HAMLIN – They have big-game experience, own a bit of a home-court advantage, and enter this year’s State A Girls’ Basketball Tournament as the top-seeded team.
The Hamlin Chargers will take center stage from the opening tip of today’s state tourney at the Watertown Civic Arena. The squad takes on Lakota Tech in the first game of the day at 11 this morning.
The Chargers are no strangers to the state tournament, making their fifth appearance in the past seven years.
“I’ve been fortunate,” said Hamlin coach Tim Koisti. “I’ve had some kids that have really stepped up this year, and number one is Addie Neuendorf, who has taken on such a great leadership role for us, not just in scoring. She’s still scoring like she normally does and still doing the assists, but just being that calm on the floor, and being that leader, and helping everyone be better. She really does a great job at that.”
The Northern State recruit is part of a three-pronged attack for the Chargers.
Issie Steffensen put up 27 points in a SoDak 16 victory last week.
“That’s the thing between her and Addie Neuendorf, and then Addie Jensen has really come on strong as of late, too,” Koisti said. “You can maybe take one away or maybe two, but you just can’t take all three of them away. They seem to share the ball really well amongst themselves.”
While Steffensen can put up big numbers on offense, she is also a primary defender for the Chargers, who do not possess an abundance of size.
“Issie is not only a shooter,” Koisti said. “You watch her, she has to defend someone bigger than her every single time she plays, so she has really bought into the role of having to guard someone big.”
Jensen provides consistency and defense in the middle for Hamlin.
“She is just 10 points and 10 rebounds per game, kind of patrols the paint, and does a nice job if we do happen to get beat off the dribble, which doesn’t happen very often,” Koisti said. “I’ve got good defenders. Paxton Neuendorf and Sarita Stevenson have really come into their role and do a great job defensively, and Sarita has been a good rebounder for us. They all kind of accept their role.”
The Chargers don’t have a lot of depth. Key reserve Paige Stormo tore her ACL during the season. Ava Taschner and Jade Thue are the first players off the bench and provide valuable minutes.
Of course, it all starts with Addie Neuendorf orchestrating the squad from her point guard position out front.
“She’s been a blessing for the five years that she’s started, for sure. … In her five years we’ve won 103 games and she started every one of them,” Koisti said.
While the 21-1 Chargers are the top seed, Koisti said that doesn’t make his team the favorite to win the state championship. He noted that it is a loaded field.
“You could take any one of these teams and you could roll the dice, and I think that’s who could win,” Koisti said.
He noted that unbeaten Mahpiya Luta, runner-up a year ago, has to be slight favorite.
“The way that they’ve just been destroying the teams that they play,” Koisti said. “They have good players who’ve been there.”
Sioux Falls Christian is the defending state champ, and Wagner has the South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year in Ashlyn Koupal.
“There’s no easy games,” Koisti said. “And all of these teams have good veteran coaches. … It’s just a loaded tournament with lots of experience both from kids and from coaches.”
The Chargers should benefit from a bit of a home-court advantage. Not only is Hamlin the closest squad geographically to Watertown, the Chargers played their SoDak 16 game there last week.
“Always nice to play close to home,” Koisti said. “Maybe it was blessing or maybe it was a curse, but to be able to get Sisseton as a draw, I didn’t love that matchup, but the fact that it was in Watertown, that gives us a full game advantage on all of these teams.”
Hamlin, which finished third in last year’s state tourney, would like to be playing at night after today’s first-round game. That is the first goal for the Chargers, according to Koisti.
“I think what we rely on is our experience. A lot of these kids were there last year and playing so they know what the focus needs to be on,” he said. “Obviously, the ultimate goal is number one win that first game and get to the night session, and then from there you just go with what happens.”
What will it take for the Chargers to have success throughout the tournament?
“I really think the answer lies in our ability to just continue to play, confidence in their abilities and in each other. … It comes down to you miss a shot, so what, I’m going to make the next one,” Koisti said. “We talk about mental toughness in practice all the time. In a tournament like this, where you’ve just got to keep fighting, keep fighting, keep battling, and hopefully at the end you’re in the game and have a chance to win.”
