RAPID CITY — Class B No. 1 Wall flipped a two-point deficit into a 10-point win at the Lakota Nation Invitational on Thursday. 

The Eagles were trailing 28-26 halftime, but used an 18-6 third quarter to pull away from Custer and will play in the LNI semifinals on Friday against Lakota Tech. 

“I think in the second half we focused ourselves,” said Wall senior Paige Kjerstad after the Eagles’ 64-54 win. “We needed to calm down and get into our game and that’s kind of what helped us in the second half, is just calm down a little bit.”

Wall was powered by its three seniors — Paige Kjerstad (19 points/9 rebounds/5 steals), Nora Dinger (12 points) and Rhea Tucker (11 points/4 rebounds). 

But coach John Hess singled out Wall’s rookies for sparking the win. Freshman Allie Kjerstad logged 15 points, while classmate Bailey Cerney had three points, three rebounds and three steals. 

“It’s a huge win, with the adversity we had with our fouls from our seniors,” Hess said. “It was a good game for us to know that we could rely on others, not just our three big ones. The second half, a completely different team came out of the locker room and we played like we are capable of playing.”

Kjerstad also praised the underclassmen for giving Wall the upperhand. 

“We had a lot of the younger girls step up for us,” Kjerstad said. “We are learning what our team is going to be like this year. It’s just great to see those younger girls and that we can depend on them. So that’s great.” 

In the first half, Custer played right with last season’s Class B state runner-ups. The game was knotted up at 13-13 after the first quarter and Custer led 28-26 at halftime. Wall used a 40-26 second half burst to secure a semifinal berth. 

Up next, the Eagles will play Lakota Tech in the semifinals on Friday. The Tatanka defeated Wall in last season’s LNI en route to a runner-up finish. 

“I watched them play a little bit tonight,” Hess said. “It looks like they are a quick little team also. We will come up with a scouting report later and go from there.”