WATERTOWN – After two tight meetings during the regular season, Lennox and Hamlin knew each other well. However, the Orioles added a new wrinkle Friday evening that helped to pave the way to a semifinal victory during the State A Girls’ Basketball Tournament.

Lennox decided to employ an aggressive 1-3-1 zone defense that fueled a 57-41 victory in front of a packed Watertown Civic Arena and avenged two regular-season losses to the Chargers in the process.

“They’re such a great defensive team. They’re long and athletic,” said Hamlin coach Tim Koisti. “It’s extremely difficult, especially when they’re playing that zone. We were trying to get it inside and get some reversals through the inside and we struggled to do it.”

The Orioles played very little of that particular defense in the two previous meetings, and Lennox coach Adam Quail was hesitant to give it another try.

“We ran the 1-3-1 a little bit before and they kind of tore us up, so I was against it, but my assistants said, hey, we’ve got to give it a try,” Quail said of making an adjustment to the defense. “So we gave it try and kudos to my awesome assistants for encouraging that change.”

In addition to a slight variation in that zone, the Orioles also tweaked their offense which also proved to be beneficial.

“Gotta give it up for our coaches,” said Lennox guard Teagen Sturm, who led the team with 14 points. “They stayed up all night making a game plan.”

Hamlin got off to a solid start and led 15-8 early in the second quarter when the momentum changed in a major way. The Orioles scored 13 unanswered points to take a lead they never lost. The switch in defense played a key factor.

“We were playing man and we were getting in foul trouble,” Quail said. “We went to the 2-3 zone first, didn’t have much luck in that, either. Then we went to the 1-3-1 and it ignited us.”

The move caught the Chargers off guard.

“We weren’t expecting them to play zone, so we kind of prepared for them to play man,” said Hamlin’s Issie Steffensen, “and we just didn’t adjust very well or very quickly.”

Meanwhile on offense, Lennox consistently beat Hamlin defenders off the dribble, got into the lane and broke down the Chargers’ defense leading to high-percentage opportunities.

“They just really did a great job attacking the hoop and making us step and help someone,” Steffensen said. “They just played really well as a team together, so credit to their offense for taking it to the hole.”

Leading by six points at the half, Lennox set the tone for a big second half with a pair of conventional three-point plays, getting the ball inside where the Orioles scored and got fouled. It would mark a trend in the final 16 minutes as they steadily built on a lead.

“We just overhelped a little bit and then they got some drop offs, and ran their stuff well,” Koisti said, “so I gotta give them credit. They really came out prepared to play.”

Lennox had a bit of extra motivation after losing a pair of games to Hamlin by a combined five points.

“They were aggressive. They wanted to win,” said Hamlin senior Addison Neuendorf. “They’d been beat by us twice, so they wanted to come and win, and they were playing hard.”

The Orioles received points from eight different players in the contest.

“They got a really talented group. They have a lot of girls that can get downhill,” Neuendorf said. “They can score, they can pass, so they just kind of came out and did it all tonight.”

Neuendorf did her best to help keep the Chargers within striking distance, nailing five 3-pointers in the contest.

“Props go to her. She’s a great player. It’s really fun going against another good player,” Sturm said. “She worked really hard. She was good for them, but we were able to play great defense on her. We face-guarded her the whole game.”

Neuendorf still finished with a game-high 22 points despite the special defensive attention.

“Neuendorf is so good. She’s been a great player for so long. … It’s just a testament to her and the great competitor she is,” Quail said. “And (Addelyn) Jensen’s a great compliment to her. She’s strong in there. She rebounds everything. But we battled and we carried out the game plan, and it went our way this time.”

Lennox will play Mahpiya Luta in the championship game tonight. Hamlin (22-2) takes on Sioux Falls Christian for third place at 5 this evening.

“We gotta come with a new mindset,” Steffensen said. “We still have one more game to play, so we just need to be ready to go.”

Koisti is happy that his players get one more opportunity to play this season.

“That’s the bright side of being in a state tournament is that my two seniors, especially, they get another chance to play,” Koisti said. “Win or lose, it’s a chance to play in front of a bunch of people, it’s going to be a really good crowd, and just a fun way to go out and end their careers.”

It will mark the final prep game for Neuendorf in a Hamlin uniform before she heads to Northern State to play next season. She wants to end her high school career on a positive note.

“I’m just going to go out and play hard, play for the name that I’m representing,” Neuendorf said, “and just give it everything I can and hopefully come out with a win.”

LENNOX (21-3): Teagen Sturm 4 5-7 14, Bergan Musser 5 2-5 12, Andie Peters 0 2-2 2, Karlie Bosma 3 2-3 9, Tori Gerdes 2 4-5 8, Adie McVey 2 2-2 6, Libby Kranz 1 0-0 2, Olivia Niederbaumer 2 0-0 4. Totals 19-51 17-24 57.

HAMLIN (22-2): Addison Neuendorf 5 7-8 22, Sarita Stevenson 2 0-0 4, Paxton Neuendorf 1 0-0 3, Issie Steffensen 2 2-2 7, Addelyn Jensen 2 1-1 5. Totals 12-40 10-11 41.

Lennox 6 23 46 57

Hamlin 10 17 30 41

3-point field goals – Sturm, Bosma; A. Neuendorf 5, P. Neuendorf, Steffensen. Total fouls – Lennox 19; Hamlin 20. Rebounds – Lennox 30 (Gerdes 5, Sturm 4, Musser 4, McVey 4); Hamlin 23 (Jensen 8). Turnovers – Lennox 9; Hamlin 18. Assists – Lennox 16 (Peters 5); Hamlin 12 (Jensen 5). Steals – Lennox 16 (Musser 6); Hamlin 7 (A. Neuendorf 2).