WATERTOWN – An upset-minded Sisseton squad hung around for the first half, but top-seeded Hamlin eclipsed all thoughts of a stunner, holding Sisseton to just two points in the third quarter en route to a 60-40 win over the Redmen Thursday night in a SoDak 16 showdown of Northeast Conference squads at the Watertown Arena.

Sisseton, which upended Aberdeen Roncalli in the Region 1A semifinals to reach the SoDak 16 round, appeared ready to replicate that result at the outset of Thursday’s contest, bolting out to a 15-10 lead after the opening quarter.

“They came out ready to play,” said Hamlin coach Tim Koisti. “Fallon Hawkins hit some big threes for them, and I think (Kennedy Hanson) had one, too. They came out guns ablazing, so to speak. I was proud of my girls for sticking with it.”

Hamlin fought back to lead 29-26 at the break, then put the clamps on defensively.

“I think the biggest thing was, I challenged them in the locker room at halftime, we’ve got to start to defend a little better,” Koisti said. “And we need to stick with the game plan we had, which was to get in the middle of their zone and kick it out.”

That plan led to a breakout quarter for the Chargers, who outscored Sisseton 18-2 in the stanza. The Redmen never really challenged the rest of the way.

Issie Steffensen led all scorers with 28 points for Hamlin. Addison Neuendorf added a dozen points, seven assists and two steals, while Addelyn Jensen tallied 11 points and nine boards for the Chargers.

Sisseton was led by Hawkins with 14 points. Saylor Langager finished with nine. Elliot Hortness added eight, and Piper Langager contributed six points and six rebounds.

Hamlin’s reward is a berth in the Class A state tournament next weekend. The Chargers (21-1) will retain their number one seed status for the tournament. Hamlin will face Lakota Tech in the opening round at noon on Thursday back at the Watertown Arena.

“The number one seed is always a lot of pressure,” Koisti noted. “But one thing I’ve been telling them this week is that pressure is a privilege.”

SISSETON (11-11): Fallon Hawkins 5 0-2 14, Kennedy Hanson 1 0-0 3, Piper Langager 2 2-4 6, Elliot Hortness 3 2-3 8, Saylor Langager 4 1-4 9, Harper Hortness 0 1-2 1. Totals 15-48 6-15 40.

HAMLIN (21-1): Addison Neuendorf 5 0-0 12, Paxton Neuendorf 2 0-0 6, Issie Steffensen 9 5-6 28, Addelyn Jensen 3 5-7 11, Ava Taschner 1 0-0 3. Totals 20-53 10-13 60.

Sisseton 15 28 30 40

Hamlin 10 29 47 60

3-pt field goals – Hawkins 4, Hanson; A. Neuendorf 2, P. Neuendorf 2, Steffensen 5, Taschner. Total fouls – Sisseton 14; Hamlin 15. Rebounds – Sisseton 28 (P. Langager 6); Hamlin 45 (Jensen 9). Assists – Sisseton 13 (P. Langager 5, E. Hortness 4); Hamlin 18 (A. Neuendorf 7). Turnovers – Sisseton 12; Hamlin 14. Steals – Sisseton 12 (P. Langager 2, E. Hortness 2); Hamlin 10 (A. Neuendorf 2).