STURGIS, SD – Both Sturgis Scooper basketball teams solidified their holds on SoDak 16 playoff spots with a pair of wins on Tuesday night at West Gym. It was the regular season finale for both teams and Senior Recognition Night at the Scooper Dome.
The Scooper girls wrapped up their season with a convincing 52-28 victory over the Douglas Patriots and the Sturgis boys earned a hard fought 64-48 win over Douglas, who had defeated the Scoopers earlier in the season on Jan. 4.
The Sturgis girls honored their senior players, Avery Marler, Avreigh Long, Natalie Ewing and Kylee Phillips prior to the game along with student managers Natalie Alsup, Gracie Sauer and Zara Wallace. The Scoopers came out firing, outscoring the Patriots 16-6 in the first quarter and 16-5 in the second to take a 32-11 lead into halftime.
Scooper guard Avreigh Long got hot in the third quarter, dropping in two long three pointers and six points to extend the Sturgis lead headed into the fourth. The Scoopers had a commanding 50-18 lead after three quarters.
Sturgis head coach Courtney Pool brought in her reserves for the majority of the final quarter and the Scoopers secured their 10th win of the season, 52-28 over Douglas.
Tori Williams led Sturgis (10-10) with 10 points with Addy Kossler chipping in eight points and four boards. The Scoopers shot 35% from the field (20 of 57), 60% from the free throw line (6 of 10), committed 10 turnovers and grabbed 34 rebounds. Avreigh Long had six points and eight rebounds for Sturgis. All four Scooper seniors scored in the contest.
Douglas (2-16) was led by Ramzy Johnson with 11 points. The Patriots shot 21% from the field (8 of 38), 66% from the stripe (8 of 12), had 19 turnovers and 21 rebounds.
In the boys game, Sturgis looked to exact some revenge on the Patriots, who defeated the Scoopers 56-45 on Jan. 4 in Box Elder. The Scooper faithful honored 10 senior players prior to the game: Dalyn Dschaak, Ty Ferguson, Davin Ostby, Noah Schaefers, Ty Petrocco, Ryan Heinert, Dylan Vetter, Max Vliem, Teigen Wormstadt and Carter Williams, along with student managers Jake Krog and Dean Gebbie.
The Patriots jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead early in the first quarter. The Scoopers fought back and took a 12-7 lead into the second behind Heinert’s 10 points. Heinert continued his torrid shooting in the second quarter, dropping in three treys and two free throws to give Sturgis a 32-20 lead at intermission.
Douglas heated up in the third quarter, making eight of 14 shots and outscoring the Scoopers 18-12 to cut the Sturgis lead in half. The Scoopers led 44-38 headed into the fourth quarter.
Junior point guard Hayden Rock had just seven points coming into the final quarter but hit four of five shots, including a three pointer in the fourth to lock in the ninth win of the season for Sturgis, 64-48 over Douglas.
The Scoopers (9-11) shot 40% from the field (24 of 59), 77% from the free throw line (7 of 9), had eight turnovers and 27 rebounds. Heinert finished with 24 points and seven rebounds for the Scoopers. Rock added 18 points, with Wormstadt adding nine points.
Douglas (5-13) got 14 points apiece from Isaiah Brewer and Caden Walters. The Patriots shot 38% from the field (19 of 50), 66 % from the charity stripe (8 of 12), committed 12 turnovers and bagged 25 rebounds.
The Scooper girls currently sit at #16 in SoDak 16 playoff seed point rankings and the boys are ranked #14 with their seasons completed. With several games yet to be played this week across the state that could shake up the rankings, the Scooper girls and boys must wait a few more days to see where they will play their post season playoff games.
