Padgett's signature night puts Brandon Valley past Washington in Class AA girls semifinals
Mar. 15—RAPID CITY — With a spot in the championship game at stake, Brandon Valley's Alyvia Padgett put together a signature performance on Friday night.
It was one that advanced the Lynx through to another shot at a state title.
Padgett put up a game-high 30 points, seven assists and seven steals to push second-seeded Brandon Valley past third-seeded Sioux Falls Washington 72-56 in the Class AA state girls basketball semifinals at the Summit Arena. The win was the team's 10th in a row dating back to Feb. 7.
Brandon Valley returns to the Class AA championship game for the second consecutive season and will take on top-seeded Sioux Falls O'Gorman at 8:45 p.m. Central on Saturday at the Summit Arena. A championship rematch, the Knights took down the Lynx 55-42 a year ago to win the title.
After the game, Brandon Valley head coach Mike Zerr praised Padgett's competitive drive to benefit the Lynx in a variety of ways on the court.
"She's a star," Zerr said. "She's the ultimate competitor and when you have a kid like that as your floor leader, it makes my job awesome. She loves the game and loves to compete and I'm just really proud of her."
Early on in the first quarter, Brandon Valley (21-2) controlled the glass on the offensive end, with both Madison Geiver and Gracie Salter picking up a pair of second-chance baskets. Overall, the Lynx picked up six second-chance points in the quarter, with Padgett's floater past the midway point opening an early six-point lead.
Washington shifted focus to attacking inside and drawing contact in the paint, leading to chances at the foul line to keep the game close throughout much of the first half. Rylan Kennett made 6-of-6 free throws in the opening half, but the Warriors ultimately shot 66.7% from the charity stripe.
Despite the miscues at the line, Washington (19-4) never trailed by more than 10 points throughout the second half, pulling within six of Brandon Valley's lead off a free throw by Dana Harpe early in the third quarter. It was as close as the Warriors came, as the Lynx used rotations defensively to keep the opponents from penetrating the paint.
"We knew they would come at us in the paint all night long," Zerr said. "We told them, 'Trust your teammates, rotate and make sure we block out and rebound.' It goes back to the willingness to do the hard jobs and not just one person, but 10-12 players deep to be able to do that."
Behind Padgett, Salter finished with 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds and Evie Hoff picked up 12 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting off the bench. Amanda Lease had seven points and Ava Kellenberger collected six of the Lynx's 20 team steals.
Washington had three double-digit scorers, led by Kennett and Grace Peterson scoring 16 points each. Peterson also tallied a game-high eight rebounds along with Harpe, who finished with 11 points. Josie Biteler also pitched in seven points off the bench. The Warriors battle Rapid City Stevens in the Class AA third-place game at 7 p.m. Central on Saturday, March 15.
Topics
-
Alyvia Padgett leads Brandon Valley past Washington, back to AA state title game
Brandon Valley will now face O’Gorman for the Class AA state title for the second year in a rowYahoo Sports - 15h -
O'Gorman looks to close out perfect season with a state Class AA girls hoops championship
O'Gorman will put its 23-0 record on the line when it faces Brandon Valley (21-2) in Saturday's championship gameYahoo Sports - 15h -
O'Gorman rolls over Rapid City Stevens to advance to South Dakota girls basketball title game
O’Gorman will face Brandon Valley in the Class AA state title game for the second consecutive year.Yahoo Sports - 15h -
Brandon Valley cruises to South Dakota girls state basketball tournament victory over Pierre
Brandon Valley will face Washington in the semifinals at 7:45 p.m. MT on Friday.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
O'Gorman, Brandon Valley, S.F. Washington & R.C. Stevens earn wins in State AA girls hoops
O'Gorman upped its record to 22-0 by rolling past Sioux Falls Jefferson in the opening game of the 2025 State AA girls basketball tourneyYahoo Sports - 1d -
Class 3A girls basketball: Washington advances to championship game
The Oklahoma high school basketball Class 3A girls state tournament continued Friday at State Fair Arena. Here's a look at what happened in the semifinals.Yahoo Sports - 19h -
No. 3 Washington showcases scoring depth in quarterfinal win over No. 6 Mitchell
Washington will face Brandon Valley in the semifinals on Friday, March 14 at 7:45 p.m. MT.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Mahpiya Luta shines in Class A semifinals, remains unbeaten for title chance
Mar. 15—SPEARFISH, S.D. — Mahpiya Luta played with a lead for much of the night on Friday in the Class A state girls basketball semifinals. And that lead shrank and wavered but Class A's last ...Yahoo Sports - 5h -
Morgantown set to battle George Washington in Class AAAA state semifinals
Mar. 13—CHARLESTON — The Morgantown High girls' basketball team will meet a familiar state tournament foe as the Mohigans will square off with George Washington on Friday evening in the Class AAAA ...Yahoo Sports - 1d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Tuch and Dahlin help the Sabres beat the Golden Knights 4-3 in a shootout
Alex Tuch scored the deciding goal in the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan McLeod, and Jason Zucker scored in ...Yahoo Sports - 13m -
DeMarcus Lawrence pens goodbye letter: This is not the end of my life as a Dallas Cowboy
DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons had a disagreement after Lawrence signed with the Seahawks.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Former Oklahoma Sooners WR returns to Buccaneers
Former OU wideout Sterling Shepard has re-signed with the Buccaneers.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Lakers' Bronny James can see on-court improvement during rookie year
Lakers guard Bronny James said he can see improvement within his game after logging a season-high 15 minutes in a loss to the Nuggets.Yahoo Sports - 21m -
Wisconsin ends Michigan State's Big Ten tournament run off clean no-call block by John Tonje in final seconds
The Spartans were looking for the foul, but Tonje's well-timed strip helped the Badgers secure a 77-74 win.Yahoo Sports - 22m
More in Sports
-
Tuch and Dahlin help the Sabres beat the Golden Knights 4-3 in a shootout
Alex Tuch scored the deciding goal in the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan McLeod, and Jason Zucker scored in ...Yahoo Sports - 13m -
DeMarcus Lawrence pens goodbye letter: This is not the end of my life as a Dallas Cowboy
DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons had a disagreement after Lawrence signed with the Seahawks.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Former Oklahoma Sooners WR returns to Buccaneers
Former OU wideout Sterling Shepard has re-signed with the Buccaneers.Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Ohtani hits long home run in return to Japan
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning in his return to the Tokyo Dome.ESPN - 19m -
Source: 49ers, Juszczyk reunite after brief split
After a brief parting, fullback Kyle Juszczyk is returning to the 49ers on a two-year, $8 million deal, a source told ESPN.ESPN - 19m