PARKSTON — The Ethan Rustlers needed overtime to secure a return trip to the state tournament.  

Ethan edged Andes Central/Dakota Christian, 62-59, in an overtime SoDak 16 girls basketball thriller on Thursday. With the win, Ethan earned its ninth state tournament appearance since 2015. The Rustlers will play in the Class B state girls basketball tournament on March 7-9 in Rapid City. 

The Rustlers outlasted ACDC, which lost to Ethan 83-44 earlier this season, in a seesaw contest at a rocking Parkston gymnasium. 

“I just feel very grateful and just honored to be the coach of this team and when things were down, they just kept on battling without our best player on the floor and just showed guts,” Ethan coach Tom Young said. 

Ethan’s Ava Lingemann tossed in a game-high 21 points and hit six 3-pointers, but fouled out with 3:21 left in regulation. Lingemann was whistled for her fourth foul with 4:51 left in the third quarter.

Young rolled the dice and kept his all-state guard in the game. 

“I know it was kind of crazy that I kept her on the floor with four fouls,” Young said. “I felt like if I took her off, we are going to lose. If I left her on we still had a chance. It was just a matter of how long she could stay on the floor and obviously she made some great plays before she left.”

Madeline Bartscher helped shoulder the load, finishing with 20 points and six 3-pointers. Marissa Storm added 14 points and four 3-pointers. 

“I love my teammates,” Bartscher said. “I knew right away when Ava fouled out that they were going to step up and take on that role that they needed to.”

The Thunder had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Halle Olson’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

In overtime, Ethan jumped ahead 60-54 and still had to withstand a late ACDC rally. The Thunder got within 60-57 on a 3-pointer. Ethan failed to put the game away at the free-throw line, leaving the door open for the Thunder.  

“I’m disappointed obviously with the way we shot free throws,” Young said. “We could have iced it. We missed a layup because of cramps, but it was just resiliency and just battling. We feel really, really, really blessed to come home with a victory.”

ACDC had one last shot to send the game into overtime. Trailing 62-59, the Thunder called a timeout with 1.3 seconds left under their own basket. Claire Johnson was left wide open along the baseline, but her 3-pointer at the buzzer was short. 

“I can’t believe that one didn’t go in and I can’t believe she got that open,” Young said. “I have no idea how, but I don’t want to know.” 

Once the 3-pointer bounced away, Ethan breathed a huge sigh of relief and celebrated another state tournament berth. 

“I want to go to state and I want to go Rapid,” Bartscher said. “This team more than ever is my favorite team and I love these girls with my entire heart.”

ACDC’s Josie Brouwer logged 22 points, while Mahpiya Irving added 15 points on five 3-pointers. Halle Olson had nine points.

The Rustlers jumped out to a 17-5 lead and led 23-13 after the first quarter. But the Thunder evened the score at 29-29 on an Irving 3-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer. 

The teams traded the lead and baskets until Ethan pulled out the win. 

“They just made some good shots and they played excellent,” Young said. “They played good defense. They took away a lot of stuff that we do and he (ACDC coach Shane Niewenhuis) was well prepared. They were well prepared. It’s too bad there had to be a team that lost.”