WORTHINGTON -- Junior Kara Van Dyke scored six of her game-high 23 points in a 53-second span midway through the second half Saturday night, sparking the third-seeded Southwest Christian Eagles to a double-digit lead and a 60-42 victory over the sixth-seeded Edgerton Flying Dutchmen in the quarterfinals of the Section 3A South girls' basketball tournament.
SWC (18-5, 11 wins in its last 12 games) advances to Tuesday night's semifinals in Luverne. The Eagles will face second-seeded Red Rock Central at 7:30 p.m.
Van Dyke, who scored 16 second-half points and collected seven rebounds and five steals, also set SWC's all-time girls' scoring record with 903 career varsity points.
"We had a big second half tonight, and Kara was a big part of that," SWC head coach Denise Nerem said after the game. "Edgerton played well and gave us some problems in the first half, but we played much better in the second half."
Neither team led by more than five points in a close first half, but SWC increased its 23-21 halftime lead to 34-22 with an 11-1 run in the first 5:29 of the second half.
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Junior Kayla Broekhuis (11 points) hit a shot from the right elbow, and junior Jenni Vander Veen meshed a 3-pointer from the right wing to start that burst.
Van Dyke then scored three straight baskets in the lane from the 13:24 mark to the 12:31 mark, including one off an assist from senior Brianna Spronk (10 rebounds, four assists, four steals) for a 12-foot swisher.
Edgerton, which finishes its season with a 13-12 record, received a 3-point rattler from junior Alyson Drooger (team-best 19 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists) to make it 34-25 with 11:09 remaining.
The Eagles, though, pushed their advantage to 16 (43-27) two minutes later, as junior Vayla Van Dyke scored in the paint, junior Jada Vander Veen (10 points, seven rebounds, five steals, three assists) nailed a 3-pointer from out top, and Broekhuis drove down the lane for a basket to spark that series.
Drooger helped bring the Flying Dutchmen within 12 (45-33) with 6:51 left following another 3-pointer and a basket in the paint, but an 8-0 run by the Eagles made it a 20-point game.
Jada Vander Veen dished to Kara Van Dyke for an interior hoop, Spronk converted a steal into a layup, and both Broekhuis and senior Angie Vermeer (six points, five rebounds) sank two free throws to give SWC a 53-33 lead with 4:56 remaining.
Drooger again drilled a 3-pointer, and junior Kelsey Wolthuizen (nine rebounds) netted a pair of free throws to make it 53-38 at the 4:09 mark, but SWC stayed in control and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the last three minutes to secure the victory.
"We played hard and did a decent job defensively, but we have to be able to score more than 42 points to win," Edgerton head coach Andrew Fleischman said. "We got some open looks, but a lot of our shots just didn't drop. I'm happy with our effort, though, as SWC is a tough team to play against."
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The first half was close throughout, and Edgerton had a 4-2 lead with 16:50 left after baskets in the paint from senior Katie Hadler (10 points, eight rebounds) and sophomore Racheal Steffl.
Drooger swished a 3-pointer to put Edgerton up 7-5 at the 14:33 mark, but the Eagles took a 12-7 lead by scoring seven consecutive points.
An offensive-rebound basket by Kara Van Dyke started the scoring before Broekhuis fired in a 3-pointer, and Vermeer delivered an 18-footer to put SWC up by five with 10:01 to play.
A wrap-around pass by Drooger to junior Ashley Bostic for a hoop in the lane made it 12-9, and Drooger later evened the score (14-14) with a right-wing trey at the 7:15 mark.
Edgerton continued to stay close for the rest of the half, as junior Hailey Van Kley (five points, three rebounds) netted two shots, and Hadler fired in a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
A slicing hoop by Broekhuis and a 3-pointer from out top by Jada Vander Veen allowed the Eagles to take a 23-21 halftime lead, which they soon extended in the first six minutes of the second half to take command.
Edgerton's Emily Sluis, a junior, had three rebounds and scored the final basket of the game.
Edgerton 21 21 -- 42
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SWC 23 37 -- 60
EHS (3PT-2PT-FT-TP): Van Kley 0-2-1-5, Hadler 1-1-5-10, Steffl 0-1-0-2, A. Drooger 5-2-0-19, Wolthuizen 0-0-2-2, Sluis 0-1-0-2, Bostic 0-1-0-2. Totals: 6-8-8-42.
SWC (3PT-2PT-FT-TP): Broekhuis 1-3-2-11, Vermeer 0-2-2-6, K. Van Dyke 0-9-5-23, Ja. Vander Veen 2-1-2-10, Je. Vander Veen 1-0-0-3, V. Van Dyke 0-1-0-2, Spronk 0-1-3-5. Totals: 4-17-14-60.
