BRANDON - After falling behind by double-digit points in the first quarter, the Huron Tigers came back to take a halftime lead over Brandon Valley on Thursday. The Lynx stormed back with some key long-range shooting late in the game to defeat the Tigers 58-55.
Coach Tim Buddenhagen was pleased with the Tigers’ effort on the night. “I thought we competed tonight against a good team,” Buddenhagen commented. “The team that makes the fewest mistakes wins, and they made the fewest mistakes.”
The Lynx full-court press gave the Tigers fits in the first period, but Huron still got plenty of good looks, but the Tigers simply couldn’t connect. Brandon Valley had a lead of as many as ten points in the quarter, but the Tigers hit a deep shot to bring the game to 17-10 Lynx after one period.
Huron came out strong to open the second quarter until they’d eliminated the Brandon Valley lead and took back the lead for themselves. The Tigers pushed the pace, forcing the Lynx out of their typical post-focused game. The Tigers missed three free throws in the quarter but were still able to use an up-tempo attack to take and push the lead to as many as five before settling at 28-25 at half.
The Lynx offense was able to hit from all angles in the third quarter, as Brandon Valley scored 20 points in the period. The Tigers finally got back to their typical elite free throw shooting, which kept them close as Brandon Valley continued hot shooting through the end of the quarter.
Unforced errors mounted up in the second half of the third quarter and continued early in the fourth quarter as the Lynx grabbed a lead and then extended the lead, controlling the pace of the game.
Coach Buddenhagen saw turnovers as a key to the loss. “Too many turnovers,” he stated. “We also missed nine free throws, and that’s unlike us.”
The Lynx were able to find junior Emma Jarovski for three deep shots in the final period as part of four shots made from behind the arc to protect their lead. Brandon Valley ended three Tiger runs at the lead in the fourth quarter with a deep shot that kept Huron at distance before closing out the game with good defense at the end on the Tigers.

The Lynx were led by freshman Hilary Behrens with 13 points. Hannah Behrens was the only other Brandon Valley player in double digits scoring with 10 points, as the Lynx moved to 7-8 on the year.
Huron dropped to 7-8 on the season, despite big games from Tenley Buddenhagen and Havyn Heinz, who had 18 and 16 points, respectively. Bella Shreeve had 10 points.
Buddenhagen had nine of her 18 in the final period, including a pair of big three-point baskets. Coach Buddenhagen was pleased to see her hot hand. “She’s been struggling shooting a bit,” he said. “It was good to see her get going tonight.”
Huron begins a five-game home stretch to end the season when they host Brookings at the Huron Arena on Tuesday.

Huron         10 28 40 55
Brandon Valley     17 25 45 58

Huron (7-8): Bella Shreeve 4 1-1 10; Tenley Buddenhagen 6 3-4 18; Havyn Heinz 3 9-14 16; Heavan Gainey 2 5-8 9; Brooke Schiltz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 18-27 55.
Brandon Valley (7-8): Hannah Behrens 4 1-2 10; Emma Jarovski 3 0-0 9; Hilary Behrens 6 0-0 13; India Bradfield 1 3-4 6; Mara Schaap 1 0-0 3; Kylie Foss 2 2-2 6; Sidney Thue 0 1-2 1; Abby Finch 1 0-0 3; Kennedy Nuebel 3 0-0 7. Totals: 20 7-10 58.