PIERRE — The Pierre Governors opened the second half on an 11-0 run and powered their way to a 58-45 win in ESD Conference girls’ basketball Tuesday night over the Huron Tigers at the Pierre Riggs High School Gymnasium.

The 11-0 run was part of an 18-3 Governor advantage in the third period, as they broke open a game that was only a four-point difference at the half.

Huron falls to 6-9 with the win while Pierre improves to 11-5.

“We came out of the halftime and just didn’t execute,” said Huron coach Kody Kopfmann after the game. “We didn’t change anything at the half, but our intensity was lacking and although we tried some different things, give Pierre credit, they got the ball inside and we couldn’t get back into the game.”

Neither team could find the range in the early going, as a pair of Hylton Heinz free throws were the only tallies for the first three minutes of play. Heinz laced a three with 4:30 to play and the Tigers led 5-0.

Pierre’s all-stater, Reese Terwilliger, hit to free throws, by Heinz netted another three.

Lennix DuPris hit a three for the Governors and Gracelyn Taylor came off the Pierre bench and immediately hit from long distance. Heinz hit another pair of free throws and the scoreboard read Hylton Heinz 10, Pierre 5.

Ryann Barry hit from behind the arc for Pierre and after a nice bucket in the paint by Lizzy Heinen, Huron led 12-11 after one quarter

The pace picked up markedly in the second quarter. Heinen scored on consecutive possessions and the Tigers matched their largest lead of five points. Berry scored on a leaner, but Hamtyn Heinz got a bucket and completed the three-point play as Terwilliger picked up her second foul, at the 5:48 mark.

From there, however, the Governors ran off 10 straight points, with Berry doing the lion’s share of the damage, as Pierre took a 23-19 lead before Hylton Heinz scored in the lane to break the streak.

For the remainder of the quarter, the teams traded points and the Governors took a 28-24 lead to the halftime break.

If the 10-0 run in the first half righted the Governor’s ship, starting the third quarter with an 11-0 sprint all but ended the game for the Tigers. Taylor hit from deep, DuPris score on a baseline jumper and Terwilliger scored six points on three Pierre possessions as the score ballooned to 39-24. Huron got a free throw from Heinen to stop the run and a late field goal from Kenzie Siemonsma proved to be the Tigers’ offensive output in the quarter. Aleise Christopherson and Barry scored the final points of the quarter and the lead was 19 headed to the final period.

Huron equaled its third quarter scoring seconds into the final period, as Hamtyn Heinz connected on a three pointer. Hamtyn Heinz was noticeably slowed by a knee injury she had over the weekend in Spearfish, and combined with Christopherson’s defense, the Tiger senior was held to six points in the contest.

The lead fluctuated between 15 and 18 points most of the fourth quarter, as the reserves from both teams got some quality varsity minutes as Pierre closed out the win.

Barry led Pierre with 15 points, Terwilliger added 14 and DuPris laced 10 for the Governors.

Huron was led by Hylton Heinz’s game-high 18 points and Heinen added nine.

“We had some looks and didn’t get shots to fall,” Kopfmann noted. “Pierre got looks and their shots went in. We needed to keep them around 45 points and for them to get 58 against us tells me what I need to know about our defensive intensity. We didn’t work hard or compete in the second half tonight.”

Huron gets little rest as they will host the Aberdeen Central Golden Eagles on Thursday night at Huron Arena.

Pierre made it a sweep Tuesday night, pulling away for a 52-30 win in the JV game and holding off the Tigers for a 37-29 win in the Sophomore contest.

Huron     12 24 27 45
Pierre     11 28 46 58

HURON (6-9): Hailey Rogers 1 0-0 2; Chloe Carr 1 0-0 2; Khyannin Eagle Star 1 0-0 3; Aly Davis 1 0-0 3; Kenzie Siemonsma 1 0-0 2; Hamtyn Heinz 2 1-1 6; Hylton Heinz 4 7-8 18; Lizzy Heinen 4 1-4 9. Totals: 15 9-13 45.

PIERRE (11-5): Paige Sporrer 1 0-0 2; Grace Richter 1 0-0 2; Aleise Christopherson 2 1-2 6; Lennix DuPris 3 2-2 10; Ryann Barry 6 1-1 15; Gracelyn Taylor 3 0-0 9; Reese Terwilliger 5 4-11 14. Totals: 21 8-16 58.