BY CURT NETTINGA
OF THE PLAINSMAN
HURON — The Aberdeen Central Golden Eagles girls basketball team brought its Class “AA” No. 1 ranking to the Huron Arena Tuesday night, looking to build on a five-game winning streak.
The Golden Eagles pushed their season mark to 13-1, getting points from virtually every player on coach Dawn Seiler’s roster, and defeating the still winless Huron Tigers 66-34. The Tigers fall to 0-14 with the loss.
“We knew they were a big, physical team,” said Huron coach Wade Stobbs. “We worked to keep them off the blocks and then you just hope they don’t get hot from the outside.”
Huron broke on top, as Tenley Buddenhagen staked the Tigers to an early 2-0 lead. But a pair of three-pointers from Haylee Mork, a bucket from Laura Babcock and a charity toss from Emma Yeske put the Golden Eagles up 9-2
Reagan Rozell hit a short jumper for the Tigers, but the Golden Eagles responded with baskets from Paiton Burckhard and Mork before Havyn Heinz hit a three-pointer to make it 13-7 for Aberdeen Central.
It was as close as Huron would get the rest of the game.
The Golden Eagles went on a 23-3 tear over the remainder of the first half, owning a 36-8 lead until a Gracie Schoenfelder layup at the buzzer made it 36-10 at the break.
Stobbs’ wish of cool outside shooting didn’t come true, as the Golden Eagles drained five of seven from behind the arc - three of them from Mork - in the first half and ended the first two quarters shooting 13-20 from the field, while limiting the Tigers to 4-23 from the field and 1-12 behind the line.
Mork and Burckhard each scored 17 points for the Golden Eagles, who saw 10 on their roster get in the scoring books. Burkhard snagged a game-high nine rebounds and was one of three Aberdeen players with three assists in the game.
The lead swelled to 35 in the second half, as the Tigers were unable to make any headway at climbing out of the deep hole in which they found themselves.
“Our girls really battled tonight, but we gave up a lot of size and we didn’t get many shots to fall for us tonight,” Stobbs said after the game.
Heinz led the Huron effort with 15 points and two assists, while Buddenhagen added nine points and Schoenfelder claimed five rebounds. As a team, the Tigers ended up 11-42 from the field in the game for 26 percent, while the Golden Eagles ended the game 24-48 for an even 50 percent, which included a 8-15 effort behind the arc (53 percent).
“We knew this was going to be a tough one,” Stobbs said. “We’ll go back to work tomorrow and get prepared to make the trip west on Friday and come home with a pair of wins in Spearfish and Sturgis.”
In preliminary action, Aberdeen Central recorded a 36-16 victory against Huron in the junior varsity game.
Brooke Schiltz led the Tigers with seven points, while Braylee Thomas had three points.
The Golden Eagles cruised to a 43-19 victory in the C-game.
Mattie Huber led the Tigers with six points, while Taylor Stuart had four points.
Aberdeen Central 19 36 52 66
Huron 7 10 20 34
Aberdeen Central (13-1): Laura Babcock 1 0-0 2; Emma Yeske 3 1-2 7; Ana Hase 2 0-0 5; Haylee Mork 6 0-0 17; Paiton Burkhard 7 2-2 17; Myah Malchow 1 0-0 3; Abby Kopecky 1 0-0 2; Brooklyn Kusler 0 5-6 5; Cassidy Gough 2 2-4 6; Brooklyn Munsen 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 10-14 66.
Huron (0-14): Tenley Buddenhagen 4 0-0 9; Reagan Rozell 1 0-1 2; Havyn Heinz 3 7-8 15; Sami Shoultz 2 2-2 6; Gracie Schoenfelder 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 9-11 34.
FG: AC - 24-48 50%; H - 11-42 26%. 3-pt FG: AC - 8-15 (Mork 5, Hase 1, Burckhard 1, Malchow 1); H - 3-23 (Heinz 2, Buddenhagen 1). Rebounds: AC - 31 (Burckhard 9); H - 24 (Schoenfelder 5). Turnovers: AC - 7; H - 13. Assists: AC - 11 (Babcock, Mork and Burckhard, 3 each); H - 4 (Heinz 2). Fouls: AC - 12; H - 12.
MIKE CARROLL/PLAINSMAN Huron’s Havyn Heinz drives against defensive pressure by Aberdeen Central’s Laura Babcock during their game Tuesday at Huron Arena.
Next, Huron’s Allyson Fullerton snags a loose ball as she is pressured by Aberdeen Central’s Emma Yeske during their game Tuesday at Huron Arena.
