MITCHELL — When the fourth quarter rolled around Tuesday night, the Mitchell girls basketball team needed some big shots and some toughness.
The Kernels delivered on both fronts, sealing the game against rival Huron and winning the Eastern South Dakota Conference game 55-45 Tuesday at the Corn Palace.
“They made little runs at us but our kids were tough,” Mitchell coach Wes Morgan said. “We didn’t turn it over a ton but we did enough to get a win. I thought our kids were ready to shoot and they shot it well, especially from the perimeter.”
The key moment arrived early in the fourth quarter for the Kernels (4-5, 3-4 ESD). After Huron’s Jayda Shillingstad scored to trim the Mitchell advantage to 44-40 with 7:46 to go, Jordyn Cranny and Mandy Schmidt answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, bringing the lead back to 10 points for the Kernels with 5:51 left. The Tigers would get to within seven, but no closer, and Mitchell completed the regular-season sweep over the rival Tigers.
Mitchell shot nearly 42 percent for the game and was led by the team’s guards. Cranny led Mitchell with 14 points, while Tayler Factor had 12 points. Mackenzie Miller tacked on nine points and Chelsea Brewster had eight for the Kernels, who were 4-for-5 on 3-pointers.
Huron (0-10, 0-8 ESD) had a 32-26 rebounding edge and had three players in double-figure scoring. Havyn Heinz and Sami Shoultz had 12 points, while Gracie Schoenfelder had 10 points — all in the first half.  
“We just had a lull in that fourth quarter that just slowed us down,” Huron coach Wade Stobbs said. “We probably went three minutes without a basket and that was enough for them to make some big shots. Cranny made some big, important shots for them.”

Morgan said Mitchell did a good job of working for those open looks.
“That’s one of the things we’ve been working on,” Morgan said. “You have to have confidence and you have to knock down some shots. They’re double-teaming Mac inside a little bit, so we did a good job of either getting it to her quicker or recognizing who’s open and making a shot.”
Mitchell travels to Aberdeen Central Friday to take on the No. 1-ranked Golden Eagles. Huron hosts Brandon Valley on Friday at the Huron Arena.
Subvarsity
JV: Mitchell won 46-16.
Sophomores: Mitchell won 42-26.

Huron      7  21  38  45
Mitchell    17  29  44  55
Huron (0-10, 0-8 ESD): Reagan Rozell 0-2 0-0 0 Jayda Shillingstad 3-8 1-2 7 Havyn Heinz 3-11 4-6 12 Sami Shoultz 6-10 0-2 12 Gracie Schoenfelder 3-6 4-7 10 Kylie Overbay 0-0 0-0 0 Tenley Buddenhagen 1-4 0-0 2 Totals 16-41 9-17 45
Mitchell (4-5, 3-4 ESD): Chelsea Brewster 3-6 2-2 8 Mackenzie Miller 4-8 1-5 9 Jordyn Cranny 4-6 2-2 14 Payton Morgan 0-5 0-0 0 Tayler Factor 4-12 4-6 12 Tess Limberg 1-3 0-0 2 Mandy Schmidt 2-2 1-2 6 Shianne Hiemstra 0-1 0-0 0 Carly Haring 1-3 0-0 2 Tori Misiaszek 1-2 0-0 2 Totals 20-48 10-17 55
3-point goals: H 2-5 (Heinz 2), M 4-5 (Cranny 3, Schmidt); Rebounds: H 32 (Team 12, Schoenfelder 6), M 26 (Miller 7, Team 7); Total fouls: H 14, M 18. Fouled out: none. Assists: H 1 (Buddenhagen), M 7 (Cranny 3). Turnovers: H 18, M 16. Blocks: H 1 (Schoenfelder), M 2 (Miller, Haring). Steals: H 9 (Shoultz 4), M 10 (Miller 4).

MATT GADE/MITCHELL DAILY REPUBLIC
Huron’s Gracie Schoenfelder grabs a rebound as Mitchell’s Mackenzie Miller challenges her for it during their game Tuesday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.