The Pierre Governor girls came into Tuesday night’s matchup with Brookings on a six-game losing streak after going through their toughest stretch of regular season schedule. However, if there’s one thing that Kirk Beebout’s girls team does well its shake off a prior loss and come ready to play when tip time comes. With it being Senior Night, there was a bit of extra motivation to pick up a big win, not that any extra motivation was needed with just a few final games left before SoDak 16 play.
The game started quickly with an Emery Larson three and the Govs were off and rolling. Pierre was able to build up a slight lead throughout the first half leading 29-26 at the end of two. The game trend was consistent as for most of the first half, the Govs would hold a three-point lead, the Bobcats would score a bucket to cut it to one, and so on. Pierre’s Ellen Hart came off the bench and provided a plentiful 7 points for the Govs to help boost the Govs out in front. Both teams started to see fouls mount up, but with the officials calling it even both ways, the teams were able to settle in and play a cleaner game throughout.
Pierre came out in the second half looking to score as both Molly Olson (18) and Jordyn Kirkie (15) continued their strong offensive performances that carried over from the first half. Pierre stretched their lead out to one point to 11 points, but the Bobcats were not going away quietly. A couple Brookings steals that led to baskets and a clutch three-pointer from Taylee Connot tied the game up in the waning seconds at 49. With just a few ticks left on the clock, Molly Olson went straight to the rack and drew a shooting foul with 1.6 seconds to send her to the line for the game-winning free throws. Olson splashed the first and might’ve missed the second on purpose forcing a near impossible full-court shot at the buzzer that would come up short. The Governor girls would earn the win, 59-49 and pick up a huge victory for their postseason resume improving to 4-11.
On the road, the Pierre Governor boys also picked up a gritty win against the Bobcats on the back of 30 points from Corde Austin. Pierre built a 19-10 lead early in the second quarter, but the Bobcats outside shooting closed the gap and tying the game at 26 heading into the half.
In the second half, the Governors answered back with some three point shots of their own from Jerren Deal that helped the Govs open the game back up a bit putting them out in front by six, 48-42. From that point, Brookings was unable to cut it back to a one-possession game at any point. Maybe the most impressive stat of the evening was from the free throw line where the Govs went a perfect 15-15 shooting.
but Brookings hit three three-pointers to help erase that Pierre up 4842, and Brookings was never within a single possession lead, and we were tied at 26 at halftime. Still a close game after three, but in the fourth quarter, a Jaron Deal three-pointer put Pierre up 48 to 42, and Brookings was never able to cut the deficit back within a single possession from there. The Govs went on to win 56-47.
Jerren Deal added 16 with five assists, and Cooper Terwilliger was credited with 14 rebounds. Brookings had four players score between nine and 11 points in a balanced attack, lead by Bergen Tetzlaff with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pierre improves to 5-11 on the season and hosts Mitchell Friday night.
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