RAPID CITY — Mahpiya Luta’s reign at the Lakota Nation Invitational continued on Saturday.

The Class A No. 1 Mahpiya Luta rolled past rival Lakota Tech, 65-34, for its fifth consecutive LNI championship in the Oceti Sakowin bracket. 

Despite the five-peat, Mahpiya Luta coach Matt Rama said the 2025 title was its own separate journey and his team continued it with another LNI championship. 

“I feel like every single one is its own journey,” Rama said. “You have this journey with his group of kids. I feel like they are working hard and they really have bought in and believe in what we are doing. So you wanted them to win and have that feeling because they really wanted to win.” 

At the 12,500-seat Summit Arena, Mahpiya Luta (6-0) treated fans with their fast-paced and  unselfish brand of basketball. 

Lakota Nation Invitational MVP Ashlan Carlow-Blount finished 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Shania Ferguson added 15 points and four rebounds. Mya Mills contributed 10 points and five rebounds. 

Mahpiya Luta led from start-to-finish, built a 28-6 first-quarter lead, led 47-22 at halftime and stretched the margin to 60-28 after three quarters. 

“I thought we came out hard,” Rama said. “They were definitely focused when they came out. I think we kind of let off and kind of lost some focus as we went through the game, but at the start of the game we came out intense.”

Carlow-Blount, an integral player during Mahpiya Luta’s five-year run, powered the strong start and was determined to cap her LNI career with another title. 

“To do that as an eighth grader to my senior year is super special,” Carlow-Blount said. “I have had a lot of great teammates throughout the years to help make this possible.”

Carlow-Blount, a 6-foot senior guard headed to Division I South Dakota, added the Lakota Nation Invitational MVP to her résumé. In recent years, Carlow-Blount put together an MVP-worthy tournament. 

But former teammates claimed the honor, which never bothered Carlow-Blount. 

“Whenever my past teammates have won it, I am just always happy for them,” Carlow-Blount said. “To me it’s never about the awards. It’s just about winning. Because I am going to do whatever it takes for my team to win because that’s my job as a point guard.”

Rama said the MVP is a fitting end to Carlow-Blount’s final LNI tourney. 

“She deserves it. She’s earned it,” Rama said. “This is her final one. She’s played in all five of them, and so for her to finish off with an MVP is the right finish. You saw her focus at the start of the game. She wasn’t messing around. I knew she was locked in and she wasn’t going to let us struggle.”

Mahpiya Luta now heads into the Christmas break with a 6-0 record, another LNI championship and the No. 1 ranking in the basketball poll. 

“It’s nice to go into the break undefeated, and so I am super proud of them,” Rama said.