BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. & STURGIS, S.D. – The Sturgis boys played at home and the girls hit the road to take on the Belle Fourche Broncs Tuesday night, with both teams taking a loss.
The Sturgis girls took on the Broncs at Ed Petranek Gymnasium in Belle Fourche and were bit by the turnover bug and poor shooting, losing to Belle Fourche, 39-24.
Belle Fourche forced several Sturgis turnovers throughout the game with their full-court pressure. The Scoopers could only manage two points in the quarter, a short jumper by Kaylee Whatley, and the Broncs led 13-2. Dylan Stedillie hit two three-pointers and a free throw, leading Belle Fourche with 7 points in the first quarter.
Megan Petrocco and Lexi Long both popped in threes in the second quarter for Sturgis, but the Scoopers couldn’t close the scoring gap and the Broncs led 22-10 at the half. Sturgis could only manage four field goals in the first half.
Belle Fourche outscored Sturgis 10-7 in the third, extending their lead to 32-17 behind five points from Bronc forward Tia Williamson. The Scoopers battled hard in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get their shots to fall and suffered their first loss of the season, 39-24.
Sturgis shot 22% from the field, making 9 of 41 field goals. The Scoopers were two of four from the free throw line, with 24 turnovers and 23 rebounds. Kaylee Whatley led the Scoopers with 11 points and six rebounds.
Belle Fourche made 15 of 45 field goal attempts for 33%. The Broncs had 17 turnovers and shot 83% from the charity stripe, making five of six shots. Belle Fourche had 27 rebounds and were led by Bella Jensen with 10 points and five rebounds.
The Belle Fourche and Sturgis boys played at West Gymnasium in Sturgis in an effort to limit spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Broncs jumped out to a 12-7 lead after one quarter behind five points from Lan Fuhrer, then extended that lead to 32-11 at the half.
Belle Fourche went ice cold in the third quarter and could only manage three points, a field goal by Aiden Giffin and a free throw by Gage Kracht. The Scoopers took advantage and poured in 12 points to narrow the Bronc lead to 35-23 after the third quarter.
Sturgis got to within three points midway through the fourth with Belle Fourche leading 39-36 with four minutes left. The Scoopers ran out of gas and the Broncs outlasted Sturgis by a final of 51-43.
Owen Cass led the Scoopers with 11 points and Thor Sundstrom added 10. Aiden Giffin scored 18 for Belle Fourche, with Brextin Garza contributing 12.
The Scooper girls (1-1) host Pierre Friday night at West Gym, with the tip off scheduled for 7:30pm. The girls then host Aberdeen Central at 1:30pm on Saturday at West Gym. The Sturgis boys (0-2) travel to Aberdeen Central Saturday to take on the Golden Eagles. KBHB will carry the game, which starts at 5pm.
