Pine Ridge gets title shot at state 'A'

By Mike Corpos, Aberdeen American News (Rapid City Journal.com)

ABERDEEN - With a state championship berth at stake, Pine Ridge and Parker battled to the bitter end on Friday night at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen - and it all came down to free throws.

Pine Ridge came away with the state "A" semifinal victory as junior Christy Webber was fouled while going up for a shot with one second on the clock and the score tied at 37-37.

Webber sank both shots to put the Thorpes up 39-37 and send her team to the state championship game tonight at 6:30 p.m., MT.

Webber's heroics came after her team battled back from a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to take a 37-36 lead on a pair of foul shots by senior Laura Big Crow.

Parker tied it on a free throw by Crystal Abbas with 30 seconds remaining.

"It was exciting," said Big Crow, who fouled out after sending Abbas to the line. "It was one of those games where you know your teammates can do it."

Big Crow had a game-high 27 points and 16 rebounds followed by Webber's nine points.

Junior Katelynn Kunz and freshman Abby Plucker led the Pheasants with 13 points each.

Both teams came out of the gates battling and it was a close game all the way.

Big Crow said she initially didn't want to watch as Webber sank the game-winning shot.

"I was thinking 'Oh my God, they can do it,' I know my teammates," Big Crow said. "Christy's one of our best free throw shooters, she did a great job - an awesome job."

Pine Ridge coach Dusty LeBeau was thrilled with the win.

"It was just a great game," he said. "It was a battle all the way, both teams came to play."

LeBeau credited his players for their spirit. "They just fought back - we've been down before," he said.

"We were down by six - we did that all year long. They just keep battling."

The coach said free throws were the key to Friday's game, noting a handful of missed shots by Parker in the fourth quarter.

Once Parker had the lead in the fourth, it set a controlled pace to try to run down the clock, and LeBeau said that was fine with him as it gave his players a chance to catch their breaths.

"When Laura went out, the other girls just stepped up and played," LeBeau said.

When Webber was getting set for the final shots of the game, LeBeau called a timeout.

"I told the whole team to just take a deep breath for her and help her make these shots," LeBeau said adding that free throws and rebounds were key in the game.

Sisseton 43, West Central 40

ABERDEEN (AP) - Sisseton is in the Class A girls state basketball championship game for the fourth straight year as the Redmen defeated West Central 43-40 in Friday's other semifinal.

Sisseton was state runner-up last year and won the championship the previous two years.

Kayla Fitz sank a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining to give Sisseton a 43-40 lead. West Central didn't get off another shot because a pass was intercepted near mid-court just before the buzzer.

Courtney Grimsrud led Sisseton (22-1) with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

For West Central (19-5), Kristen McMahon had 16 points and Amy Puthoff 11 points and seven rebounds.