Talented Class A basketball squads seeking state-tourney berths and more

FLORENCE — One loss knocked Sisseton's girls basketball team out of the No. 1 Class A ranking it held throughout much of 2023-24 high school season.

Only another loss can prevent the Redmen (18-1) from concluding a near-perfect season without a state championship.

"We're hoping to put a banner up in our gym this year," Sisseton's 6-foot-2 standout junior Krista Langager said. "It's been a while."

The Redmen wrapped up their excellent regular season on Thursday with a 62-54 win over another talented Class A team, Florence-Henry.

The win is expected to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the postseason for Sisseton, which could mean a better draw in a potential SoDak 16 state-qualifying matchup and possible better matchups in the state tournament. That is, of course, depended on Sisseton avoiding a Region 1A upset.

Sisseton has a little of everything

Langager is part of a strong returning cast that helped the Redmen qualify for the state Class A tournament last winter for the first time since 2012.

The Redmen finished third and welcomed back pretty much their entire squad including 6-1 senior forward-center Chloe Langager (Krista's sister), 5-5 senior point guard Hannah Leverson, 5-8 junior guard Ruby Rice and 5-8 senior guard Emmalee Nielsen. Juniors Alexia Quinn and Tara Nelson and senior Rylie Huff also see action for coach Sara Lincoln's squad.

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The Langagers pose big problems for opposing teams, who can often match one big girl but not two. Leverson, a Minnesota State (Mankato) recruit, likes to push the ball and can shoot it. Nielsen does just about everything well. Many other Sisseton players are very capable.

"We feel pretty good about what we've done so far, especially after last year and not getting any votes or being rated," Krista Langager said. "It's been amazing."

Like fellow Northeast Conference foe and defending state champion Hamlin proved last year, a solid inside game can lead to easy baskets or free throws and also open things up for the perimeter.

Sisseton's lone loss came to No. 3 Sioux Falls Christian 70-62 in the Dak XII-NEC Clash on Saturday, Feb. 3.

How did Sisseton play Thursday?

Sisseton led much of the way against the Falcons (15-5). After the two teams went back and forth early, Sisseton pulled ahead 17-9 after one quarter and 33-23 at halftime. Florence-Henry cut the lead down in half a number of times in the second half, before Sisseton pulled back ahead with a little flurry.

Krista Langager scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. Leverson and Quinn each added 10 points, Chloe Langager eight and Emmalee Nielsen seven.

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Florence-Henry has its own talented big girl in 5-11 senior Caylin Kelly, who has signed to play college basketball at Minnesota State Moorhead. Kelly, who can play inside or out, led all players with 25 points and also snared six rebounds. Fellow senior Taylor Watson added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Haley Hlavack, another senior, added seven points and six rebounds.

"No doubt, they're a good team," Krista Langager, who is already attracting plenty of college attention, said. "We came into this game knowing that we were going to have to work really hard. That's what we did and we played as one."

What's ahead for the squads

Thursday's game marked the end of the regular season for each team. Sisseton, which had already secured the Northeast Conference title, will be the No. 1 seed and huge favorite in the Region 1A tournament that starts next week.

Florence-Henry likely will hold the No. 2 seed in Region 2A behind the state's No. 1-rated team (20-0 Flandreau). The No. 3 seed is expected to be defending state champion Hamlin.

The top two teams in each region advance to SoDak 16 state-qualifying games on Thursday, Feb. 29. The state A tourney is set for March 7-9 at the Dacotah Bank Center in Brookings.

Sisseton is hoping to make a run at the sixth state title in school history and first since 2011.

"We're going to keep going from here," Krista Langager said.

Florence-Henry also can't be counted out. The Falcons have never qualified for state as a co-op and only Henry (1987 State B) has played in a state girls basketball tourney.

The strong senior cast has enjoyed a lot of success for the Falcons, who would also like to make their way to Brookings.

Not the only game of the night

The girls' game was the featured contest in Thursday's doubleheader, but there was also a boys' game.

It wasn't as close as the first game. Host Florence-Henry evened its season record at 9-9 by rolling to a 56-34 win over Sisseton (3-16).

The Falcons led 42-16 at halftime and pushed their lead into the 30s in the third quarter, forcing the running clock into play.

Junior guard Carson Vavruska and his brother Logan, a senior, combined for 28 points in the first half. Carson scored 17 of his game-high 19 points and Logan added all 11 of his before halftime. James Schroeder, another senior, added 14 points and 6-4 junior Ty Bergh grabbed 10 rebounds.

Junior Dana Bravebull led Sisseton with eight points and eight rebounds. Seniors Christian Shepherd and Ethan DeSpiegler each added five points.

Sisseton concludes its regular season on Saturday. Florence-Henry is set to visit Webster on Friday, Feb. 23 before heading into postseason play.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Sisseton and Florence-Henry square off in girls, boys basketball