LEAD, SD – The Sturgis Scooper boys and girls took home both games of a doubleheader against the Lead Deadwood Golddiggers on Friday night.
The Scooper girls beat the Lady Diggers, 57-16 and the Sturgis boys downed the Golddiggers, 72-50 in the Mile High City.
The Scooper girls used full-court, woman to woman pressure defense to force 17 first half Lady Golddigger turnovers, turning the miscues into points. Sturgis point guard Tori Williams hit three three-pointers in the first half, and the Scoopers took a 32-12 lead into intermission.
The Scoopers kept the pressure on throughout the third quarter, outscoring Lead Deadwood 13-1 and held a 45-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Sturgis reserves finished the game and secured a 57-16 victory for the Scoopers.
Williams and Addy Kossler both finished with 14 points to lead Sturgis (4-4) in scoring. Leigha Long added 10 points and four rebounds. Long was six of 10 from the free throw line. The Scoopers made 15 of 67 field goals (22%), 20 of 27 free throws (74%), committed 15 turnovers and had 39 rebounds. Jerzie Artz scored seven points for Lead Deadwood (0-11).
The Lead Deadwood boys came out firing in the nightcap, jumping out to a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter. Golddigger forward Beau Wichtermann scored seven of his team’s 10 points in the opening quarter, but the Scooper defense came alive and forced six turnovers, outscoring the Diggers 24-10 after one quarter.
Sturgis point guard Hayden Rock played like a man possessed throughout the first half, dropping in four treys and scoring 19 points to lead the Scoopers into the halftime break. Sturgis took a 41-20 lead headed into the third quarter.
The Scoopers were called for a bevy of fouls in the third quarter, putting the Golddiggers at charity stripe 16 times. The Golddiggers could only convert eight of 16 free throws and Sturgis led 60-38 after three quarters.
The Scoopers brought in the reserves in the final quarter and defeated Lead Deadwood 72-50 to earn their third win and breaking a five-game losing streak. The 72 points was the highest game point total of the season for Sturgis.
Sturgis (3-6) was led by Rock with 26 points. Ryan Heinert added 17 points and three three-pointers. The Scoopers were 26 of 61 from the field (42%) and 10 of 14 from the free throw line (71%). Sturgis committed 14 turnovers and snared 30 rebounds.
Beau Wichtermann scored 21 points and had seven boards for Lead Deadwood (4-7). The Golddiggers made 17 of 52 shots from the field (32%) and nine of 23 free throws (39%). Lead Deadwood had 18 turnovers and grabbed 30 rebounds.
The Scoopers are in action next on Tuesday, as they travel to Hill City to battle with the Rangers.
