Top 10 Scorers at the Class B State Tournament

The Class B State Tournament proved to be one of the more competitive tournaments in South Dakota history as the field was loaded with talent from the 1 Seed to the 8 Seed.  If you need proof, the number 8 seed Viborg-Hurley Cougars won the state championship rattling off three impressive wins in a row and sending seniors [player_tooltip player_id="99785" first="Delana" last="Mach"] and Brooklyn Andersen off with a title.  Here are the top 10 Scorers according to points per contest from the 2022 Class B State Tournament. [player_tooltip player_id="261993" first="Maleighya" last="Estes"] (Senior) - White River - 24.67 PPG - No surprise here Estes has been filling the nets her entire career and led the pack in Class B with nearly 25 points per contest.  Even more impressive she did it on an efficient overall FG% of 40% and knocked down 68% of her FTs.  Dakota Wesleyan got a good one here, keep an eye on her performance at the next level. [player_tooltip player_id="99736" first="Kennadi" last="Buchholz"] (Senior) - DeSmet - 21.67 PPG - Kennadi helped her team earn a state title bid, eventually falling short to Viborg/Hurley.  The Bulldog had one heck of a send-off for her senior year though, shooting a second overall FG% of 52% on her way to over 20 points a night.  This kid has been a blessing to South Dakota basketball and young post players should scramble for some DeSmet tape to learn from this talented force in the paint. [player_tooltip player_id="99728" first="Kaycee" last="Groves"] (Senior) - Faith - 20.67 PPG - Groves put in 36% of her shots overall and hit at a rate of 28% from beyond the arch.  The talented 5’ 10" guard helped her team get to the state tournament two out of her four years in high school and nearly put her team in another one as she put up 31 points but would fall short to DeSmet in the semifinals.  She is a staple in Faith basketball and continues to help build on the excellence the Longhorns have been putting out for years. [player_tooltip player_id="100500" first="Denae" last="Mach"] (Junior) - Viborg/Hurley - 18.33 PPG - The eventual state champion Cougars got a big lift from this young lady’s well-balanced attack.  Slashing and scoring and hitting contested deep balls proved to be a strong suit for Denae in yet another round of games this season.  She shot an overall FG% of 32% and a very impressive 88% from the charity stripe. [player_tooltip player_id="166689" first="Coral" last="Mason"] (Junior) - Viborg/Hurley - 17.33 PPG - The other half of a dynamic scoring duo for the Cougars put up a big tournament herself, using her physicality to get to her spots to score, knocking down key jump shots, and as always, putting in looks from the free-throw line.  Coral shot 40% overall from the floor and 79% from the free-throw line. [player_tooltip player_id="150853" first="Madelyn" last="Bragg"] (Senior) - Aberdeen Roncalli - 16.67 PPG - Bragg is a true "stretch the floor" post player who can score from all levels of the offense.  The senior had a productive tournament shooting 40% from the floor overall and knocking down an impressive 79% of her free throws.  The senior post player will take her talents to the next level and looks to be a solid signing for Northern State. [player_tooltip player_id="100472" first="Mallory" last="Miller"] (Junior) - Aberdeen Christian - 16.67 PPG - Miller is all of 6’ 4" and she continued to utilize her length at the state tournament.  She went 45% overall from the floor and 29% from three.  Her team graduated a large group of talent so look for her to put up big numbers next year as she figures to be the focal point of the offense after impressing as the 7th highest scorer in this year’s tournament. [player_tooltip player_id="150861" first="Morgan" last="Fiedler"] (Senior) - Aberdeen Roncalli - 15.67 PPG - Fiedler will take her talents to Northern State along with her teammate Bragg.  She was effective in the state tournament knocking down 36% of her shots including a quarter of her deep balls (25%).  A talented group of seniors led this team to a Class A state championship in 2021 and a 5th place finish in Class B this year. [player_tooltip player_id="100468" first="Avery" last="Broughton"] (Junior) - Corsica-Stickney - 15.33 PPG - The USD commit had a solid tournament after returning from not being able to participate there the year before with an injury. She showed off her complete game scoring from all over and bringing intensity and shot disruption on the defensive end.  Avery took advantage of her physicality and footwork earning 25 trips to the FT line and knocking down 19 of them. [player_tooltip player_id="403792" first="Paige" last="Kjerstad"] (Sophomore) - Wall - 15.00 PPG -  The youngest of the scoring leaders Paige is a name to follow over the next couple of years.  She put in 15 points a night on 38% overall shooting and went an impressive 19-25 from the FT line (76%).  Keep an eye on Wall and their plethora of young talent that returns next year.