BOX ELDER, SD – The Sturgis boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Douglas High School on Tuesday and took two games from the Patriots, with the Scooper girls beating Douglas, 63-34 and the boys winning the nightcap, 59-53. It was the regular season finale for the Sturgis basketball teams.
The Sturgis girls used an efficient offense and stingy defense to put together a solid four quarter against the Patriots, leading by 14 at the half and by 23 after three quarters to earn the 29-point victory.
Kierra Killinger led all scorers with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Scoopers, who improved to 7-13 on the season. Leigha Long added eight points. Sturgis was 23-of-64 from the field (35%), 11-of-19 from the free throw line (57%). The Scoopers committed 11 turnovers and grabbed 32 rebounds.
Douglas fell to 4-14 on the year. Olivia Harris scored 10 points and had four rebounds for the Patriots, who shot 17% from the field (8-of-46), and 83% from the stripe (15-of-18). Douglas had 24 turnovers and 26 rebounds, with nine offensive boards.
The Sturgis girls are currently sitting at #16 in the SoDak 16 power points standings, ahead of the Watertown Arrows, with one more weekend of basketball left to decide the final postseason standings.
The Scooper boys needed a win against the Patriots to give themselves a shot at a SoDak 16 playoff berth. Rapid City Stevens, Rapid City Central and Sturgis were all within .1 of a point of each other with just a few games in the regular season.
The Patriots and Scoopers traded buckets throughout the first quarter with Sturgis taking a one-point advantage into the second quarter with a 16-15 lead. Gage West had seven first quarter points for the Scoopers.
Hayden Rock drained two long threes for Sturgis in the second quarter and Douglas went cold, only making three of 13 shots from the field, giving the Scoopers a 32-23 advantage at the half.
The Patriots battled back and outscored Sturgis 12-11 in the third but still trailed 43-35 headed into the final quarter. Scooper senior Jerek Dufner dropped in two important baskets in the fourth, a three pointer and a strong drive to the bucket, to maintain the single-digit lead for Sturgis, who held on for the 59-53 win.
Rock finished the regular season with a solid all-around game, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. West added 13 points and six boards. The Scoopers (7-13) made 22-of-58 field goals (45%), 9-of-12 free throws (75%), had nine turnovers and 23 rebounds.
Douglas (4-14) shot 21-of-54 from the field (38%), 5-of-7 from the free throw line (71%), committed 11 turnovers and had 24 rebounds.
The SoDak 16 playoff matchups will be announced early next week.
