#2 WAGNER CLASHES WITH #1 HAMLIN FOR THE STATE TITLE

On Championship Saturday the Lady Raiders would clash with the Hamlin Chargers. It was two heavy weights going blow for blow in the first half. Both teams would score on f 5 of their first 6 possessions. Wagner then would get a burst and take a 20-11 lead, but Hamlin would hit a three at the buzzer to cut the lead 20-14 after one. The second quarter would be an exact flip as Hamlin would come storming out and eventually take a 6 point lead only to see Wagner cut it down to 1 at the half trialing 34-33. Hamlin would push their lead to as much as 9 in the third only to see Wagner make a surge late to cut the lead down to three trailing 46-43. Wagner would not be able cut into that three point lead. They would get it to 1 a few times but Hamlin would hit 2 free throws late to defeat the Raiders 58-55. Emma Yost on her high ankle sprain she obtained late in the game against Sisseton would lead the Raiders with 13 points, 7 boards, 8 assists, and 2 blocks. Shalayne Nagel would follow that with 12 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Ashlyn Koupal would also finish with 12 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Lydia Yost would finish with 9 points and 3 boards, Macy Koupal would tally 7 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists. Eve Zephier would round out the scoring with 2 points and 4 steals. Wagner would shoot 24-42 for 57% from the floor while Hamlin would shoot 20-49 from 40%. Wagner would get out rebounded 25-19. The game would be decided on the line not at the fate of the Raiders. Wagner would shoot only 3 free throws compared to 14 from the Chargers. “This was a hard-fought game. Our girls left it all out on the court. They fought until the end and gave us a shot in the end. That’s all we can ask as coaches. We shot the ball very well. We didn’t quite do as well as we should have on the glass but the game was played very physical. That would favor them and we didn’t get the fouls called on our end. Something we can’t control so we play on. As coaches we are so proud of the way our girls handled themselves with class on the court throughout the season. We wish Emma, Shalayne, and Eve the best next year when they are all playing college ball. These three ladies have led our underclassman and modeled for them what a team should entail. You will truly be missed. We would also like to thank Mary and Dennis Merkwan for donating pizza’s for our supper before Region play. I would like to also thank Amy Yost for organizing our meals before the SoDak 16 game and State. Laken Nedved was a huge part of the behind the scenes for helping out with getting a lot of stuff organized for heading to STATE. A huge shout out to these businesses for helping out with our state travel kits: Dave’s Service, Iron Kingdom, Valley pump, fort randall credit union, first Dakota bank, fort randall telephone, fort randall casino, YSHA, WCMHA, Mid Town, Best Propane, Buches, Bomgaars, Wagner Family Dental, YST, Photography by Daneille, First Chiropractic, Lori Bouza, Rosie Koupal, Vision Care, Jen Robertson, Leah Insko, Juffers, Lynette Greger, Jamie Tjeerdsma, Lisa Tolliver, Libby Renbarger, Traci Payer, Bernie Hill, Booms, Town and country, Boys and Girls Club, WBS, Access Granted, Wagner Vet, Lynell Knoll, Subway, Grind House 46, Gus stop, Jody and Crystal Zephier. Another huge thank you to these people for helping with meals while at STATE: Joey and Kristan Soukup, Clay and Traci Payer, Max and Sandy Ellefson, Dwayne and Rosie Koupal, David and Rachel Woods, Joel and Liz Naminga, Jamie and Char Soukup with So-Co Pioneer, Bob Krcil, and Pat and Cindy Krcil. This just shows what a great community we have in Wagner. Thank you for all of those who traveled to Watertown to support us and thank you for all of those who were cheering from at home as well and reached out. This truly was a very, fun and successful season.”