By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

The Fliers are headlined by 6-foot-2 Claire Sheppard, a future Jackrabbit. The all-state guard recently became the all-time leading scorer in Flandreau girls basketball history. 

She’s also handled more on-ball duties this season, while continuing to score at a high level. Recently, she logged 18 points, four rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in a 65-46 win over Lyman at the DWU/Culver’s Classic in Mitchell.

“It’s been really fun to watch her this season take ownership of the point guard position and take ownership of controlling the basketball and controlling the game.”

In addition to Sheppard, the Fliers trot out a lineup filled with size and athleticism. Flandreau also starts Lily Klein (5-11), Lizzle Pavlis (5-11), Sadie Iott (5-8) and Claire’s eighth-grade sister Morgan Sheppard (6-2). Ella Hoffman (5-8) and Hannah Krull (5-11) are regulars off the bench. 

The taller lineup carries over to the defensive end, where Flandreau is surrendering a Class A low 30-points per game. 

“I think this team has really bought into our defense and the importance of coming each night and being able to rely on our defense,” Severtson said. “There’s going to be nights where of course you can’t score, but I really feel like with this group, they have so much pride in what they do that defensive end.”

Flandreau will host Baltic on Tuesday in its regular-season finale. 

Wilmot’s Addison Heinje erupts for school-record 50 points

Wilmot High School freshman Addison Heinje broke a school record and joined an exclusive club on Thursday.

Heinje, a 5-foot-10 guard, erupted for a school-record 50 points in Wilmot’s 58-42 win over Ipswich in a non-conference girls basketball game. Heinje, who finished 21-of-25 at the free-throw line, broke the previous record of 40 points set by Jackie Vosberg in 1998. 

Heinje also became the sixth girls basketball player in South Dakota girls basketball history to score 50 or more points in a game.

Highmore’s Crystal Bonnichsen, Hitchcock’s JoEllen Hofer and McIntosh’s Tia Baumberger share the Class B single-game scoring record with 51-point performances. 

Heinje joins Wall’s Leslie Deutscher and Midland’s Kim Bierle as South Dakota girls basketball players to score 50 points in a single-game.

Faulkton Area’s Layne Cotton pours in school-record 52 points

Layne Cotton erupted for a school-record 52 points in a 77-30 boys basketball win over Langford Area on Feb. 9.

Cotton finished 17-of-33 from the field, 14-of-17 and 4-of-9 at the 3-point line. He added nine rebounds and eight steals. Cotton also set the all-time scoring record for Faulkton Area and currently sits at 1,336 career points. 

MVP’s Emilee Fox inches closer to top 25 on scoring list

Mount Vernon/Plankinton’s Emilee Fox recently eclipsed the 2,000-point mark. 

The future Jackrabbit is now inching closer to cracking the top 25 on the state’s all-time girls basketball scoring list. Last week, Fox erupted for 41 points in a 75-44 win over Dell Rapids on Feb. 6. 

Fox has scored 2,077 career points, which is currently 26th on South Dakota’s all-time girls basketball scoring list. Former Sturgis standout Megan Mahoney (2,081) is No. 25 on the all-time list. 

Rapid City Stevens’ Taaliyah Porter cracks 1,000-point club

Rapid City Stevens’ Taaliyah Porter logged a monster double-double and surpassed 1,000 career points on Feb. 10. 

The Raiders defeated then-No. 3 Harrisburg, 66-61, in an overtime girls basketball game. A 5-foot-8 junior guard, Porter erupted for 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Raiders. 

She also just the fourth placer in Stevens girls basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Becky Hammon, the current Las Vegas Aces head coach, is the all-time leader with 1,417 career points. 

Harrisburg’s Jacoby Mehrman eclipses 1,000-point mark 

Harrisburg’s Jacoby Mehrman became just the seventh player in program history to score 1,000 career points on Feb. 9.

Mehrman, a future University of Sioux Falls player, reached the 1,000-point plateau against Rapid City Central. He’s the first Harrisburg boys basketball player to surpass 1,000 career points in 25 years. 

He scored 16 points against Rapid City Central, followed up by a 31-point performance against Rapid City Stevens the next day. 

Custer’s Kyle Virtue scores his 1,000th career point

Custer’s Kyle Virtue scored his 1,000th career point this past week.

Virtue is a 6-foot-5 junior forward and hit the milestone against Spearfish on Feb. 8. 

Milbank’s Isabella Anderson hits 1,000-point mark

Milbank’s Isabella Anderson logged her 1,000th career point on Feb. 10. 

The 5-foot-7 junior guard hit the milestone in a 65-54 loss against Tri-Valley on Feb. 10.