After playing a strong first half, the Sully Buttes Charger girls stumbled their way through the
second half against the Harding County Ranchers, but still picked up a 44-26 victory in a SoDak
Sixteen contest Tuesday night in Gettysburg.
The Charger girls led 30-10 at the half, but the tight pressure defense by the Ranchers broke
Sully Buttes’ rhythm, and Harding County outscored the Chargers 16-14 in the second half. The
taller Sully Buttes girls fed the low post all night long, and as a result, Lydia Hill led all scorers
with 19 points. The only other scorer in double figures for the Chargers was Calleigh Chicoine,
who nailed three-3 point shots and hit two free throws–all in the second quarter–to finish with
11 points.
Harding County was led by Kayden Padden and Claire Verhulst–each scoring six for the 14-9
Ranchers. The young Harding County squad had only one senior and one junior, with the bulk
of the lineup consisting of sophomores, freshmen, and eighth graders.
Sully Buttes is now 20-3 on the season, and will be the fourth seed in the girls state tournament
next week in Huron. They’ll face the fifth seeded Wall Eagles in the second game of Thursday
afternoon. The opening game of the tournament pits top seed Wolsey Wessington against
eighth seed Jones County.
