BROOKINGS – Sisseton appeared to be on track to reach the title game, but Vermillion found some last-minute offense to derail those plans Friday night.

The Tanagers executed to near perfection down the stretch to rally for a 50-47 win during the semifinals of the Class A State Girls’ Basketball Tournament at the Dacotah Bank Center.

The Redmen owned a 46-41 advantage after Chloe Langager scored on an offensive rebound. That’s when everything began to change.

Vermillion, which had managed just 11 points in the first 14 minutes of the second half, caught fire and finished the final two minutes on a 9-1 run.

“We were trying to kind of run our motion offense and we just weren’t getting much out it,” said Vermillion coach Jon Brooks, “so we went to a couple of our sets and we’ve got some really good shooters.”

The Tanagers executed three straight plays, one that resulted in a Kasey Hanson 3-pointer, another that resulted in a near 3-point miss from Taylor Reuvers, and another that Reuvers made to give the Tanagers the lead with 47 seconds left.

“We knew that in that moment they had nothing to lose,” said Sisseton senior Chloe Langager, “so they were going to throw anything and everything they had and it just happened to fall in. That’s just how the cookie crumbles.”

Brooks was confident that Reuvers, his eighth-grade point guard, would be up to the challenge, despite her earlier miss.

“We ran a regular for Taylor. She back-ironed the first one,” Brooks said. “It was right on line and if anybody knows anything about this kid, if she misses one, the second one is going in if she has another opportunity, and she proved us right there.”

Asked about being able to shoot with confidence after missing the first time, Reuvers said, “I just knew that all my teammates were around me supporting me, so I knew I had to knock one down for them.”

All three of those three-point attempts were wide open looks as the Tanagers found their shooters when they needed them most.

“We had the lead at that point so we knew we had to lock down on defense,” said Sisseton assistant coach Ethan Kranhold, “and just kind some miscommunication on the screens kind of led to those threes going up.”

From there, a jump ball under the Sisseton basket resulted in a turnover as Vermillion had the possession arrow. When Brooke Jensen made two free throws with 17 seconds left, it put the Redmen in a precarious position.

Sisseton was unable to get off a potential game-tying shot as a foul led to free throws, and the two squads exchanged a free throw in the closing seconds for the final margin of difference. Both teams struggled from foul stripe with Vermillion going 12 for 22 and Sisseton making 4 of 10.

Trailing by three points at the half, the Redmen took the lead by bottling up the Vermillion offense, in part by removing transition opportunities the Tanagers had in the opening 16 minutes.

“We just put more pressure on the ball, made them slow down a little bit,” said Sisseton senior Hannah Leverson. “We also worked on getting back on defense whenever they got the rebound.”

In the end, it was a middle schooler who stepped up and delivered the biggest blow of the game.

“It’s a big motivation thing,” Reuvers said of having the belief she could do it. “I knew my second opportunity was going in, so I have to keep that mindset.”

Reuvers finished with 11 points, seven assists and four steals. Leverson, who also started as an eighth-grader back in the day, was impressed with her counterpart.

“She did a heckuvva job. She was one of the girls we were really focusing on,” Leverson said. “She’s super smart. She plays with confidence. She plays at a high level for how young she is.”

Chandler Cleveland scored 15 points, Jensen 12 and Hanson 11 for Vermillion, which will meet Tea Area in the championship game at 7:45 tonight.

Chloe Langager had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Krista Langager 13 points and 12 rebounds to pace Sisseton.

“I don’t think they get the credit for how skilled they are. Everybody knows they’re big, but they are very, very skilled,” Brooks said. “They have great foot work. They have great touch around the hoop. They can step out and shoot it. They’re both very, very good players.”

Chloe has grabbed 21 rebounds in the first two games of the state tournament. When asked how she is able to collect so many rebounds, she responded, “I think that I’m just playing my heart out, because it’s my last and I know that, so I’m just trying everything I can.”

Kranhold said the players had nothing to be ashamed in the narrow setback.

“I’m just so proud of our girls. We’ve got such a good group of girls, such a good team,” Kranhold said. “They gave it their all for 32 minutes and at the end of the day, that’s just how it rolls sometimes. That’s basketball.”

The Redmen, 22-2, will face Sioux Falls Christian for third place at 6 tonight. Chloe Langager said the players will be ready to go.

“Obviously, playing our last games of our high school careers, we know that we don’t want to lose,” she said. “We don’t want to go out on a loss.”

While disappointed in Friday’s setback, Langager is proud to be a part of the Sisseton Redmen.

“I love the girls that I play with and I’m super proud of us,” she said, “even if it’s not the outcome that we wanted.”

VERMILLION (21-4): Taylor Reuvers 4 1-2 11, Brooklyn Voss 0 0-4 0, Chandler Cleveland 6 3-4 15, Brooke Jensen 2 7-8 12, Kasey Hanson 5 0-0 11, Taeli Barta 0 1-4 1. Totals 17-52 12-22 50.

SISSETON (22-2): Hannah Leverson 2 0-0 4, Ruby Rice 1 0-0 2, Emmalee Nielsen 3 0-0 6, Chloe Langager 6 3-6 16, Krista Langager 6 1-4 13, Alexia Quinn 3 0-0 6. Totals 21-54 4-10 47.

Vermillion 15 30 36 50

Sisseton 16 27 39 47

3-point field goals – Reuvers (2), Jensen, Hanson; C. Langager. Fouled out – Voss. Total fouls – Vermillion 12; Sisseton 14. Rebounds – Vermillion 32 (Jensen 8, Jenaya Cleveland 6); Sisseton45 (K. Langager 12, C. Langager 9). Turnovers – Vermillion 7; Sisseton 16. Assists – Vermillion 10 (Reuvers 7); Sisseton 8 (Leverson 4). Blocked Shots – Vermillion 3 (Voss 2); Sisseton 5 (Nielsen 2). Steals – Vermillion 10 (Reuvers 4, Hanson 3); Sisseton 2.