Aberdeen Central went over the top on Brandon Valley.
The Golden Eagles used their height advantage to play over the top of the Brandon Valley defense. Central (17-1, 12-1 ESD) came away with a 66-37 win over Brandon Valley (4-14, 4-8 ESD) on Friday in high school girls' basketball in Eastern South Dakota Conference action. It was the last regular-season home game for the Eagles and Senior Night.
Aberdeen won the center jump and bolted to a 12-4 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles used a variety of offensive rebounds, fast breaks and lobs to the posts to score in the run.
"In the first part of the game, I saw us pushing the ball really well and getting the shots we wanted to get," said Central reserve player Brianna Kusler. "We were executing our plays and running what we wanted to run. Then, I think we kind of let up a little bit but we got back running the ball."
The Lynx responded with a three-point field goal by Allie Koehn and a basket by Carley Kueter to pull within three points at 12-9. Kusler used an offensive rebound and a putback to push the lead to 14-9 for Aberdeen to end the first quarter.
"Defensively, we did a pretty good job," said Central coach Dawn Seiler. "We created some turnovers that got early offense for us. We pushed the ball hard. We just relaxed a little bit. They are a very well coached team. He (Mark Stadem) always gets the most out of his kids. They are a scrappy bunch. They got back in it. Our kids came back after it and started pushing the ball again."
Central took a 36-17 lead to the locker room at halftime. The Lynx committed 14 turnovers in the first half and the Golden Eagles were able to convert those into points.
"Everything goes through Koehn and she can make a lot of things out there for herself and she makes a lot of things happen for her teammates. The story of their season is there have been nights when the ball went in the hole and nights where it hasn't. They couldn't match our inside presence with the two big girls (Sara Niederbaumer and Samantha Knecht). We did a good job playing to our strengths," said Seiler.
The Golden Eagles continued to run their lofty offense in the second half and built a 29-point lead (51-22) five minutes into the third quarter to maintain control.
"We did a good job of passing the ball inside," said Seiler. "I think that wore them down a little bit because they just couldn't sustain that tempo."
Both teams substituted freely in the fourth quarter.
Nine Central players scored in the game led by Knecht with 21 points and nine rebounds. Knecht made 9 of 14 shots from the field. Brynn Flakus added 11 points and seven rebounds. Kelsey Hannigan contributed nine points and six steals. Sara Niederbaumer chipped in with six points. All four are seniors along with Kayla Krueger.
"I think Senior Night is tough on the seniors," said Kusler, a freshman. "We're (the team) working so we can play here in districts. It's not our last home game."
Kuehn led Brandon Valley with 12 points and Val Peltier added seven.
Aberdeen Central completes the regular season and conference season on Tuesday at Pierre. An Aberdeen win would give the Golden Eagles a share of the ESD crown with Mitchell.
|VARSITY|
BRANDON VALLEY: Brynne Rist 1-2 0-0 2, Brooke Merry 2-4 0-1 4, Val Peltier 2-8 3-4 7, Jordyn Griffith 0-4 0-0 0, Allie Koehn 4-10 1-3 12, Kara Schroeder 0-0 2-2 2, Taylor Thorson 0-3 3-4 3, Alana Hall 1-2 0-0 2, Becca Long 1-2 0-0 2, Carley Kueter 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 12-38 9-14 37.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Kelsey Hannigan 3-8 1-2 9, Samantha Knecht 9-14 3-4 21, Brynn Flakus 5-11 0-0 11, Leah Beringer 2-6 0-0 5, Sara Niederbaumer 3-6 0-0 6, Morghan Waage 0-1 0-0 0, Jamie Larson 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Krueger 0-1 0-0 0, Ally Steckler 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Miller 0 1-2 1, Maddy Goetz 1-1 2-3 4, Brianna Kusler 2-3 3-6 7. Totals 268-54 10-17 66.
Brandon Valley (4-15)| 9 17 25 37
Aberdeen Central (17-1)|14 36 53 66
3-point field goals -- Brandon Valley 4-12 (Griffith 0-1, Koehn 3-7, Thorson 0-2, Hall 1-2 ); Aberdeen 4-10 (Hannigan 2-4, Flakus 1-1, Beringer 1-4, Steckler 0-1). Fouled out -- None. Total fouls -- Brandon Valley 12; Aberdeen 13. Rebounds -- Brandon Valley 29 (Peltier 5); Aberdeen 34 (Knecht 9). Turnovers -- Brandon Valley 24; Aberdeen 10. Assists -- Brandon Valley 3; Aberdeen 15 (Beringer 6). Steals -- Brandon Valley 4 (Long 2); Aberdeen 17 (Hannigan 6). Blocked shots -- Brandon Valley 1 (Koehn 1); Aberdeen 2.
|JUNIOR VARSITY|
BRANDON VALLEY: Kara Schroeder 0 2-2 2, Taylor Thorson 2 1-4 6, Brooklyn Smith 3 0-0 6, Becca Long 2 0-0 6, Carley Kueter 2 2-3 6, Emily Harris 3 0-0 7, Michaela Beckman 1 0-0 2, Sidnie Bucheim 2 4-4 8. Totals 15-44 9-13 43.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Morghan Waage 0 0-0 0, Sydney Waterman 0 1-2 1, Robin Doerr 0 4-4 4, Tara Rook 2 0-0 5, Erica Shields 4 1-5 9, Emily Miller 2 1-1 5, Abby Brist 0 1-2 1. Totals 8-29 8-14 25.
Brandon Valley|12 23 32 43
Aberdeen Central| 3 7 17 25
3-point field goals -- Thorson, Long 2, Harris, Rook. Fouled out -- Long. Total fouls -- Brandon Valley 16; Aberdeen 14. Rebounds -- Brandon Valley 26 (Hall 6); Aberdeen 29 (Shields 8). Turnovers -- Brandon Valley 18; Aberdeen 26. Assists -- Brandon Valley 2; Aberdeen 5 (Rook 2). Steals -- Brandon Valley 9 (Thorson 3); Aberdeen 8 (Waage 3). Blocked shots -- Brandon Valley 0; Aberdeen 1 (Shields 1).
|SOPHOMORE|
BRANDON VALLEY: Emily Harrris 2 2-2 8, Paige Drenth 1 0-0 2, Calli Hansley 1 0-1 3, Sidnie Bucheim 2 0-4 4, Sommer West 1 0-0 2, Grace Bender 0 3-4 3, Courtney Bickley 1 2-2 4, Hannah Paauw 2 1-2 5, Renae Kirbell 0 0-0 0. Totals 10-36 8-15 31.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Sydney Johnson 3 0-0 7, Jamie Larson 4 2-3 10, Lauren Schumacher 2 1-2 5, Emily Miller 4 79-10 15, Kaylee Kappes 0 4-4 4, Madisyn Waage 1 0-0 2, Mia Bergan 1 0-0 2. Totals 15-36 14-19 45.
Brandon Valley| 5 12 19 31
Aberdeen Central|13 23 30 45
3-point field goals -- Harris 2, Hansley, Johnson. Fouled out -- None. Total fouls -- Brandon Valley 19; Aberdeen 16. Rebounds -- Brandon Valley 23 (Harris 6); Aberdeen 30 (Miller 14). Turnovers -- Brandon Valley 19; Aberdeen 18. Steals -- Brandon Valley 8 (Kirbell 3); Aberdeen 7. Assists -- Brandon Valley 5; Aberdeen 6 (Kappes 2). Blocked shots -- Brandon Valley 0; Aberdeen 3 (Larson 2).
|FRESHMAN|
BRANDON VALLEY: McKenzie Gloege 2 0-0 6, Tiati Thelen 0 0-2 0, Dana Schneider 0 0-1 0, Sommer West 3 1-2 8, Grace Bender 1 0-4 2, Cortney Bickley 0 1-2 1, Hannah Paauw 0 3-10 3. Totals 6 5-21 20.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Emily Brennan 1 1-2 3, Ally Steckler 6 0-1 12, Megan Kingsriter 1 0-0 2, Mia Bergan 4 5-9 13, Renee Bragg 4 0-0 8, Savannah Huber 1 0-0 2, Breanna Birgen 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 6-12 42.
Brandon Valley| 8 10 18 20
Aberdeen Central|11 18 34 42
3-point field goals -- Gloege 2, West. Fouled out -- None. Total fouls -- Brandon Valley 13; Aberdeen 16.