MOBRIDGE – After nearly 15 years and some frustration along the way, Mobridge-Pollock is back in the Big Show.

The Tigers, 18-3 on the year, are making their first appearance in the Class A State Girls’ Basketball Tournament since back-to-back trips in 2010-2011. This year’s ticket was not easy to obtain. It took a basket by Charley Henderson with six seconds to take down St. Thomas More in the SoDak 16.

“It was a great game. The girls just dug in. They had a lot of grit,” said Mobridge-Pollock coach Stephen Hettick. “Just did everything they needed to do. Came right down to the end. A couple of different times we were down by five, but we never backed off or got discouraged.”

What came next was almost as memorable as that game-winning basket.

“When we got back from Faith on Thursday night, it was probably 11:30 at night and a couple officers met us at the bridge and escorted us through town with their lights going,” Hettick said. “And they took us up main street and there had to be 30 or so cars, people with their lights flashing and their horns honking. That was humbling. The support has been amazing for these girls.”

The Tigers have been on the verge of making it to state in the past decade, including last season when they lost to Tea Area in the SoDak 16. Hettick said that loss resonated with his players.

“It definitely told the girls that we’re right there. That was the locker room conversation after that game last year,” Hettick said. “We had a great season. We took a step forward, but it’s got to leave a hunger in your belly moving forward, to know that we’re right there and we have what it takes, and we can take that next step the following year.”

While the Tigers lost three starters from that squad, there was plenty of experience returning. Henderson is the lone senior, joined in the starting lineup by Tegan Konold, Faith Heil, Brooke Bain and leading scorer Blake Thompson, who returned to the team after one year in McLaughlin.

Mobridge-Pollock doesn’t have a lot of size with Henderson listed at 5-foot-10 the tallest member.

“We’ve always had a lack of size,” Hettick said. “The girls have done a good job of committing to making up for that by getting up and down the floor.”

The Tigers typically like to apply a full-court press, turning defense into offense. However, against STM they quickly found out that strategy was not going to work, so they pulled the press early and went to a 2-3 zone defense.

“We just felt like a minute in, the press wasn’t doing enough to make it worth the energy that we could have to expel on it,” Hettick said. “We knew we had to focus on the half-court defense and that worked for us as well.”

The fifth-seeded Tigers will open the state tournament against perennial power fourth-seeded Hamlin in the second first-round game on Thursday in Spearfish. Two teams are eerily similar to each other.

“Hamlin is obviously a good team to get to where they are. They’re built a lot like us,” Hettick said. “They don’t have any huge size, they’re a lot of fast guard play, so I really think it will be a good matchup.”

Hettick does not see a clear-cut favorite when he looks at the eight-team state tourney field.

“Truthfully, I’ve said it a few times, you look at the 15 vs. 2 game in the SoDak 16, that was a one-point margin. I think once you get to the SoDak 16, it’s anybody’s game,” Hettick said. “I think Class A this year is that even. I don’t think seeds mean a lot. You’ve just got to string three good games together. I think anybody can take it.”

Hettick listed a few keys for his team to make a strong run during the tourney.

“We have to play mature, take care of the basketball, control possessions, and not get too lose with it,” he said, “and just settle in and play our game.”

The Tigers featured one of the most potent offenses in Class A this season scoring more than 80 points four times, but Hettick said the real key lies on the other end of the floor.

“We want to keep that defensive mindset,” Hettick said. “Focus on making sure that we’re doing our best to shut down the strengths of the other team, and then we know that our offensive strengths will come through.”