HAYTI – After coming up short in last year’s Class A state girls’ basketball championship game, the Hamlin Chargers were bound and determined to get back again this year for another try.
Hamlin coach Tim Koisti said the players have used that as motivation ever since and are now back in the state tournament which runs Thursday through Saturday in Brookings.
“We had an amazing season last year. I have to give credit to all my girls last year,” Koisti said. “We lost a bunch of quality seniors that worked their tails off to get to where they were, but second is not much fun. It’s a tough one to take, because you’re so close to what everyone’s goal is which is to be the state champion. You’re so close to that and to lose is very heartbreaking.”
Hamlin, which has won two state titles, the last coming in 2005, lost a pair of early games this season, but closed with a flurry, winning its last 18 games.
The Chargers are led by Kami Wadsworth who tends to draw the attention of everyone in the gym whenever Hamlin takes the floor. The junior averages 21.6 points per game.
“She gets doubled and tripled and hammered and pushed and shoved,” Koisti said. “She just continues to perform. She has been amazing for us.”
Ally Abraham is one of top defenders on the squad and leads the Chargers in rebounds.
“We usually put her on the other team’s best post player. She works her tail off to defend and gets rebounds,” Koisti said. “She’s our leading rebounder. She does all the little things. When we need her to score, she scores.”
The Chargers got a big boost during the offseason when Addison Neuendorf transferred in from Mitchell. The eighth-grader has been a solid ballhandler and produced some big scoring games as well.
“The ability of her to control the game and tempo, and handle the ball for us has been amazing,” Koisti said. “She plays beyond her years as an eighth-grader.”
Additional scoring punch comes from Brooklyn Brandriet who made six three-pointers in a single game during the regular season.
The Chargers (21-2) will face Sioux Falls Christian (19-3) in the final opening around game at 7:30 p.m.
Koisti said the opponent features many common traits.
“Honestly, we kind of play a similar game. They rely on their defense. They’ve got a couple of nice post players, which we do too,” Koisti said. “And then they’ve got some good shooters on the perimeter with some of their kids that can knock down some threes. That’s kind of the way we are. We’re just about mirrors of images of each other, so it’s going to be a battle.”
Koisti said for his team to make a big run at the state tourney it will have to defend, make shots and try to take some of the scoring load off of Wadsworth.
Other opening round matchups have Wagner vs. Red Cloud at Noon, Lakota Tech vs. St. Thomas More at 1:45 p.m., and West Central vs. Dakota Valley at 6 p.m.
While Wagner is the top-seeded team in the tourney and possibly the slight favorite, Koisti said he can’t recall a tournament with so many quality teams.
“I don’t think anybody in this tournament has an easy first-round opponent. That’s one of the things that the SoDak 16 has done,” Koisti said. “It balances out the state tournament. You have to be good to get in. This year especially, I don’t know if there’s been a year where every one of the top eight seeds has gotten in.”
