GROVE CITY -- Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City had the answer to Lac qui Parle Valley's late shooting heroics, edging the Eagles 56-55 to force a tie in the West Central South girls basketball race Tuesday.
With the Falcons (8-2, 12-9) leading 54-52, LQPV (8-2, 13-7) caught a break when Mindy Clark pulled down an offensive rebound and sank a three-pointer with 16 seconds left.
ACGC responded with a Brittany Smith five-footer with 3.6 seconds left to retake the lead. Miranda Hopp sealed the victory by stealing the inbounds pass.
Smith scored a game-high 20 points for the Falcons. Kjersten Karlsgodt sank all five ACGC three-pointers for 15 points. Hopp led the team with nine rebounds.
Clark tallied 15 points for the Eagles, followed by Micaela Erickson's 14 and Melanie Gail with 11. Andi Rheingans recorded six rebounds.
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ACGC 56, LQPV 55
LQPV (8-2, 13-7) 26 29 -- 55
ACGC (8-2, 12-9) 26 30 -- 56
LAC QUI PARLE VALLEY - 18-47 FG (6-23 3-pt); 13-18 FT; 23 rebounds; 13 fouls ... Scoring: Melanie Gail 11, Micaela Erickson 14, Mindy Clark 15, Kayla Rheingans 9, Andi Rheingans 6 ... 3-point shots: Gail 3, Clark 3 ... Rebound leaders: A. Rheingans 6 ... Assist leaders: Clark 5 ... Steal leaders: Clark 5
ATWATER-COSMOS-GROVE CITY - 24-54 FG (5-20 3-pt); 3-4 FT; 35 rebounds; 15 fouls ... Scoring: Lauren Kinzler 2, Kjersten Karlsgodt 15, Miranda Hopp 5, Sara Lund 6, Kayla Dallmann 4, Liberty Slinden 4, Brittany Smith 20 ... 3-point shots: Karlsgodt 5 ... Rebound leaders: Hopp 9, Smith 8, Lund 7 ... Assist leaders: Jacklyn Pistulka 4 ... Steal leaders: none
Benson 68, YME 54
Brittany Holm, 6-1, senior post, delivered 23 points, six rebounds, five steals and five blocked shots to pace the Braves, who shot 56 percent on 25 of 44 from the field.
The Sting, who trailed 31-16 by halftime, shot just 27 percent on 20 of 73. Emily Balfany scored 13 points and added five steals for Yellow Medicine East. Livi Jeseritz grabbed nine rebounds.
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Also stoking the Benson offense was Abby Fragodt with 17 points and seven rebounds and Keri Mikkelson with five steals and four assists.
Benson (4-6, 9-10) 31 37 -- 68
YME (1-10, 2-15) 16 38 -- 54
BENSON - 25-44 FG (2-6 3-pt); 16-28 FT; 27 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Brittany Holm 23, Emily Ness 3, Courtney Frank 5, Keri Mikkelson 5, Kayla Anderson 7, Sarah Ahrndt 8, Abby Fragodt 17 ... 3-point shots: Ness, Ahrndt ... Rebound leaders: Fragodt 7, Holm 6 ... Assist leaders: Mikkelson 4 ... Steal leaders: Holm 5, Mikkelson 5 ... Blocks: Holm 5, Fragodt 4
YELLOW MEDICINE EAST - 20-73 FG (1-7 3-pt); 13-22 FT; 31 rebounds; 27 fouls ... Scoring: Darcy Listul 2, Emily Balfany 13, Macy McKay 7, Haley Bennett 8, Jodie Stensrud 2, Livi Jeseritz 6, Anne Jepsen 8, Emma Volstad 6, Jamie Baker 2 ... 3-point shots: Jeseritz 1 ... Rebound leaders: Jeseritz 9, Balfany 5... Assist leaders: Balfany 4 ... Steal leaders: Balfany 5, Jeseritz 4..
West Central North LPGE 58, Paynesville 57
Paynesville had a good look just miss in the final seconds as the Bulldogs couldn't recover from trailing for the entire game.
Brittni Schmitz pumped in 18 points and JessiccaLee Klein followed with 13 to pace Paynesville (0-11, 1-16). Klein also grabbed nine rebounds while Jacque Schlangen pocketed four steals.
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LPGE (3-9, 7-13) 23 35 -- 58
Paynesville (0-11, 1-16) 17 40 -- 57
LONG PRAIRIE-GREY EAGLE - 23-60 FG (3-13 3-pt); 11-18 FT; 33 rebounds; 20 fouls ... Scoring: Mayer 9, Blommel 23, Miller 4, Eberle 3, Nies 12, King 4, Kaiser 3 ... 3-point shots: Blommel 3 ... Rebound leader: Blommel 7 ... Assist leader: none ... Steal leader: Blommel 7
PAYNESVILLE - 19-59 FG (1-14 3-pt); 18-30 FT; 27 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Brittni Schmitz 18, Laura Schaefer 1, Kristen Miller 2, Kelly Flannigan 9, Marissa Mackedanz 4, JessiccaLee Klein 13, Kristin Lang 4, Jacque Schlangen 6 ... 3-point shots: Mackedanz 1 ... Rebound leader: Klein 9 ... Assist leader: Schmitz 2 ... Steal leader: Schlangen 4
