BRANDON VALLEY , S.D. – Mitchell Kernel girls basketball became the first 12 seed to advance to the AA state tournament with a 53-49 win vs. 5 seed Brandon Valley on Friday night.
The Kernels would never trail after the opening minute of the game, led by Sawyer Stoebner’s 25 points and 14 rebounds, along with 19 points and five three-pointers from Addie Siemsen.
Mitchell would get off to a fast start, leading 10-3 early in the first quarter and having a 24-20 lead at halftime.
The Kernels would extend their lead to 12 midway through third quarter before Brandon Valley would cut the deficit down to three in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
After a Mitchell timeout, the Kernels answered with a Stoebner layup and a Lauren Van Overschelde three to increase its lead back up to eight.
The Lynx tied the game at 44-44 with just over three minutes left, but would never take the lead.
Mitchell would put the game away with Stoebner and Van Overschelde free throws in the final minute.
Brandon Valley had won 14 of the past 15 meetings vs. Mitchell and had won nine in a row overall coming into Friday’s game. The Lynx also defeated the Kernels just six nights prior, 55-33 in the regular season finale.
Mitchell (9-12) will take on 4 seed SF Jefferson (17-4) at 1:45 pm on Thursday, March 9 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Pregame show starts at 1:30 pm on KORN News Radio FM 101.3/AM 1490 and KORNRadio.com
You can listen to a replay of Mitchell vs. Brandon Valley on iTunes and all previous Kernels basketball games. CLICK HERE