Govs survive Raiders in 1st round of state tournament
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The No. 2 Pierre Governors are still in contention for a state title after surviving No. 7 Rapid City Stevens, 42-34, in the opening round of the SDHSAA Class AA Girls State Basketball Tournament on Thursday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
In a game where Pierres offense wasnt clicking, the Govs used stifling defense to fend off the Raiders.
Pierre held RC Stevens to just 15-of-47 (32 percent) shooting overall and 0-of-8 from long-range. The Govs also forced 26 Raiders turnovers and racked up 16 steals and four blocks.
Offensively, Pierre struggled, finishing 14-of-49 (29 percent) from the floor and 3-of-15 (20 percent) behind the arc. The Govs committed 18 turnovers as well.
Our defense really stepped up and made sure that we even when things weren't clicking and going well for us on offense or we made some silly mistakes or missed some easy ones, our defense never wavered. We hung in there (and) forced 26 turnovers, Pierre head coach Kirk Beebout said following Thursdays win. So, thankfully, our defense got the job done on a night when our offense was struggling a little bit.
Remington Price led the Govs with 15 points and seven steals versus the Raiders on Thursday.
Campea Photography
Beebouts team also held Rapid Citys top-scorer, sophomore guard Taaliyah Porter, who entered the tournament averaging double-figures, to just nine points and 3-of-12 (25 percent) shooting.
The defense on Porter was a big factor in the game. I thought even when she did get inside, we walled-up to make it difficult for her to finish anything, and we got her frustrated and did a good job of getting back in transition and keeping her in front, he said. She had to earn everything she got. We didn't put her at the free-throw line a ton, which she likes to get there and put up points from the free-throw line So, a lot of good things there.
Offensively, Govs senior guard Remington Price led the way with 15 points and seven steals. Sophomore guard Lennix DuPris scored eight points, and senior guard Ayvrie Kaiser pitched in with seven points and a team-high six rebounds.
The last time these two teams played one another on Dec. 9, Pierre won that matchup 58-46 in Rapid City. And early on into Thursdays game, it seemed as if the Govs might be headed towards that type of victory.
Six points from Price and three by junior guard Ryann Barry gave Pierre a 9-2 lead less than 3.5 minutes left in the first quarter. But Stevens battled back and only trailed 11-8 after one period of play.
The Govs outscored the Raiders again in the second period (10-7), but it didnt come with a slight scare from Stevens.
Rapid City cut its deficit to 15-14 less than four minutes left in the first half after a score and offensive rebound by junior forward Isabell Higgins.
Pierre (19-3) responded, though, and finished the quarter on a 6-1 run to give itself a 21-15 lead at halftime.
Both teams had their worst offensive outputs in the third quarter, as the Govs had a 8-6 scoring advantage. Pierre was up 29-19 with just under four minutes left, matching its largest lead it would see again in the final frame.
The Govs led 29-21 entering the fourth quarter.
Similar to what they did all night long, Stevens refused to go away in the final eight minutes.
Pierre's Ryann Barry shoots the ball during Thursday's game against Rapid City Stevens. She finished with five points and three steals.
Campea Photography
The Raiders trimmed their deficit to 31-26 three minutes into the quarter and thats when DuPris scored back-to-back clutch baskets for Pierre.
She made her lone three-pointer and then a pull-up jumper after coming off a Reese Terwilliger screen. The Govs now led 36-26 with less than three minutes left.
Beebout said those shots by DuPris allowed Pierre to breathe a little bit.
But, again, Rapid City clawed its way back and made it a 36-32 game with 22 seconds remaining.
With little time left, the Raiders (14-8) were forced to foul Price on consecutive Pierre possessions. The senior guard knocked down all four of her free throws with ease.
Barry officially iced this one with two makes at the charity stripe, as the Govs are now just two wins away from their first state championship since 1991.
Price summed up Thursdays game and discussed her free throws in crunch time.
It was super fun being able to play in that environment with my team tonight. We knew they were going to be super aggressive on defense, so we had to stay poised to handle that pressure, which I think we did well, she said. At the end, I knew making my free throws were important and needed them to stretch our lead.
The Govs will play No. 6 Harrisburg (17-5) in the semifinal round, a team Pierre beat, 40-30, on Jan. 31. Tip-off for Fridays game at the Pentagon is set for 7:45 p.m.
But first, Beebout wants his team to work on some things, especially rebounding. The Raiders outrebounded the Govs, 37-30, overall and, 14-11, on the offensive glass.
Mostly, we're gonna have to rebound better than we did tonight, Beebout said. And we're gonna have to relax and finish some more plays and take care of the ball a little bit better. But rebounding was one thing we're gonna have to do better if we're going to continue to win here at the tournament.
The Pierre Governors celebrate after defeating Rapid City Stevens on Thursday to move on to the semifinals of the SDHSAA Class AA Girls State Basketball Tournament.
Campea Photography
Friday, March 10, 2023 at 3:50 am