10 hours Ago By Blake Durham
PIERRE — A frantic rally by the Mitchell High School girls basketball team on Friday ended agonizingly one point short. In an intense Eastern South Dakota Conference battle, Pierre was in control for much of the game, enabling the Governors to hold off the Class AA No. 4-ranked Kernels 48-47 at T.
F. Riggs High School after leading by 20 points into the third quarter. ADVERTISEMENT It’s the third straight contest between the teams decided by one point dating back to last season.
Mitchell defeated Pierre 49-48 last February at the Corn Palace before the Governors held on to win 48-47 in the fifth-place game at the state tournament in March. Early shooting struggles were prevalent behind the arc for the Kernels, starting the game 0-of-7 from long range before Addie Siemsen drained a 3-pointer two minutes into the second quarter. However, strong defense and picking up baskets on second chances kept Mitchell (13-5, 6-2 ESD) within four points of the lead.
A last-second triple from Molly Olson closed out an 11-2 run by the Governors to take a 13-point lead into halftime. Addison Soma came away with a steal and found the basket on the other end to start the second half, and Emery Larson’s 3-pointer put Pierre ahead by 20 with under five minutes to go. Mitchell began to create space in the corners and shots began to fall, as Siemsen, who briefly exited the game after taking a hard fall, scored seven points in the final four minutes of the quarter during of a 13-1 scoring run.
In the fourth, Londyn Hajek hit a quarter triple and Siemsen hit free throws to cut the lead to six points. After Lauren Van Overschelde converted a 4-point play with 1:10 remaining to bring the game to a single possession, Lennix DuPris hit two key free throws after drawing contact in the lane to put Pierre up by four points. Hajek hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to bring Mitchell to within one but struggled to keep possession against Pierre’s physical defense on the final inbound play with a chance to win as time expired.
On the strength of five made 3-pointers, Larson led Pierre (10-6, 6-2 ESD) with 19 points. DuPris added 10 points and Gracelyn Taylor finished the game with six points. Olson chipped in five points off the bench.
Mitchell, which was 3-0 this season in games following a loss heading into the matchup, had 13 points and five rebounds from Van Overschelde. Siemsen finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and Hajek ended the game scoring 11 points while pitching up a team-high nine boards. Mitchell shot under 30% for the second time in three games, held to a 26.
3% clip from the field. ADVERTISEMENT Mitchell regroups for a road matchup against No. 2 Brandon Valley on Tuesday, Feb.
25, in Brandon. Pierre 48, No. 4 Mitchell 47 Mitchell (13-5): Londyn Hajek 4-14 1-4 11 Lauren Van Overschelde 3-10 4-5 13 Carsyn Weich 2-7 0-0 5 Addie Siemsen 3-15 3-4 12 Kenzie Peterson 1-3 0-0 2 Londyn Schroeder 0-0 0-0 0 Matteah Graves 1-1 0-0 2 CeCe Morgan 1-7 0-0 2.
Totals: 15-57 8-13 47. Pierre (10-6): Lennix DuPris 4 2-2 10 Emery Larson 7 0-0 19 Gracelyn Taylor 2 0-0 6 Grace Richter 1 0-0 3 Addison Soma 1 2-6 4 Jasmine Jost 0 0-0 0 Molly Olson 2 0-0 5 McKenzie Flottmeyer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 4-8 48.
MHS 6 15 29 47 PTF 10 28 37 48 3-pointers: MHS 9-30 (Hajek 2-6, Van Overschelde 3-6, Weich 1-4, Siemsen 3-11, Morgan 0-3), P 9 (Larson 5, Taylor 2, Richter, Olson). Rebounds: MHS 30 (Hajek 9, Siemsen 7), P 23. Assists: MHS 10 (Weich 3, Siemsen 3), P n/a.
Steals: MHS 11 (Siemsen 4), P n/a..
