WATERTOWN — Viborg-Hurley came in as the No. 8 seed and left as the No. 1 team in Class B girls basketball.

The eighth-seeded Cougars completed their championship run with a 58-53 win over No. 2 De Smet for the state championship on Saturday. It punctuated a three-day run that included wins over No. 1 Aberdeen Roncalli, No. 4 Corsica-Stickney and the No. 2 Bulldogs.

But Viborg-Hurley (22-4) didn’t view itself as an eighth seed and it backed it up. 

“We never thought of ourselves as an eighth seed,” Viborg-Hurley coach Molly Mason said. “We prepared like we were the best team in the state and everybody’s records were 0-0.”

Viborg-Hurley is the first No. 8 seed to win the girls Class B state championship since Baltic did it in 2001. It was also the first girls basketball championship for Viborg-Hurley as a co-op, which began its consolidation in 2011. 

“I don’t think there are any words to describe it right now,” Viborg-Hurley guard Coral Mason said. “I am just so excited and proud of my team right now.”

Denae Mach led the Cougars with 23 points, while Mason added 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists. 

De Smet’s Kennadi Buchholz, the Spirit of Su recipient, finished with 15 points and 21 rebounds. Emma Albrecht and Jada Burke scored 15 and 13 points, respectively. 

The Cougars’ championship was punctuated by a third-quarter surge against the Bulldogs (24-2). The game was knotted at 36-36 at halftime, but Buchholz scored six early points in the third quarter to key a 44-36 advantage for De Smet. 

But the deficit was nothing new for the Cougars. 

“I think there was one game where we were down by 19 and we came back and we won,” Mach said. “So that just shows we are fighters and we are going to fight toward the end.” 

Viborg-Hurley's Coral Mason attacks the basket against De Smet on Saturday in Watertown. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

After the third quarter media timeout, Viborg-Hurley responded with an 11-2 spurt to close the third quarter. Mason got the Cougars within 46-45 and her two free throws to end the quarter gave them a 47-46 lead. 

“The girls slowly kind of inched their way back and we got the momentum shifted our way,” coach Mason said. “Then you kind of saw the girls pick it up a little bit and take it to another level and finish it off.”

Viborg-Hurley never relinquished the lead in the fourth quarter. But the Bulldogs whittled the deficit to 55-53 with one minute left on two Buchholz free throws. 

The Bulldogs had a chance to tie with 25 seconds left, but Buchholz was triple teamed and missed a shot in the lane. Mach hit two free throws with 17 seconds left for a four-point margin and sister Delana Mach split two free throws with 3 seconds left for the final score. 

“It’s unbelievable,” Denae Mach said. “I am speechless. I dreamed of it in second grade when Molly coached us, but now it’s like I am on cloud nine. It still hasn't sunk in.” 

The championship tilt was a seesaw battle from the jump. De Smet led 20-19 after the first quarter, while there were six ties and five lead changes in the first half. 

Buchholz was held to just three points at halftime, but the Bulldogs pounded the ball inside early in the second half. 

“Buchholz is so dangerous in the high post,” coach Mason said. “So that was another thing we really needed to work on, but we didn't expect the shooters that came out and hit those threes. We couldn’t sit in that zone very long. So we had to switch to man.”

The effort to get the ball inside to Buchholz led to Viborg-Hurley’s eight-point deficit. But the Cougars received key shots from Mason, Estelle Lee, Denae Mach and Shelby Lyons to key the comeback win. 

Hurley won the 1992 Class B state championship, while Viborg placed third in Class B in 1993. Now the Cougars have one of their own. 

“I think everybody knows Viborg-Hurley has been known for boys sports,” coach Mason said. “So I am just so happy the girls are part of the success.”