WATERTOWN – Sisseton finished off a strong season by producing a strong finish Saturday night.

The Redmen scored the final eight points of the game to record a 55-47 win over Red Cloud for third place during the Class A Girls’ State Basketball Tournament at the Watertown Arena.

“They knew what they had to do and they got it done when they had to do it,” said Sisseton coach Sara Lincoln of her players down the stretch.

The Redmen had watched an eight-point lead evaporate and needed to make a play.

That’s when Hannah Leverson spotted Krista Langager inside like she had done throughout the contest for a layup with 4:43 remaining to give the Redmen the lead for good.

“That’s just me and Krista right there,” Leverson said of the pass. “We both just work really well together and know where we can find each other.”

Langager added another inside basket to extend the lead sending Sisseton on the way to the victory.

Langager had a huge night, finishing with 27 points to go along with a dozen rebounds.

“I couldn’t have done it without my team passing me the ball, that’s for sure,” Langager said.

The Redmen repeatedly worked the ball inside to the 6-foot-2 sophomore who made the most of her opportunities.

“That’s what we were looking for. We knew that’s what we had to do,” Lincoln said of her team’s height advantage in the lane. “It’s pretty tough when we can’t see sometimes on the inside, but somehow Hannah, Emmalee (Nielsen), Ruby (Rice), Tara (Nelson), they get it in there. Sometimes I don’t know how they needle that through all the people, but they get it done.”

Sisseton had opened a double-digit lead in the first half, but the scrappy Crusaders battled back with barrage of three-point field goals and a pressure defense that kept Leverson busy all night.

“They actually followed us around instead of having general areas where they stayed,” Leverson said of the Red Cloud press. “They found which players were going where and tried to stop us that way.”

In the end, there was no way of stopping Langager who led the squad to the third-place victory.

“It feels great,” Langager said. “Nobody thought we’d be here and to finish third feels pretty good.”

Leverson added nine points to the Sisseton total, while Nielsen contributed eight.

Maikole Carlow paced Red Cloud with 18 points.

Sisseton concluded the season at 22-3 and brings back every player for next season.

“We’re excited. They love the game of basketball. They love playing. They love watching. They just love everything,” Lincoln said. “Last year we came, and we had to sit, and we had to watch. That was really their fuel, I think. They knew they didn’t want to come here and watch this year, they wanted to be out on that floor.”

SISSETON (22-3): Hannah Leverson 3 2-2 9, Ruby Rice 1 0-1 3, Emmalee Nielsen 3 2-2 8, Chloe Langager 3 0-0 6, Krista Langager 12 3-5 27, Rylie Huff 1 0-0 2. Totals 23-50 7-10 55.

RED CLOUD (21-4): Ashlan Blound 4 3-4 11, Lolo Carlow 4 0-0 9, Maikole Carlow 6 1-2 18, Kennedy Fridia 1 0-0 3, Anjah Lamont 2 0-0 4, Victoria Good Buffalo 1 0-0 2. Totals 18-59 4-6 47.

Sisseton 19 35 45 55

Red Cloud 14 25 39 47

3-point field goals – Sisseton 2-9 (Leverson, Rice); Red Cloud 7-25 (L. Carlow, M. Carlow 5, Fridia). Fouled out – Fridia. Total fouls – Sisseton 6; Red Cloud 15. Rebounds – Sisseton 38 (K. Langager 12, C. Langager 8); Red Cloud 27 (Fridia 6). Turnovers – Sisseton 17; Red Cloud 6. Assists – Sisseton 11 (Leverson 3, Nielsen 2); Red Cloud 9 (Blound 3, L. Carlow 3). Steals – Sisseton 3;  Red Cloud 9 (Blound 3, M. Carlow 2, Rhionna Brewer 2).