HURON –– The Huron Tigers struggled throughout the night Tuesday, falling 63-35 to the Pierre Governors at Huron Arena.

Other than their most recent loss to Tea Area, Pierre’s other five losses on the season coming into Tuesday’s game were to each of the top five teams in the state, so the Governors have been widely considered one of the best teams in the state throughout the year.

They looked every bit of that in the first quarter.

The two teams started slow, with a Grace Richter layup off a steal for Pierre the first points of the game three minutes into the game. Gracelyn Taylor followed up with another layup off a steal for Pierre.

Addyson Knight would come off the bench and get the Tigers finally on the board with 3:27 left in the first quarter, hitting one of two free throws.

The Pierre defense then found another gear, turning over the Tigers and generating offense.

Emery Larson hit a pullup jumper for the Govs, two-time All-State guard Lennix DuPris got her first points on a pair of free throws, and then she nailed a three on the next trip.

Addison Soma was fouled on the post and nailed a pair of free throws and Molly Olson came off the bench to get into the action, hitting a jumper for the final score of the quarter.

Pierre would close the first quarter with a 15-1 dominant lead.

The Pierre defense continued in the second quarter as DuPris and Richter got short buckets off steals.

Hylton Heinz cut to the hoop and made a scoop shot to give the Tigers their first field goal of the game a hair past a minute into the second quarter.

Larson hit a three from the wing for Pierre, but Chloe Carr answered with a post move for the Tigers. Aly Davis followed up with a drive through the defense to bring Huron within 22-7.

Richter got the pass at the backend of a steal for Pierre, and Soma made a post move to push the Pierre lead to 26-7.

Davis got a putback for Huron, but Taylor nailed a wing three to give Pierre a 20-point lead, 29-9.

Carr got an offensive rebound for Huron, Larson hit a wing three for the Govs, and then Carr hit one of two free throws.

Larson would hit a free throw line jumper, Madison Jurgens came off the Tiger bench and hit a corner three, but Larson answered with her third deep ball of the quarter, pushing the Pierre lead to 37-15. The Tigers couldn’t get the last-second shot before halftime.

Huron had 21 turnovers at the halftime break, and Tiger coach Kody Kopfmann was at a loss for some of the decisions made by his squad.

“It was not our night, but it was self-inflicted,” he reflected. “For the amount we work on press break in practice, we got sped up and made bad decisions with the ball."

Huron had its best run to open the second half. Heinz drove across the lane for two, then Allison Janes stepped through a pair of Governor defenders for a bucket. The Tigers finally executed a drive-and-dish, finding Abagail Harrington for three. After Davis got one of two free throws, the Tigers had an 8-0 run to open the quarter, closing the deficit to 37-23.

Larson got a layup in transition for Pierre to end the Huron run. Carr got a bucket underneath and was fouled, sinking the shot, but Larson then had a backdoor cut for another bucket to make it 41-26 Pierre.

Soma hit three of four free throws, going to the line in consecutive trips down the court, then Pierre got a steal and Richter finished it off with a layup. Heinz drove hard as the clock wound down and got a layup as the quarter ended with Pierre in the lead by a tally of 46-28.

Soma got a putback bucket to open the fourth quarter, putting the Govs back up by 20. Davis would hit a wing three, but Taylor answered with a long ball of her own.

Carr made a nice drop step, but Taylor responded with a jumper and the Governors got a steal, with Soma putting in a layup on the backend. Heinz would get a layup to make it 55-35, but that’s when both teams decided to clear the benches.

Pierre’s reserves got a trio of buckets to close out the final two minutes of the game to make the final 63-35.

Coach Kopfmann was audibly downtrodden after the tough loss.

“We’ve got to piece stuff together. If the offense isn’t working, we have to play defense,” he said. “I’m at a loss for words. It was a tough night all around.”

Pierre moves to 8-6 behind 17 points from Larson. Soma finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Taylor had ten points and six steals.

The Tigers fell to 7-9. Chloe Carr was the lone player in double figures with 10 points, and she also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

The Tigers swept lower-level action, taking the junior varsity game by the score of 43-35 and the sophomore game, 49-34.

The Tigers travel to Aberdeen on Thursday.

Pierre 15 37 46 63
Huron 1 15 28 35

Pierre (8-6): Lennis DuPris 2 2-2 5, Molly Olson 3 0-0 7, Emery Larson 7 0-0 17, Gracelyn Taylor 4 0-0 10, Grace Richter 4 0-0 8, Addison Soma 3 5-6 11, McKenzie Flottmeyer 1 0-0 3. Totals: 24 7-8 63.

Huron (7-9): Madison Jurgens 1 0-0 3, Allison Janes 1 0-0 2, Aly Davis 3 1-2 8, Hylton Heinz 3 2-2 8, Abagail Harrington 1 0-0 3, Addyson Knight 0 1-2 1, Chloe Carr 4 2-3 10. Totals: 13 5-9 35.

FG: P - 24/50 48%; H - 13/37 35%. 3-pt FG: P - 8/19 (Larson 3, Taylor 2, DuPris, Olson, Flottmeyer); H - 3/6 (Davis, Harrington, Jurgens). Rebounds: P 21 (Soma 6), H 27 (Carr 9). Assists: P 14 (DuPris, Taylor 5), H 7 (Harrington, Knight 2). Steals: P 14 (Taylor 6), H 7 (Davis, Harrington 2). Turnovers: P 13, H 26. Fouls: P 11 (Soma out), H 11.