The Golden Eagles (16-1) were on the short end of a 57-35 score in an ESD contest against Mitchell at the Corn Palace last Friday and went home that night looking at a long school-night trip to Sioux Falls their next time on the court.
Thanks in part to senior Brynn Flakus' 21 points, the three-hour haul back to Aberdeen probably seemed a little shorter than it would have if the Eagles were dealing with their second loss in a row.
"We knew we had to work as a team - that's what we were stressing all day long," said Flakus, who will play college basketball at the University of Sioux Falls next season. "With the quick turnaround, we really didn't have time to think about our loss to Mitchell."
The Riders (13-4), meanwhile, had not played since Feb. 1, something Roosevelt coach Chris Clark quickly dismissed as a reason for falling short.
"We started out just fine," Clark said. "It's been hard for our team all year to deal with changes. If we start out well and then they have to deal with something different, it's been hard to for us to adjust. We have to recognize situations better and be tougher."
The Riders took a 14-7 lead in the opening minutes, but the Eagles responded with the last eight points of the quarter and led 15-14. The second quarter was similar, with the Riders taking 28-27 lead into half.
Third quarter? Pretty much the same. The Riders were occasionally struggling to keep the ball in their hands but the score was tied 40-40 with eight minutes to play.
Aberdeen went up 54-48 on three consecutive field goals from Flakus, the last of which was a 15-footer from the baseline with 2:06 to play that became the separation point in a contest that had been pretty close to even.
"It was one of those shots were you're like 'Oh no!' and then it goes in," said Golden Eagles assistant Jake Phillips. "And then it's 'Yep, that's what we wanted.' She's a clutch player - she had a tough game in Mitchell and she battled back really well tonight, just like a lot of our kids did."
The Riders were led by Katelyn Johnson with 14 points. Paige Mriden added 11 and Tagyn Larson had 10. Roosevelt hit just 18 of 60 from the field and 3 of 16 on 3-pointers. The number that bothered Clark the most were the turnovers, however, and he had stats to back it up.
"When we have 14 or fewer turnovers we're 9-0," he said. "When we have 14 or more we're 4-4. We weren't playing against a full-court press tonight or anything like that, it was a 2-3 zone. We're just unable to take care of the ball at times right now."
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Sara Niederbaumer 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Hannigan 2 3-3 8, Samantha Knecht 5 1-3 12, Brynn Flakus 7 7-8 21, Leah Beringer 3 0-0 9, Maddie Goetz 0 0-0 0, Brianna Kuzler 3 3-4 9. Totals 21-50 8-16 62.
SIOUX FALLS ROOSEVELT: Lauren Kunz 3 6-6 14, Nicole Hatche, Katelyn Johnson 1 4-6 6, Paige Mriden 5 0-0 11, Tagyn Larson 4 2-4 10, Taylor Deutsch 0 0-0 0, Stacy Johnson 1 0-0 2, Haleigh Gunn 3 2-3 8. Totals 18-60 15-21 54.
Aberdeen Central (16-1) 15 27 40 62
Sioux Falls Roosevelt (13-4) 14 28 40 54
3-pointers - AC 4-8 (Beringer 3, Hannigan 1), R 3-16 (Kunz 2, Mriden 1). Rebounds - AC 44 (Knecht 12), R 44 (Hatcher, Larson 8). Fouls - AC 19, R 19. Fouled out - Niederbaumer, Larson. Turnovers - AC 12, R 14.