The Pierre Governors took charge of a daunting weekend and took care of business against the Mitchell Kernels 48-47 Friday night and Lincoln Patriots 66-39 Saturday.
It started on Friday night with action against the 13-4 Mitchell Kernels in which Pierre was able to find dominance early by bottling up the Mitchell offense throughout the majority of the first half. The Governors forced a multitude of turnovers and were opportunistic with 3 point shots to put themselves in position to take command. Emery Larson was the star of the first half and would end up with 19 points when all was said and done including 4 triples.
The Governors held a 20 point lead midway through the 3rd Quarter, but Mitchell was not going to be easily deterred. In the 4th Quarter, the Kernels forged a massive comeback and brought the game to as close as a 1 point difference. The game came down to a last second shot attempt that was blocked by Grace Ricther to give Pierre a dramatic win on an emotional night.
On Saturday, Pierre had their hands full early with the Lincoln Patriots, who were able to minimize Pierre’s impact on offense and keep the game relatively close down the stretch in the first half. Pierre began to create some distance with incredible 3 point shooting from Emery Larson and Lennix Dupris. Larson had 9 1st half points and 4 triples in total on the afternoon on her way to 14 point performance. Pierre held a 33-22 lead at the half, and that would only get bigger.
In the 3rd Quarter, Pierre took over by forcing steal after steal and outscoring Lincoln by nearly 20 points in the period alone, all but stealing the game. Lennix Dupris was sensational and would end up with 12 points by the time the game was over. Pierre would cruise from that point on their way to a dominant 66-39 win.
The Governors now look ahead to a date with Jefferson at Home next week as they look to move to 12-7 on the season and increase their spot in the South Dakota AA Standings.
