By Rodney Haas
605 Sports 

BROOKINGS — It took four years but St. Thomas More is back on top of the Class A mountain top. 

The Cavaliers used a 16-0 run in the first quarter to set the tone and capture their seventh state title since 2010 and their first since 2018 when St. Thomas More won five straight. 

“It feels awesome,” said St Thomas More coach Brandon Kandolin of his team’s 52-30 win over Hamlin. “It never gets old. I don’t think people understand how hard it is to win and to win five in a row. But to be able to come back and know that we put ourselves in position  a lot of times and we just hadn’t closed the deal. To have this team finally close the deal, it feels special.” 

The Cavaliers entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed with a record of 19-3. They held off Lakota Tech 37-35 in the opening round on Thursday and knocked off top seed Wagner 48-35 in Friday’s semifinals. 

“I thought throughout the season we played a lot of games that could’ve gone either way and they just had this perseverance and fight about them,” Kandolin said. “Every time we were challenged, it seemed like they just found another gear and they continued to fight. They just came together at the right time. This was a perfect storm for us.”

Reese Ross led St. Thomas More with 25 points and 13 rebounds. The 6-foot junior was 9 for 20 from the floor and a perfect 7 for 7 from the line..   

“Her athleticism is very impressive,” Kandolin said of Ross. “I’m just amazed with the way she jumps and the long strides. She just does a lot of things. It’s great on both ends.

Jada Mollman added 11 points in the win. 

Brooklyn Brandriet had 11 points to lead the Chargers. 

St. Thomas More jumped to a 14-2 lead after the first quarter and held a 30-17 lead at halftime. The Cavaliers led 40-24 at the end of the third quarter. 

Meanwhile for Hamlin, it’s the second year in a row the Chargers made it to the championship game, only to fall short. Last year the Chargers’ lost to Aberdeen Roncalli 48-31 in the title game.  

“It’s tough,” Hamlin coach Tim Koisti said. “Taking second is hard and I’m just proud of my kids for keeping on and fighting but you have to give credit to St. Thomas More, they played extremely well.

“It’s hard to get to the state tournament. I have to give credit to the kids for getting back here so it’s amazing they got back. We just have to keep fighting and hopefully next year.” 

Hamlin will lose two seniors in Zoie Fraser and Alyssa West, but will return a roster that includes three juniors, five sophomores, two freshmen and an eighth grader. 

“We have a good nucleus coming back, but we have to get back into the gym and there’s other kids that are working hard and hopefully we will get that third chance (to win a state championship),” Koisti said. “Second is hard. It’s an amazing season and you're proud, but to lose that last game when you are so close to that championship, it’s extremely hard.”