seniors,” said Proefrock. “The thing you don’t see off the basketball court is that they’re really good kids. We’re really going to miss them.”
The Scoopers finish the year with five wins and 15 losses.
