Aberdeen Central wasted little time and few opportunities to score Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles put up nearly twice as many shots and limited Huron’s first — and second — looks at the basket en route to a 54-37 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ basketball victory over the Tigers at Golden Eagles Arena.
Central had a double-digit lead before the opening quarter closed. Huron cut it to two possessions with a minute left in the stanza, but a Paiton Burckhard bucket and a Karli Gardner three just ahead of the buzzer shot the lead back to nine, and the Golden Eagles never looked back.
“I thought the ball moved pretty good tonight,” said Central coach Dawn Seiler. “We moved the ball. That was something we were trying to emphasize.”
That movement opened up looks underneath for Burckhard and other looks from the perimeter for the guards. Gardner was the recipient of a number of those looks, finishing with a trio of 3-pointers and 11 total points.
“We ran the floor a little harder (Tuesday),” Seiler said. “I thought we looked a little fatigued, a little flat from time to time, but that’s what’s going to happen when you push hard on the offensive end and have good runs.”
Burckhard, meanwhile, had 25 points and 13 rebounds, collecting a double-double by halftime of the win. Five of the senior’s 13 boards were on the offensive end of the floor, as Central took advantage of having the upper hand in size.
“We wanted to come in and battle,” said Huron coach Wade Stobbs. “We knew trying to stop them in the block was going to be tough. We tried to commit four girls down there all the time, but Burckhard is just so good down there. I think she was 12 of 18 from the floor, and I don’t know how many assists she had. We’d commit two or three girls to her and she’d find the open girl.”
Laura Babcock finished with eight assists, while Cassidy Gough came off the bench for some solid minutes with five points, three boards and a pair of authoritative blocked shots. Ana Hase and Haylee Mork found the touch from three-point range, as well.
As impressive as the offensive effort was for Central, the defensive effort matched it. The Golden Eagles came up with 14 steals and held Huron’s Havyn Heinz largely in check.

“We put (Gardner) on the Heinz girl to start, and I think it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that she got into double figures,” Seiler said. “I thought we did a nice job. She’s averaging 17 a game and we’re holding her well below her average until later on in the game.”
Heinz finished with 16 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter on a pair of corner threes and two free throws.
“They’re so big and so physical, they’re athletic at every position,” Stobbs said. “They bring some tough match-ups. They did a nice job of taking (Heinz) out early, face guarding and denying her right away. We were able to get her going a little later against their zone.”
No other Huron player finished with more than three points.
Central (6-0) goes on the road Friday and Saturday, taking on Rapid City Central Friday night and Rapid City Stevens Saturday afternoon.
“It’s always an adventure when you go out there,” Seiler said. “(Rapid City Central) shoots the ball well and pushes the ball hard. They take you out of your style. ... Then you turn around on short rest and you’ve got Stevens. They’re a good basketball team. They’re very, very athletic and our kids are going to have to show some courage going in there on short rest.”
Huron (0-7) returns home to face Harrisburg Saturday. Harrisburg suffered its first loss Tuesday at the hands of Brandon Valley and will host Yankton Thursday before heading to Huron.
“It doesn’t get much easier,” Stobbs said. “They’re a good squad too.”
Follow @J_NilesAAN on Twitter.

Huron            11  19  26  37
Aberdeen Central         20  35  47  54
HURON (0-7): Tenley Buddenhagen 1 0-0 2, Regan Rozell 1 0-0 3, Havyn Heinz 5 3-4 16, Sami Shoultz 3 2-4 8, Grace Schoenfelder 1 3-6 5, Kylie Overbay 1 0-0 3. Totals 12-32 8-14 37.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL (6-0): Emma Yeske 1 1-1 3, Karli Gardner 4 0-0 11, Haylee Mork 1 0-0 3, Paiton Burckhard 12 1-1 25, Abby Kopecky 1 0-0 2, Ana Hase 1 0-0 3, Cassidy Gough 2 1-2 5, Brooklyn Munsen 1 0-0 2. Totals 23-51 3-4 54.
3-point field goals — huron 5 (Rozell, Heinz 3, Overbay); Aberdeen Central 5 (Gardner 3, Mork, Hase). Total fouls — Huron 8; Aberdeen Central 11. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Huron 21 (Shoultz 9, Heinz 6); Aberdeen Central 31 (Burckhard 13). Assists — Huron 6 (Heinz 2, Overbay 2); Aberdeen Central 15 (Laura Babcock 8). Turnovers — Huron 20; Aberdeen Central 15. Steals — Huron 8 (Shoultz 3); Aberdeen Central 14 (Babcock 2, Yeske 2, Gardner 2, Mork 2, Hase 2, Gough 2. Blocked shots — Huron 1 (Allyson Fullerton); Aberdeen Central 3 (Burckhard 2).

Photo:

Huron's Havyn Heinz, left, battles for a rebound with Aberdeen Central's Brooklyn Kusler, right, during Tuesday night's game at the Golden Eagles Arena. Looking on for the Tigers are Gracie Schoenfelder, back left and Allyson Fullerton, back right.

Photo by John Davis/American News