Huron makes it two in a row

HURON — A strong second half helped the Huron girls’ basketball team to its second win in a row Saturday at Huron Arena.
After trailing for most of the opening half, the Tigers used a 3-pointer by Tenley Buddenhagen and eight free throws from Havyn Heinz in the final 1:21 of play to secure a 58-47 victory against the Sturgis Scoopers.
“I thought we gritted it out in the first half, stayed close and gave ourselves a chance in the second half,” Huron coach Tim Buddenhagen said. “That says a lot about the girls, they perservered through a lot of adversity tonight.”
Sturgis, which brought a 9-4 record into the contest, threatened to put the game in the books early by building nearly a double-digit advtange in the first half. The Scoopers led 13-6 at the end of the opening quarter, but found themselves clinging to a 22-21 lead at the half.
The Tigers would rally from a six-point deficit late in the second quarter to shave their deficit to just a point heading into the second half.  
“Sami (Shoultz) missed a free throw, Brooke (Schiltz) gets a rebound and then gets fouled, and I don’t know if she hit a free throw in the junior varsity game, then she goes 2 for 2. That took a lot of courage right there,” Buddenhagen said of his team’s effort to stay close at the break. “From there we just played good D and in the second half we hit some shots, which gave us the lead and then we just tried to stay in front of them as much as we could.”
A jumper by Buddenhagen and a 3-pointer from Heinz, who had managed just three points in the opening half, fueled the fire for Huron its it started its second half surge.
The Tigers would lead by as many as eight points, at 33-25 following an offensive board and put by by Shoultz in the third quarter. The lead would not go an higher, as Gwyneth Simmons connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the Sturgis back to within two points at 33-31.
Huron would use a layup at the buzzer by Heinz to carry a 37-33 advantage into the final quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Simmons, including her third 3-pointer, gave the Scoopers their first and only lead of the second half.
“No. 42 comes out and hits those three 3-pointers. One OK, two and three Ah no we have to find her,” Buddenhagen said.
Sturgis led 40-37, but the Tigers answer with a 3-pointer by Heinz to even the score. Then used a layup by Bella Shreeve and another 3-pointer by Heinz to regain control at 45-41.
Sturgis would eventually battle back to even the score at 47-47, but its push for the win took a devasting hit, when senior guard Loralee Stock fouled out with 4:01 remaining in the game.
“Fortunately she got into foul trouble, which really helped us out and then we were able to attack her on the offensive end and get her a couple of crucial fouls,” Buddenhagen said. “Especially in the first half. I think she had three, and then we got the fourth one early and she fouled out late. That was critical for us to attack the basket, get her in foul trouble and then play good “D” on the other end.”

With Stocks on the bench, the Scoopers pulled even using a basket by Olivia Jolley with 1:43 remaining in the game. That would be the last points for the Sturgis as Buddenhagen knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer on the ensuing trip down the floor.
“She hits that and we go up three, then we get a turnover to go up five and things were a lot better from there,” Buddenhagen said. “That was a critical shot at the right time. We have had a tendency to do that the last three games, hit big shots at the right time and we just have to continue to progress from here.”
Heinz would finish with a game-high 27 points, including 24 in the second half, to lead the Tigers, who are now 4-9. She had five of the team’s eight 3-pointers in the game.
Buddenhagen also reached double figures for Huron with 14 points, while Shoultz and Shreeve added nine and six points, respectively.
“Now we have multiple scorers. We’re not always looking for Havyn, Havyn, Havyn, which takes a lot of pressure off her,” Buddenhagen said. “With a couple more girls starting to hit shots, now they can’t double and triple team her because we have multiple scorers.”
Shoultz also had nine rebounds to help the Tigers to a 29-28 edge on the boards.
Simmons had 14 points to lead the Scoopers, while Jolley finished with 10 points and Stock had nine points. Jolley also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Following a couple days off, the Tigers will travel to face Pierre at 7 p.m. Tuesday and then host Brandon Valley at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at Huron Arena.

Huron 6 15 16 21 — 58
Sturgis 13 9 11 14 — 47
Huron (4-9): Havyn Heinz 7 8-8 27; Tinley Buddenhagen 5 2-2 14; Sami Schoultz 4 1-2 9; Bella Shreeve 2 1-2 6. Totals: 18 14-16 58.
Sturgis (9-5): Gwyneth Simmons 5 0-0 14; Olivia Jolley 4 2-2 10; Loralee Stock 4 0-3 9; Cassidy Jorensen 2 1-2 7; Sarah Janz 2 0-1 4; Kylie Shaw 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 3-9 47.
FG: HU — 18-43 42%; S — 18-48 38%. 3-pt FG: HU — 8-22 (Heinz 5, Buddenhagen 2, Shreeve 1); S — 8-21 (Simmons 4, Jorensen 2, Stock 1, Shaw 1). Rebounds: HU — 29; S — 28. TO: HU — 8; S — 11. Steals: HU — 7; S — 4. Fouls: HU — 15; S — 19.