Rangers advance over Bison, fall to Cavs

The number three seeded Hill City Rangers girls’ basketball team opened postseason play in a dominant fashion Tuesday night, rolling past the Hot Springs Bison 64-16 in a first-round home playoff matchup.

Hill City’s relentless defense and up-tempo offense overwhelmed the young Bison team from the outset.

Hot Springs’ Haylee White scored the first point, going one-for-two from the free-throw line. It would be the only Bison point until late in the opening quarter, when Taryn Bande Stroet added two more from the line.

In the meantime, the Rangers unleashed a 17-point run fueled by Daril Frandsen’s defense. 

Frandsen recorded multiple steals that led to fast-break layups and knocked down two shots from beyond the arc, accounting for eight of her game-high 15 points.

Alaina Dean added seven in the opening surge, and a Naiya Ginsbach steal led to a Kinsey Dillavou transition to keep the momentum alive.

The Rangers limited the Bison to just two points in the second quarter while putting up another 17 of their own. Back-to-back baskets from eighth-grader Eden Wildeman rounded out the half, sending Hill City to the locker room with a commanding 34-5 lead.

A Macie Ham put-back early in the third quarter triggered the running clock, and the Rangers continued to control both ends of the floor. Although Hot Springs turned in its best offensive effort of the night with 10 third-quarter points, Hill City answered by raining down four consecutive three-point shots. Ham and Dillavou each connected from deep, while Ginsbach drained two in a row from long range as part of a 20-point quarter that stretched the lead to 54-15.

The Rangers added 10 more in the fourth, with Dean, Frandsen, Demi Schrier and Andee Frandsen contributing. The Bison managed just one free-throw in the final period as Hill City closed out the 64-14 victory to advance to the second round.

The momentum took a hard shift Thursday night when the number four-seeded Rangers faced the number three seed St. Thomas More (STM) Cavaliers.

STM’s tough defense matched with Hill City struggling to get shots to fall created a perfect storm to sweep the Rangers offense off its feet. Hill City struggled, shooting only 13.4 percent for the game and the STM defense stopped them from driving the middle. The Cavs took an early 14-1 lead going into the second.

“We had the chances, we had the looks we wanted, we had the offensive ball rotation that we asked for in the half court but we could never find out how to get the ball in the hole,” said head coach Anna Eckert. “You really can’t win many games with that percentage.”

The Rangers defense caused some trouble for STM, forcing 19 turnovers.

“The girls did everything we could ask of them on defense. We caused 19 turnovers, which is great for such a well-coached team with a meticulous offense,” said Eckert. “Offensively, we couldn’t capitalize on those turnovers.”

Jaelyn Peters laid in the first bucket for the Rangers with just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter. Dillavou knocked down a three-point shot followed by a Dean steal, finishing at the rim for a Ranger five-point run, that sent them into halftime down by 17.

Ginsbach accounted for all the Rangers third quarter scoring with a strong hook shot in the paint and a pair of free-throws. STM dropped in six points for the quarter, advancing its lead 35-12 heading into the final frame.

The Cavaliers’ opened the fourth on a nine-point run. Ham scored the Rangers’ lone basket late in the quarter. STM secured a 47-14 victory to advance to the SoDak 16, bringing the Rangers season to a close.

“We played hard,” said Eckert. “You can’t question the girls’ fight. The chips didn’t fall how we hoped, but they never gave up, and they kept playing through every possession. They did what we asked but fell short. That’s sometimes how life works.”

The Rangers finish with a hard-fought 13-8 season.

“This was a great season to be a part of,” said Eckert. “This is a group of girls that come from many different basketball backgrounds. Being senior heavy, the girls did a good job of finding their roles and understanding what they had to do to be successful,” Eckert said.

“I’m incredibly proud of this entire team and know that they will do great things as they weren’t only good basketball players but just great humans in general,” said Eckert.