On Preps: No. 1 West Central remains unbeaten with win at No. 4 Sioux Falls Christian

Brian Haenchen
Argus Leader

Behind a late-third quarter flurry, No. 1 West Central maintained its perfect record Tuesday night with a 42-33 win at No. 4 Sioux Falls Christian. 

The Trojans improve to 19-0 on the year, with victories over St. Thomas More, Hamlin (2), McCook Central/Montrose and Lennox, among others. They close out the regular season Thursday night against Elk Point-Jefferson in Hartford. 

"I don't know if we were mentally ready at the beginning of the game," West Central coach Joe Caffrey said. "But as the game went on, the nerves kind of disappeared and we relaxed a little bit. It's good to get those wins when you kind of play ugly."

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After falling behind by five in the second quarter, Sioux Falls Christian ripped off a 10-0 run that featured back-to-back triples, plus the go-ahead layup from senior guard Courtney Kellenberger and left the score at 21-16 with just a few seconds before half. 

Both teams' defenses shined over the opening 16 minutes, using their full-court pressure to force turnovers and keep the other team out of sync.

"You have to hang your hat on your defense, because there's going to be nights like tonight where your shooting percentage is not very good," Caffrey said. "We had more turnovers than we normally do also, which, hats off to Sioux Falls Christian. They caused the majority of that."

Kali Nelson of West Central gets off a pass in front of Caitlyn Pruis of Sioux Falls Christian during Tuesday's game in Sioux Falls.

West Central made its push in the third quarter.

Senior Kali Nelson began the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play off the steal-and-score that pushed the visitors ahead 26-25. The Trojans added two more to their lead before freshmen Rylee Haldeman and Addy Kramer came up with back-to-back steal-and-scores that pushed their lead to seven with about a minute left.

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When the horn sounded on the third quarter, West Central had built a 34-25 lead behind a 12-0 run.

"The sad thing is, that was our only big run of the night. We're used to making more runs," Caffrey said. 

Rachel Eickman of West Central dribbles away from Courtney Kellenberger of Sioux Falls Christian during Tuesday's game in Sioux Falls.

The margin reached — and remained at — double digits through most of the final quarter. Sioux Falls Christian clawed to within eight with 1:40 left, but continued shooting woes hampered their comeback effort and West Central held on for the 42-33 victory.

The Chargers, who picked up 11 points from sophomore Lexi Unruh, finish the regular season at 15-5 on the year.

Here's some quick hits from Tuesday's contest.

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ROLLING DEEP

Part of West Central's success has hinged on its depth. It's had a variety of leading scorers throughout the season, with Caffrey able to keep players fresh as they look to press the tempo and play high-pressure defense.

We're pretty balanced in terms of talent between our starters and the girls off the bench, Caffrey explained. "Some are a little more experienced, a little more savvy, but they all bring different things to the table and are all very good basketball players."

West Central Head Coach, Joe Caffrey talks to his team during a timeout of Tuesday's game against Sioux Falls Christian in Sioux Falls.

Caffrey said he rotated girls in five at-a-time over the summer: "It looked good. We expect a lot from our players energy-wise, so they can empty their tank and don't have to play extended minutes, because they have a sub coming. We expect them to really push themselves."

RESUME BUILDING

The Trojans will be nothing if not battle-tested heading into the state tournament. 

West Central's Rylee Haldeman dribbles in traffic during Tuesday's game against Sioux Falls Christian in Sioux Falls.

In the month of February alone, they've gone on the road and beaten McCook Central/Montrose (68-56), Lennox (52-50, OT) and Hamlin (76-74, OT). Those three wins further bolster an already impressive resume that includes St. Thomas More (62-45), Vermillion (56-41) and Hamlin on a neutral floor (49-36).

"The Lennox and Hamlin wins, both of which came in overtime, were really big for us," Caffrey said. "We were able to battle back from being down and sneak out some wins."

As for how the team has handled those high-pressure situation, Caffrey said he tells the girls that those types of games -- in overtime, on the road against high-quality opponents -- are the "fun ones." 

"We just try to make it fun, and not put a lot of pressure on them," he explained. "I'm sure they put a lot of pressure on themselves naturally, but we try to keep it fun and rolling."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.