BELLE FOURCHE, SD – The Sturgis Scoopers hit the road again on Tuesday night, traveling to the Center of the Nation to take on the Belle Fourche Broncs. The Belle Fourche Lady Broncs held off the Sturgis Scooper girls 48-43 in the early game at Ed Petranek Auditorium.
The Scooper girls played a stellar first quarter, matching the Lady Broncs bucket for bucket early on and trailed Belle Fourche by a score of 13-10 headed into the second.
Sturgis couldn’t buy a bucket through the first five minutes of the second quarter until Avreigh Long drained a mid-range field goal, ending a 9-0 Belle Fourche run. The Scoopers trailed 24-14 at the half.
“We threw three different defenses at Belle Fourche, trying to frustrate them,” said Scooper head girls coach Courtney Pool. “The girls are learning how to execute those (defenses) and they are really keeping us in these games.”
Sophomore point guard Tori Williams torched the Lady Broncs for 13 of the Scoopers 15 points in the third quarter and got Sturgis to within single digits headed into the fourth. The Lady Broncs led 38-29 with eight minutes remaining.
Scooper forward Avreigh Long got hot early in the fourth quarter, draining two long three’s to close the gap. Leigha Long’s aggressive offensive play paid off, as the Sturgis freshman hit a layup and converted four of six free throws, pulling Sturgis to within two points, 44-42, with only a minute to play. Lady Bronc point guard Reese Larson put the game away for Belle Fourche as she went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the last minute to secure the 48-43 victory.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of girls for continuing to work hard to improve,” said Pool. “They aren’t giving up and they have been competitive with some pretty dang good teams in the last four or five games. Offensively we are continuing to improve and we’re finding ways to get shots inside and not just rely on three-pointers.”
Sturgis (3-12) was led by Williams, who poured in 18 points. Avreigh Long added 10 points, with Leigha Long chipping in six points and seven rebounds. Sturgis shot 23% from the field and 60% from the charity stripe. The Scoopers had 14 turnovers and 28 rebounds, 15 of those on the offensive end.
Sloan Young scored 15 points and had seven boards for Belle Fourche (14-4). Mataya Ward dropped in 14 points for the Lady Broncs, who shot 41% from the field and 72% from the free throw line, making 13 of 18 shots. The Lady Broncs had 12 turnovers and grabbed 23 rebounds.
The late game was all Scoopers as Sturgis led Belle Fourche 16-2 after one quarter and 43-13 at the half. Sophomore guard Hayden Rock shot 6-for-8 from the field in the first half, splashing in three three-pointers and 15 points in just two quarters.
The third quarter started with a running clock due to the 30-point mercy rule and the Scoopers kept rolling, outscoring the Broncs 27-25 in the second half to earn the 70-36 victory.
Rock finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for Sturgis (5-10). Ty Petrocco added 17 points. The Scooper boys shot 49% from the field and 53% from the free throw line, committing 13 turnovers and grabbing 34 rebounds.
Belle Fourche (5-13) was led by Isaac Voyles with 11 points. The Broncs shot 29% from the field and 50% from the stripe. Belle Fourche had 13 turnovers and 20 rebounds.
The Scooper boys and girls are in action next on Thursday at Rapid City Central. Girls game is scheduled to tip off at 6pm.
