STURGIS, SD – The Sturgis Scooper hoopers were at home on Friday night and hosted the Hot Springs Bison. In the first game of the night, the Sturgis Scooper girls basketball team earned their third win of the season with a 42-37 victory over the Hot Springs Lady Bison.
Taylor Price had the hot hand for the Scoopers in the first quarter as she dropped in five points. Sturgis led the Lady Bison 12-7 after one quarter. Sophomore point guard Tori Williams hit a field goal and splashed in a couple of free throws in the second quarter and the Scoopers extended their lead at the half to 22-13.
Williams continued to score to start off the third, hitting two quick field goals and Sturgis led 26-13. Hot Springs chipped away at the lead as the Lady Bison went on a 9-0 run and the Scooper lead was cut to 28-23 headed into the fourth. The Lady Bison tied the game at 35 with just 2:27 left on a 15-footer by Kenadee Macijewski and the momentum looked to be shifting to Hot Springs, but Williams hit a two, giving Sturgis a 37-35 lead. Following a missed shot by the Lady Bison, Williams bombed in a long three with just 1:09 left to give Sturgis a 40-35 lead that they never relinquished. Williams added two free throws and Maggie Pruess hit a shot for Hot Springs with just 2.5 seconds left to complete the scoring.
Sturgis (3-11) was led by Williams with 20 points, 16 in the second half. Williams added seven rebounds. Addy Kossler finished with 10 points and seven boards. Sturgis shot 30% from the field and 75% from the free throw line, canning six of eight shots. The Scoopers committed 14 turnovers and grabbed 30 rebounds.
Pruess finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for Hot Springs (5-12). The Lady Bison shot 33% from the field and 72% from the charity stripe, giving up 21 turnovers and snaring 26 rebounds.
In the late game, the Scooper boys started strong but couldn’t keep up with Hot Springs, as the Bison blew out the Scoopers at West Gym, 66-46.
The Bison led 16-13 after the first quarter and outscored Sturgis 15-8 in the second to take a 31-21 lead into the locker room at intermission. Hot Springs hit seven of 10 field goals in the third quarter and extended their lead to 48-36 headed into the fourth. It was all Bison in the final quarter, as Hot Springs continued their hot shooting to get the 66-46 road win.
Hot Springs improved to 12-3 on the season and had four players in double figures, led by Josh Kleinsasser with 22 points. The Bison shot 54% from the field and 90% from the free throw line, committing 14 turnovers and grabbing 21 rebounds.
Ryan Heinert scored 12 points and had nine rebounds for Sturgis, who dropped to 4-10 on the year. Hayden Rock drained three three-pointers and ended the night with 11 points. The Scoopers shot 33% from the field and were a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Sturgis had 21 turnovers and 19 rebounds for the game.
Sturgis is on the road next Tuesday as they travel to Belle Fourche to take on the Broncs. The girls game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30pm.
