Tigers pull away for win in girls’ matchup

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HURON – The Huron Tigers girls dominated from the start to finish, leaving the Brookings Bobcats still seeking their first victory of the season after the Tigers tallied a 56-30 victory Tuesday night at the Huron Arena.

The Tigers came out in a very controlled defensive effort. Brookings focused their offense on feeding 6’5” junior Ainsley Shelsta, who finished the first period with four points, but Isabella Shreeve nailed a pair of threes as part of eight first-quarter points. The Tigers finished the first quarter with a 14-9 lead.

The Tigers continued forcing Brookings into mistakes on the offensive end, but foul trouble for the two post defenders for Huron led to frequent substitutions as coach Tim Buddenhagen looked to use multiple defensive looks in the Tigers two-three zone.

A pair of steals led to a five-point swing for the Tigers to end the first half, giving the team a 31-17 lead heading into halftime.

Huron came out firing in the second half, nailing a pair of three-point shots to open a 20-point lead. The Tigers' trap defense forced three Brookings turnovers in their first four possessions as the home team came out strong defensively.

The Huron defense was strong all game, even impressing coach Tim Buddenhagen.

“We rotated really well and took away the backside pass,” Buddenhagen noted. “Once we get that ball, we’re off and running.”

Huron flipped between a man defense and a two-three defense throughout the game, both defenses working with plenty of trapping on Bobcat ball handlers, which caused fits for the Brookings offense.

Tenley Buddenhagen hit a three at the buzzer to give the Tigers the largest lead of the game to close out the third quarter at 47-23.

Huron continued to hit from deep, something they did all game long, extending the lead over the Bobcats to as much as 30 in the fourth quarter. While they shot well from deep the whole game, in the second half, they were very sharp, shooting 6-of-13 as a team behind the arc.

Coach Buddenhagen emptied his bench with more than half of the final period remaining.

The Tigers move to 5-4 with the victory behind a pair of strong offensive games from Shreeve with 16 points and Buddenhagen with 15 points. Shreeve led the team with five assists and Buddenhagen nabbed three steals on the night.

Alexis Feenstra led Huron with six rebounds.

Shelsta led the way scoring and rebounding for Brookings (0-7) with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Huron coach was very pleased with his team’s effort on the evening.

“This is a step in the right direction,” Coach Buddenhagen glowed. “We’ve got to keep battling. If we keep battling, we’ve got a chance.”

Huron travels to Sioux Falls to battle with O’Gorman Friday.

Brookings           9 17 23 30
Huron         14 31 47 56

Brookings (0-7): Allie Clark 2 1-3 5, Olivia Jorgensen 0 0-1 0, Landree Wilson 2 1-2 5, Jaden Devine 1 0-0 2, Sofia Dvergsten 0 1-2 1, Haley Sampson 0 1-2 1, Ainsley Shelsta 7 2-6 16. Totals: 12 6-16 30.

Huron (5-4): Isabella Shreeve 6 0-0 16, Tenley Buddenhagen 3 6-6 15, Mattie Huber 0 3-4 3, Hamtyn Heinz 3 0-0 7, Alexis Feenstra 2 0-0 6, Isabelle Ellwein 2 0-0 5, Heavan Gainey 1 0-0 2, Brooke Schiltz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 9-10 56.

FG: B - 12/49 25%; H - 18/55 33%. 3-pt FG: B - 0/16; H - 11/35 (Shreeve 4, Buddenhagen 3, Feenstra 2, Heinz, Ellwein). Rebounds: B 42 (Shelsta 12); H 40 (Feenstra 6). Turnovers: B 16, H 10. Fouls: B 12, H 18.