PIERRE -- The Mitchell High School girls basketball team couldn’t stop Pierre’s run at the end of the first half on Thursday, allowing it to carry into the second half.
The Governors capitalized on the Kernels’ turnovers and lack of scoring, turning a back-and-forth contest into a 52-36 win. It’s the third loss in the last four contests for Mitchell.
“I just didn’t think we came and gave our best showing and effort,” Mitchell coach Cole Knippling said. “A lot of careless mistakes. There were a lot of self-inflicted turnovers that we need to get rid of.”
Turnovers plagued the Kernels (3-5), but in the first quarter, Pierre committed multiple offensive fouls to keep them close. Mitchell trailed 9-7 after the first, with Macy Kempf scoring four straight points in the second to take a 14-13 advantage. Kempf finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Started by Caytee Williams, who scored 13 points and five steals, drilling a 3-pointer, Pierre (5-5) proceeded to go on a 15-2 run to end the first half. It carried into the second half, as the Governors extended their 28-16 halftime lead with a 9-3 run to open the second half.
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“It definitely changes the perspective of what the second half was going to be,” Knippling said. “... That was the frustrating part. We just lost our heads for two minutes, just careless turnovers and absolutely no teeth to our defense. That was a huge stretch and I really thought that changed the game.”
Mitchell cut the deficit to 10 points in the final minutes, but Pierre’s ability to hit open 3s and draw contact in the lane kept the Kernels at a distance. The Kernels also finished with 27 turnovers.
“(Turnovers) were absolutely what hindered us the whole game,” Knippling said. “We got to take care of the ball, and they were so unforced. It’s not like they were pressuring us like crazy and getting after us, we were just careless.”
Haley Hohn added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Kernels, who shot 41.7 percent from the field. Remington Price scored 17 points off the bench to lead the Governors.
Mitchell hosts Sioux Falls Lincoln at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Corn Palace.
Pierre 52, Mitchell 36
Mitchell (3-5): Adaya Plastow 0-2 0-0 0, Avia Haley 2-8 0-0 6, Camryn Krogman 1-3 2-2 4, Haley Hohn 6-9 1-4 13, Macy Kempf 5-0 0-0 11, Atlanta Stahle 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Dahme 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Giblin 0-1 0-0 0, Sarah Sebert 0-2 0-0 0, Gia Winger 0-0 0-2 0, Mariyah Turner 1-1 0-0 2. Team totals: 15-36 3-8 36.
Pierre (5-5): Miah Kienholz 1-3 0-0 2, Kodi Severyn 2-6 0-0 4, Caytee Williams 5-7 1-4 13, Kylee Thorpe 2-7 2-2 7, Kenzie Gronlund 2-4 2-3 6, Remington Gronlund 24 2-3 17, Jessica Lutmer 0-1 0-0 0, Ayvrie Kaiser 0-3 1-3 3. Team totals: 16-41 14-19 52.
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M 7 16 23 36
P 9 28 41 52
3-pointers: M 3-13 (Haley 2-6, Kempf 1-3, Plastow 0-1, Krogman 0-1, Giblin 0-1, Sebert 0-1); P 6-20 (Williams 2-2, Price 3-7, Thorpe 1-3, Kienholz 0-1, Severyn 0-4, Gronlund 0-1, Lutmer 0-1, Kaiser 0-1). Rebounds: M 31 (Kempf 11, Hohn 9); P 23 (Kaiser 4, Gronlund 4). A: M 11 (Krogman 3); P 8 (Williams 3). Blocked shots: M 1; P 0. Steals: M 10 (Krogman 4, Kempf 3); P 10 (Williams 5). Turnovers: M 27; P 22. Total fouls: M18; P 16.
