A long and arduous regular season came to an end yesterday, and with both Govs teams suffering losses in their last couple of games, these final matchups against the Arrows carried the utmost importance.
The girls had seemingly locked up the 7-seed on the girls side of Region AA, but with losses to Jefferson and Roosevelt, they were facing a must-win if they were to host the only non-neutral site playoff game. In a game that suddenly carried the weight of the postseason, the Govs looked to do a little maintenance and keep themselves at home for their upcoming game. Pierre stretched out a six-point lead in the first quarter, but the Arrows had an answer in the second, outscoring the Govs 14-7 and taking a one-point, 28-27 lead into the half. As she often does, Lennix DuPris came to life in the second half and the Govs found their footing, especially closing out the game in the fourth quarter. Pierre won the second half outscoring Watertown 33-20 and going on to secure the win 60-48. DuPris scored 26, her second straight game in the high 20’s, and both Emery Larson and Gracelyn Taylor finished with double-digits helping lift the Govs. Addison Soma was named the Baumann Lumber Player of the Game thanks to her outstanding With this win, the Govs have locked up the 7-seed in Region AA with their 12-8 record and it looks like they will host 10-10 Harrisburg in the first round of the postseason.
Three hours outside of Pierre, the boys team faced off with the Arrows on their home floor. After scoring the first points of the game on a Luke Olson layup, the Arrows took over the pace of the game and began to dominate the paint. Rebounding was an issue for the Govs in their loss the night before to Roosevelt, and became a point of emphasis in this regular season finale. While the Govs did a nice job on the boards for the most part, the Arrows were getting just about anything they wanted in the paint. The Govs just couldn’t seem to get the outside shot going, and were struggling to get a consistent rhythm going on offense. The Arrows carried a 35-20 lead into the half as Pierre found themselves up the “crick” without a paddle, but the Govs had a strong start to the second half getting the deficit down to single-digits. However, the Arrows offense proved to be too potent for Pierre, as they would go on to win 67-44. Luke Olson finished with 15 for Pierre, Dawson Getz finishing with 16, and Kaden Decker led both teams in scoring with 17. As it stands today, the Govs currently sit as the 15-seed and would go on the road to Brandon Valley who boast a 17-3 record.
Stay tuned to www.DRGnews.com/sports for updated standings and broadcasts announcements.
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