“It feels great. We don’t have all the leaders we had last year, so it’s good to step up and get a good win with the younger guys now,” Dawson-Boyd junior Jaxton Hastad said of the win. “I think our defense stepped up, and then we got some more looks on offense and then moved the ball around. You got to trust each other.”

The loss ends the Stings’ season at 4-22 overall, with Saturday’s game being the last for YME’s five seniors.

Landon Malecek and Hastad both finished with double-doubles, while Gunner Liebl led Blackjacks with 22 points on 47% shooting, and with team-highs of six assists and five steals.

Hastad had 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting along with 12 rebounds, while Malecek had 17 points on 80% field-goal shooting with a team-high 16 rebounds.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Dawson-Boyd's Gunner Liebl beats the defense and begins to go up for a layup against Yellow Medicine East in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals on Feb. 28 in Montevideo.

Notably, Dawson-Boyd outrebounded the Sting 43-24 and had 18 steals on the night, to YME’s six.

Dawson-Boyd initially took the first part of the opening half to get into a rhythm and see shots begin to fall more consistently, while YME kept chipping at the Blackjacks for a competitive start.

“We were just hitting some shots, and we were attacking downhill and trying our best to [slow] them [Dawson-Boyd],” YME head coach Logan DeBlieck said. “They are obviously a really good team. We knew we had to attack hard and finish.”

The Blackjacks eventually took a 15-point lead at the break and never let up on either end of the floor, specifically making a difference with their rebounding effort to earn extra possessions.

“We trust the younger guys to spin it and get it [the ball] back to the older guys that get close,” Hastad said of the Blackjacks’ getting settled. “We like to distribute the ball more to get better looks. I feel like we got more trust [between each other] throughout the game.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East senior Gavin Torvik looks to pass the ball out against Dawson-Boyd in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals on Feb. 28 in Montevideo.

Gavin Torvik hit the first 3-pointer of the game for an early 3-3 tie with Dawson-Boyd, which continued to 7-7 after Jack Mensink made back-to-back jumpers near the same spot on the right side of the paint near the block.

Kia Greycloud also got in on the 3-point action for a Sting 10-9 edge, but a pair of Hastad buckets between a field goal and a fastbreak dunk gave Dawson-Boyd back a 13-10 lead. The Blackjacks didn’t lose their lead the rest of the way.

Out of a timeout, Dawson-Boyd began to heat up by turning up the dial on its defense and was able to turn it into points to get some momentum going.

“I feel like we kept letting them [YME] get boards, we weren’t that aggressive right away,” Hastad said of the momentum switch. “I think we had the jitters a little bit, but then we just came out and played more aggressive.”

Carver Schwegel hit a 3 for an 18-12 lead, and Liebl caught the hot hand with 9 straight points to build Dawson-Boyd’s lead up to 27-14.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Dawson-Boyd's Carson Stratmoen begins to dribble toward the paint against Yellow Medicine East in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals on Feb. 28 in Montevideo.

Liebl had a pair of steals and layups with two free throws and a 3-pointer for her personal run.

Ace Larson also drilled in a 3, and the Blackjacks built some comfort with a 36-21 halftime lead.

Dawson-Boyd ultimately took care of business the rest of the game, with a tenacious effort on both ends of the floor with significant contributions from several players in the well-balanced team win.

“I feel like we got great depth. The younger guys have been stepping up this year. I feel like when they come on, they bring great energy,” Hastad said.

Hastad and Malecek were also strong on the boards, and shined throughout the night in splitting YME’s interior defense and being forces inside between scoring and offensive rebounding.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East coaching staff comforts senior Cooper McCosh after subbing out for the final time in his prep career in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals Saturday afternoon in Montevideo.

Greycloud also continued to be a key piece of YME’s offense, hitting a few more 3s throughout the second half. He finished with a game-high 27 points on 55% shooting, along with six 3-pointers.

Gunnar Fagen followed with 8 points and a team-high nine rebounds for YME as well.

YME opened up the postseason with a 55-52 thriller over No. 7 Lakeview Thursday night in the play-in round, initially taking a 17-point halftime lead.

“Like I just told them in the locker room, every coach says you want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the year, and this crew really meant it,” DeBlieck said. “They played hard down to the last minute, and as a coach, that’s all you can ever really ask for.”

The Blackjacks on the other hand are the Class A reigning state champions, who won their first-ever title last season. They have also spent this season either state-ranked in the top-10 Class A coaches poll, or have been receiving votes.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East senior Kia Greycloud hugs his coaches after subbing out for the final time in his prep basketball career in the Section 3A North subsection quarterfinals Saturday afternoon in Montevideo.

Yellow Medicine East will graduate seniors Greycloud, Wyatt Ansell, Cooper McCosh, Torvik and Aaden Kuehn. DeBlieck subbed out his seniors in the final minutes, as they all shared hugs or handshakes with one another down the bench.

“They [the seniors] meant a lot to us,” DeBlieck said. “Every single one of them, from the guys that don’t get a lot of minutes, to the guys that get 30 minutes a game, they just mean a lot. They’re our leaders, and they’re fun guys to be around.”

Dawson-Boyd (21-5) will next take on No. 3 Wabasso (25-3) in the subsection semifinals on Tuesday, back at Montevideo High School with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The two met earlier this year on Jan. 29, where the Blackjacks came away with an 82-72 victory.

Moving through the postseason, Hastad said the Blackjacks will continue playing through trust in one another and playing together as one.