Wildcat girls upset Belle during 3-0 week

Don’t look now, but the Custer High School girls basketball team is quickly becoming the team nobody wants to see come postseason play.
The Wildcats have now won three in a row thanks to a perfect week of play last week, including one of the bigger upsets in recent program history when the Wildcats upset Belle Fourche 50-43 last Saturday afternoon in the Armory.
“There girls just believed in themselves and in each other the whole way through,” Custer head coach Tayton Vincent said. “They really went with the game plan. You can tell they bought into it. When shots are falling and they’re having fun we are a really good team. It’s fun to have it pay off the last couple of close games.
The Wildcats started the game with a 6-2 lead at the outset of the game thanks to a pair of Kylee Ellerton three-pointers, while Belle Fourche focused on using its size advantage to pound the ball inside.
The Broncs took a 9-8 lead via a Regan Hatling three-pointer, and took a 13-10 lead into the second quarter after another Hatling bucket.
Ellerton tied the game with another three-pointer, but the Broncs later took a five-point lead after a Lily Nore three-pointer.
Late in the quarter Custer cut the Belle Fourche lead to three after a pair of Ellerton free throws, part of her 15-point effort, which led the team.
It was the third quarter where the Wildcats took control of the game, as they outscored the Broncs 19-7.
It started with a pair of Jojo Larsen three-pointers, the latter of which gave the Wildcats a lead they would never relinquish.
After a Hatling basket midway through the quarter the Wildcats scored five straight points, including a Maya Tennyson three-pointer off an assist from Ellerton that gave the Wildcats a 35-28 lead with 3:41 left in the quarter.
The Wildcats continued to hold a five-point lead in the fourth quarter, displaying patience and poise in running their offense while looking for the open shot.
“Shooting always plays a role in it (the Wildcats shot 44 percent in the game). And limiting our turnovers, which were a lot lower than prior games that were close down the stretch,” Vincent said. “Getting stops in the fourth quarter was huge defensively.”
Belle Fourche got within two late in the game following a Denali Larson basket, and again at 43-41 following another Hatling basket.
From there Larsen took over, first driving for a basket on which she was fouled and made the free throw, and again on Custer’s next possession for the team’s final basket of the game.
From there Belle Fourche was forced to start fouling, and Larsen sank a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to seal the win.
Vincent said over the course of the game the Wildcats pinpointed where the Bronc help defense was coming from and used Ellerton and Jordyn Uphoff as decoys on the weak side.
“We knew they would go out and guard those two,” Vincent said.
Vincent said the plan was for Larsen to hesitate, look toward a screen that wasn’t coming and then drive.
“She capitalized on both of them,” he said.
Larsen finished with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists. Tennyson led the team with 11 rebounds.
Last Thursday the team was in Hot Springs, and after a slow start outscored the Bison 39-21 the final three quarters to come away with a 49-31 win.
“Defensively we weren’t doing what we needed to do,” Vincent said. “But we controlled the whole game. It was a good, solid all-around win.”
Eleven Wildcats played in the game, and the Wildcats committed only 12 turnovers in the game, a season low.
Ellerton again led the team with 15 points, while Larsen added 14. Tennyson pulled down 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats got their week started Feb. 4 in Box Elder, where they used a 15-9 fourth quarter advantage to come away with a win over the Douglas Patriots.
The Wildcats won despite shooting only 24 percent from the field. The Patriots had an even rougher night from the field, making only nine baskets while shooting 23 percent.
The Wildcats were down four at one point in the fourth quarter before Vincent—not his players—altered the course of a game.
Following a loose ball scrum in which Wildcat Taylor Bland appeared to come up with the ball, the referees awarded a timeout to Douglas, infuriating Vincent, who eventually received a technical foul from the referees.
After the Patriots hit both free throws to take a 33-27 lead the Wildcats took control, eventually taking a two-point lead following an Ellerton three-pointer. They led the rest of the way.
Vincent said he appreciated his team having his back in the moment.
“It was the momentum thing we needed to have happen at that point in the game,” he said. “They stayed with each other on every play and had each others back, and my back. For them to pull through when things weren’t going their way, the lumps we took early in the year are really paying off.”
Tennyson was the only Wildcat to reach double figures, scoring 11 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Larsen led the team with eight rebounds.
The Wildcats have another busy week ahead of them, beginning with a trip to Spearfish Thursday for a 6 p.m. game.
Saturday the Wildcats head to Sturgis for a 2 p.m. game against a Scooper team the Wildcats lost to in their first game of the season.
Finally, the Wildcats will head north for a matchup with the Hill City Rangers next Tuesday. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.
Spearfish is 10-4 on the year and has won five straight.
“It’s a Class AA team that experienced the state tournament last year and had some success. They are very well coached and they play super hard,” Vincent said. “We have to step up and match that (physicality). We are definitely going to be underdogs going in, but as we played most games throughout the year we are used to being in that situation.”
Sturgis (5-9) beat the Wildcats handily to start the season back in December, but Vincent said he feels its hard to beat a team twice in the same season. The Scoopers dominated inside in that first matchup.
“It will be fun to see how the girls respond to it,” he said.
As for the Rangers (7-10), Vincent said he hasn’t watched much film on them yet, but said when the two rivals get together records don’t mean much.
“It’s one of those games. It doesn’t matter what happens throughout the year,” he said. “Both teams know each other well. It will be a battle, regardless.”
Custer    10    10    19    11    —50
BF    13    11    7    12    —43
Custer—Jojo Larsen 4-8 4-5 12, Kylee Ellerton 5-12 2-2 15, Jordyn Uphoff 2-8 0-0 6, Maya Tennyson 4-6 0-2 9, Rylan Lowe 1-3 0-0 2, Keira Nelson 2-4 0-0 4, Taylor Bland 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 18-41 8-11 50.
Belle Fourche—Kailey Nowowiejski 1-5 0-0 2, Denali Larson 2-10 2-3 7, Aurora Voyles 0-3 0-0 0, Lily Nore 3-13 8-8 15, Reagan Hatling 9-19 1-4 19. Totals: 15-50 10-13 43.
Three-point goals: Custer 6 (Ellerton 3, Uphoff 2, Tennyson), BF 3 (Larson, Nore, Hatling). Rebounding: Custer 30 (Tennyson 10), BF 27 (Hatling 10). Steals: Custer 7, BF 13. Assists: Custer 12, BF 11. Turnovers: Custer 21, BF 14. Total fouls: Custer 11, BF 15. Fouled out: Voyles, Nowowiejski.
Custer    10    16    16    7    —49
HS    10    6    11    3    —31
Custer—Jojo Larsen 6-10 1-2 14, Siena Schultz 0-6 0-0 0, Kylee Ellerton 6-11 2-7 15, Jordyn Uphoff 1-9 1-1 3, Maya Tennyson 2-8 0-2 4, Rylan Lowe 1-8 0-0 2, Keira Nelson 2-3 1-2 5, Kylee Pulscher 1-5 0-0 3, Taylor Brand 1-7 0-0 3, Myley May 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 20-72 5-14 49.
Hot Springs—Kenadee Maciejewski 2-9 0-0 4, Destiny Webb 1-6 1-2 3, Ashlynn Elshere 4-7 0-5 9, Emmalene Preuss 2-5 0-0 4, Kaylee Bader 2-7 0-4 6, Alaina Daily 0-1 0-0 0, Haylee White 2-7 0-0 4. Totals: 13-42 1-11 31.
Three-point goals: Custer 4 (Larsen, Ellerton, Pulscher, Bland), HS 3 (Bader 2, Elshere). Rebounding: Custer 43 (Tennyson 11), HS 40 (Maciejewski 12). Steals: Custer 24 (Tennyson 7), HS 7. Assists: Custer 11, HS 8. Turnovers: Custer 12, HS 29. Total fouls: Custer 13, HS 10.
Custer    9    10    6    15    —40
Douglas    8    7    11    9    —35
Custer—Jojo Larsen 3-13 0-0 7, Kylee Ellerton 3-13 2-4 9, Jordyn Uphoff 1-11 2-2 5, Maya Tennyson 3-5 5-7 11, Rylan Lowe 2-7 0-2 4, Keira Nelson 0-3 1-2 1, Kylee Pulscher 1-1 0-0 3, Taylor Bland 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 13-54 10-17 40.
Douglas—Taryn Shroyer 0-2 1-2 1, Emma Blaisure 4-10 3-4 15, Ramzy Johnson 2-4 3-4 7, Karlee Hartley 0-0 1-3 1, Olivia Harris 2-16 2-3 6, Ashlyn Blasius 0-0 0-2 0, Kelly Clauson 1-7 2-2 4, Ryli La Joie 0-0 1-4 1. Totals: 9-39 13-24 35.
Three-point goals: Custer 4 (Larsen, Ellerton, Uphoff, Pulscher), Douglas 4 (Blaisure 4). Rebounding: Custer 37 (Larsen 8), Douglas 32 (Harris 6, Clauson 6). Steals: Custer 16, Douglas 8. Assists: Custer 6, Douglas 5. Turnovers: Custer 20, Douglas 27. Total fouls: Custer 19, Douglas 17. Fouled out: Johnson.