Girls rack up trio of wins

 Bright and early on Saturday morning, Dec. 30 the Tea Area High School girls’ basketball team competed in the Hoop City Classic at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. 

The Titans jumped out to an early 25-14 lead in the 8 a.m. game and went on to defeat Rapid City Christian 77-44. 

Three Titans were in double figures with Ellie Clayberg scoring 24 points, Mara Grant 23 and Katie Vasecka 14. 

Clayberg also grabbed five rebounds and had three assists and two steals. Grant pulled down nine rebounds, had one assist and two steals. Vasecka had nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. 

Also contributing to the win was Haidyn West who had seven points, one rebound, four assists and a team-high five steals. Miah Weber finished with six points, one rebound, two assists and three steals. Natalie Grass had three points in the game. 

The Titans shot over 49 percent in the game. 

Before their big win over Rapid City Christian, the Titans defeated Brandon Valley, 58-51 on Dec. 21. 

Tea Area was led by Vasecka who finished with a double-double scoring 27 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. She also had three assists and two steals. Grant finished with a double-double as well scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. She also had one assist and four steals. West finished with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Weber had five points, two rebounds, and three assists and Anna Binde and Reese Hammerquist each contributed two points. 

The Titans traveled to Vermillion on Tuesday, Jan. 2 and earned a 51-42 victory. 

Leading the Titans was Vasecka who finished with a double-double scoring 18 points and pulling down ten rebounds. Vasecka also became Tea Area girls’ basketball all-time career leading scorer, pushing her career total to 1,482 points. The previous leading scorer was Olivia Ritter with 1,479 points. 

Also recording a double-double in the game was Grant who grabbed 15 rebounds and scored 15 points.  She also had one assist and one steal. Clayberg finished with nine points, Weber five and West four. West led the team in assists with three. 

Tea Area will host West Central on Thursday, Jan. 4 for a 7 p.m. game. They will be at home on Monday, Jan. 8 in doubleheader action with the Tea Area boys against Canton. The girls are scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m.