By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

WATERTOWN — Lilly Krogman’s second game winner of the season lifted White River to a seventh-place finish at the Class B state girls basketball tournament. 

The junior forward hit a turnaround jumper to propel the Tigers past region foe Wall, 54-52, in Saturday’s seventh-place contest at the Watertown Civic Arena. Krogman also hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in White River’s 48-47 win over Gregory earlier in the season. 

“This one does not feel as good as the first one,” said Krogman, who finished with four points. “But it still feels good.” 

Maleighya Estes led the Tigers (19-5) with 27 points and five rebounds. Karlie Cameron added 11 points. 

Paige Kjerstad paced the Eagles (21-5) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Nora Dinger added 14 points, while Ava Dinger recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. 

Final: White River 54, Wall 52. Lilly Krogman for the win! #SDHoops22 pic.twitter.com/K5jpPqB85z

â€" Ryan Deal (@RyanDeal_605) March 12, 2022

Krogman’s shot capped off a frantic finish between the Region 7B rivals. White River, which trailed by 13 points in the first half, surged back and took a 49-45 lead with 2:22 left on a pair of Estes free throws. 

Kjerstad hit two free throws and Nora Dinger knotted the score at 49-49 with 50 seconds left. After Cameron and Nora Dinger traded 3-pointers for a 52-52 tie, White River retained possession after a loose ball went out of bounds and called a timeout with :5.9 ticks left. 

Estes, who scored 10 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter, was used as a decoy on the play. 

“We set Mal off those three screens on the baseline there and I knew she was probably going to have three girls on her when she came off,” White River coach Jared Bouman said. “I just told those other girls to clear and throw it into Lil. I told Lil ‘Just go with your right hand and use the backboard.’ She didn't use the backboard, but she did knock it down.”

Kelsey Morrison inbounded the ball by White River’s bench, Krogman caught the ball in the lane, took one dribble and laid it in over a Wall defender for the win. 

“I was one of the options and then Kelsey Morrison passed it to me,” Krogman said. “It felt really good. I didn’t get back on defense.”

The Eagles shot 12 of 23 (52 percent) in the first half to spark a 28-22 halftime lead. The Tigers, meanwhile, shot a 37 percent clip on 10 of 27 shooting from the field. They hit 1 of 9 at the 3-point line in the first half. 

“We’ve been having a slow start every game,” Estes said. “So it just took us a while and we needed a wakeup and once they started making a run on us, everyone woke up and we were like ‘We have to fight.’ ” 

The Eagles led 43-39 after three quarters and that’s when Estes powered the Tigers down the stretch. She scored eight straight points and White River went ahead, 47-43, with 3:30 left.  

“I knew this was all or nothing,” Estes said. “We got it going and we started figuring out where the open shots were and started shooting like we usually do.” 

Estes’ fourth-quarter surge set the stage for Krogman’s game-winning shot. 

“Lilly has worked hard,” Bouman said. “She overcame a big injury last year and just to have somebody else step up and knock it down, you know that there’s going to be four girls on Maleighya coming off that screen. So I just thought it was the best option to throw it inside and get a decent look. So I am thankful that it went in for Lilly.”