SIOUX FALLS — It will be a David vs. Goliath girls state championship game on Saturday night in Sioux Falls. But David will be coming on strong.
No. 1 Sioux Falls Washington (19-2) will face No. 6 Rapid City Stevens (16-5) after both teams grinded out six-point wins in Friday’s Class A semifinals in the Sanford Pentagon. The Warriors and Raiders will clash at 8:15, with the game carried on FOX Sports 98.1, AM-1230, KWSN.COM and the KWSN mobile app.
WHS — the strong favorite coming into the tournament, sporting a pair of future Power 5 college players — scored the final six points over the last two minutes to beat No. 4 O’Gorman in a thriller during which neither team led by more than four until the final 20 seconds.
OGHS transfer Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda — ESPN’s No. 24 ranked prep junior in the nation — poured in a game-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists to give the Warriors their third razor-thin victory in three contests this season against their oldest cross-town rival. Mwenentanda’s fellow Twin Tower, senior center and Louisville commit Sydney Schetnen, finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Raiders were a surprise state tourney qualifier and an even bigger surprise to play for the title after losing All-Stater Kyah Watson, now at USD. But RCS used stifling full-court pressure to beat No. 7 Brandon Valley, 51-45, with a 13-2 run to finish the third quarter making the difference. RCS turned a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead with an avalanche of steals, led by junior point guard Jayda McNabb, who led all scorers with 16 points and was seemingly everywhere.
This, a night after Stevens used the same method to hold No. 3 Harrisburg to 10 points below its season-worst point total in a 39-27 quarterfinal win. McNabb provided a lot of the defensive disruption against BV, holding the Lynx’ leading scorer Hilary Behrens (15 points) to three points after halftime.
Washington and Stevens did not clash in the regular season. The Warriors take a 15-game win streak into the final while the Raiders have won 13 of 14 under coach Michael Brooks, whose previous job was women’s head coach at Div. I Bradley and returned this season after stepping down for one year following three 17-win seasons from 2016-2019.
While Brooks looks to deliver RCS its first ever state championship in four trips to the finals, WHS is seeking its seventh overall, its fifth since 2008 and first since 2015, the first year under coach Jamie Parish after WHS athletic director Nate Malchow led the Warriors to the winners’ circle four times from 2008-14.
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