VOLGA – The Sioux Valley Cossacks finished the regular season with a win as they used a dominating performance over the final three quarters to defeat the Garretson Blue Dragons 58-35 in the opening game of a doubleheader at the Cossack Center in Volga on Thursday night.
The Cossacks began the night in a celebratory mood as they honored their three seniors, Savannah Rawden, Jada Knutson and Caitlyn Cradduck by giving them the start on Senior Night. Granum had high praise for this group, commending their leadership and ability to be a great teammate.
“They’re some of the most-liked people that I’ve had in our program,” Sioux Valley head coach Jamie Granum said. “They are just absolute, unique and wonderful. The impact they’re going to make after high school is off the charts, so we definitely had some emotion with those three getting the start.”
While the Cossacks were running high on emotion, Garretson took advantage with a fast start. The Blue Dragons opened the game with a 10-2 run and used an 8-0 run to take an 18-6 lead at the end of the first quarter but Sioux Valley found its shot in the second quarter, using a 19-2 run to put the Cossacks on Talya Vincent’s jumper with 2:58 left in the first half.
While Sioux Valley played better in the second quarter, Granum wanted more from the Cossacks after they went into halftime tied at 25-25.
“We didn’t talk any X’s and O’s and we got after them a bit about it, challenging them with their effort and their intensity,” Granum explained. “We saw some loose balls that just didn’t go our way, so I challenged them at halftime. …We probably left 10 points out there just on layups that at this point of the season, we should be making,” Granum said. “But the main message was there’s going to be shots you miss but your effort has to be consistent.”
The Cossacks got the message in the second half as they opened the third quarter on a 12-3 run. Sioux Valley broke the game open from that point, leading 45-32 at the end of the third quarter and out-scoring the Blue Dragons 13-3 in the fourth quarter.
The spurt capped off a 52-17 advantage over the final three quarters and it helped the Cossacks finish the regular season with a record of 15-5.
“We have a 15-win season but there is more growth behind the scenes,” Granum said. “Wins and losses can mask other things that are happening and after the first quarter tonight, we dominated the rest of that basketball game.”
Vincent led the Cossacks with 16 points and four assists while Kailey Cradduck had 15 points, nine rebounds, an assist and a steal. Isabelle Bloker had 11 points, a block, an assist and a steal and Liberty Trygstad had seven points and a rebound off the bench. Keyra Kruse had five points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Jordyn Williams had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Blue Dragons while Tayler Benson had 11 points and five rebounds. Sydney Olson had seven points, five rebounds and an assist.
Sioux Valley shot 43 percent in the game including 8-for-22 on 3-pointers. The Cossacks made 4-of-7 (57.1%) free throws, out-rebounded the Blue Dragons 30-28 and committed six turnovers.
Garretson shot 28 percent including 7-for-20 (35%) on 3-pointers. The Blue Dragons went 2-for-5 from the charity stripe and committed 19 turnovers.
With an impressive effort, the Cossacks won six of their final seven games to close out the regular season ahead of their opening-round matchup in the Region 2A tournament on Tuesday night.
While Granum has been pleased with the way the Cossacks have played down the stretch, there is work to be done – especially in a region that hosts undefeated and No. 1 ranked Flandreau along with fellow SoDak 16 contenders Florence/Henry (15-5), Hamlin (13-7) and Great Plains Lutheran (15-5).
“We have to be the best [No. 4] seed in the state,” Granum said. “I know there’s another region out there that’s pretty loaded but we would be the second-best region in the state.”
Despite the tough draw, Granum believes that his team will be a difficult matchup no matter who they run into during this year’s tournament.
“Teams don’t want to play us,” Granum said. “Offensively, we’re scary. We’ve got four girls that shoot over 30 percent [on 3-pointers.] We play a unique defense and we’re young, so I like our chances in the postseason.”
