BROOKINGS – Three of the four higher seeds advanced in the Class A Girls State Basketball Tournament on Thursday at the Dacotah Bank Center in Brookings.

Sisseton, Vermillion and Sioux Falls Christian all advanced to the semifinals, while Tea Area was the only lower seed to win on Thursday. No. 1 seeded Sisseston will play No. 4 Vermillion on Friday at 6 p.m. and No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian will play No. 6 Tea Area at 7:45 p.m.

n No. 1 Sisseton 57, No. 8 Mount Vernon/Plankinton 47

The Redmen used a strong third quarter to pull away from the Titans on Thursday afternoon. 

It was a back-and-forth first half. It was 8-8 near the midway point of the first quarter and Sisseton led 14-13 at the end of the quarter. MVP went up 18-16 in the second quarter but the Redmen took a 23-21 lead into halftime.

The Redmen pulled ahead 34-26 in the third quarter but the Titans scored four straight to cut the lead to four. Krista Langager then went on an 8-0 run herself close the quarter and Sisseton led 44-32 heading into the final quarter. MVP was able to cut the lead to 49-40 but Sisseton put the game away with a 6-0 run that gave them a 15-point lead.

Sisseton shot 40.8% from the field and was 5-of-16 from three. Krista Langager led the Redmen with 24 points and six rebounds. Her sister, Chloe Langager, had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Ruby Rice had 11 points and nine boards.

It was a tough shooting day for MVP as the Titans shot 25.8% from the field and were 5-of-33 from three. They were 1-of-18 from beyond the arc in the second half.

South Dakota State commit Emilee Fox led the Titans with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Reagan Rus had 16 points and six rebounds.

Sisseton had 40 rebounds and MVP had 30. The Redmen had 12 turnovers and the Titans had eight. Sisseton was 12-of-15 at the free throw line and MVP was 10-of-14 on free throws.

n No. 4 Vermillion 41, No. 5 Mahpiya Luta 37

The second game of the day was a defensive battle and the Tanagers were able to pull away late.

Vermillion outscored Mahpiya Luta 11-4 in the first quarter. Mahpiya Luta then went on a 10-3 run to take a 14-13 lead in the second quarter but the Tanagers led 19-18 at halftime.

The Tanagers led 24-22 in the third quarter but a bucket from Jodene Hunter and a 3-pointer from Mya Mills gave Mahpiya Luta a 27-24 lead heading into the final quarter. Mahpiya Luta then led 35-32 in the fourth quarter but a 9-0 run put the Tanagers up 41-35 with under a minute to play and that was enough separation to get the win.

Vermillion shot 31.4% from the field and was 3-of-16 from three. Brooke Jensen led the Tanagers with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Chandler Cleveland had nine points and nine rebounds.

Mahpiya Luta shot 25.8% from the field and was 3-of-16 from three as well. Ashlan Blount led the team with 16 points and Hunter had 12 points.

Vermillion had 50 rebounds and Mahpiya Luta had 37. The Tanagers had 21 turnovers and Mahpiya Luta had 12. Vermillion was 6-of-15 at the free throw line and Mahpiya Luta was 2-of-4 at the charity stripe.

n No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 53, No. 7 Hanson 42

The seventh-seeded Beaverettes hung around but a strong stretch at the end of the game allowed the Chargers to pull away and advance to the semifinals.

SFC jumped out to a 7-3 lead and then led 10-6 at the midway point of the quarter. The Chargers then went on a 9-4 run to close the quarter and led 19-10 heading into the second.

The Chargers scored the first two points of the second quarter and Hanson proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to tie the game with 4:08 to play in the first half. SFC outscored the Beaverettes 6-1 in the final four minutes of the half and led 27-22 at halftime.

SFC put a press on to start the second half and it rattled Hanson as the Chargers went on an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 35-24 with 5:11 left in the third. Hanson responded with a 7-0 run of its own to cut the lead to 35-31 but the Chargers went on 6-1 run to close out the quarter and led 41-32 heading into the fourth.

Hanson trailed 47-37 with 5:27 to play and went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to five with just over four minutes left. Maya Nelson made a three with 3:20 left and that ended up being the dagger as the Chargers would get an 11-point victory.

SFC shot 34.5% from the field and was 5-of-21 from three. The Chargers were led by Nelson who had 14 points. Avery Reitz had 11 points and seven rebounds. Aubrie VanBeek had 10 points and four boards and Jaxsyn Swift had eight points.

The Beaverettes shot 34.1% from the field and were 3-of-13 from beyond the arc. Eliza Oltmanns led Hanson with 14 points and six rebounds. Alyssa Moschell and Taziah Hawkins each had 13 points. Moschell also had 10 rebounds.

SFC had 37 rebounds and Hanson had 33. The Beaverettes had 21 turnovers and the Chargers had 15. SFC was 8-of-12 at the free throw line and Hanson was 3-of-4.