HURON — The Huron Tiger girls’ basketball team got off to a roaring start and owned a 20-point lead early in the second half, but a seven-minute scoring drought in the third quarter saw it disappear as the Mitchell Kernels open their season with a come-from-behind 42-38 win Friday night at Huron Arena, in an ESD contest.

Mitchell is now 1-0 on the season, while Huron slips to 0-2.

“We played at a fast pace in the first half,” pointed out Tiger coach Kody Kopfmann. “We were getting up and down the floor and then in the second half we just stood and watched. Our defense didn’t let us down tonight, it was our offense.”

The Tigers could hardly have scripted a better start to the contest. After an exchange of free throws, Elizabeth Heinen scored on a nice move in the paint at the 5:30 mark of the first quarter, which touched off a scoring blitz for Huron.

Hamtyn Heinz and Allison Janes collected three-point field goals on consecutive possessions to push the lead out to 9-1 and prompting a Kernel timeout. Out of the break, Mitchell standout Sawyer Stoebner picked up her second foul and Heinz hit both free throws to extend the lead.

Mitchell collected its first field goal at the 1:34 mark when Addie Siemsen hit a three, but seconds later Siemsen, the Kernel’s primary long range specialist, picked up her second foul and this time Hylton Heinz hit both shots, igniting another mini-run for the Tigers. Hamtyn Heinz hit her second three, Heinen was in the right place at the right time for a putback bucket and Aly Davis hit one of two from the line in the closing seconds to put the lead at 19-4 after one quarter.

The second quarter saw the Tiger onslaught continue, as Hamtyn Heinz hit another three, then a deuce on a pull-up jumper, before Hylton Heinz shook loose for a layup to give Huron a 26-10 lead. Midway through the quarter, Stoebner collected her third foul, just before Mitchell scored on a Breanna Kirsch layup. But Hamtyn Heinz laced another three and Huron took a 29-14 lead into the locker room.

The Tigers utilized a sticky three-quarter court press throughout the game and it proved a headache for the Kernels, forcing 13 first-quarter turnovers.

Out of the halftime break, Aly Davis got a quick bucket for the Tigers and Hamtyn Heinz laced another three and with 7:10 to play in the quarter, Huron led 34-14. Lauren VanOverschelde hit a runner in the lane for the Kernels, Siemsen connected from distance and Carsyn Weich got a steal and went coast-to-coast and suddenly the lead was down to 13 points.

Mitchell continued to chip away, mostly from the free throw line, but also utilized their defense to create problems and steals, which they converted. Hamtyn Heinz broke the scoring drought, hitting one of two from the line with 16 seconds left, but a Siemsen buzzer beater three pointer made it 35-30 headed to the final quarter of play.

The physical play continued into the fourth period, as Stoebner, who played the entire third quarter without picking up her fourth, collected her fourth and fifth fouls, heading to the bench as she fouled out with 2:35 to play. She was joined down the stretch by both Tiger paint players, as Heinen and Kenzi Siemonsma both were whistled for their fifth fouls.

Before she left, Siemonsma hit one of two charity tosses, but the free throw line, which was the Tigers’ friend in the first half, began to favor the Kernels. In the final minute and a half of play, Mitchell hit 5 of 8 from the line and only a baseline drive for a deuce from Davis kept hope alive for the Tigers. But Siemsen iced the game with two free throws and Mitchell celebrated the win.

Hamtyn Heinz led all scorers with 20 points in the game and was the lone Tiger in double figures. Heinen led the Huron rebounders with five caroms.

Siemsen scored 19 points and had six boards for the Kernels, while Stoebner ended the game with 10 points.

“In the second half, we just stagnant on offense. Mitchell made it tough to get the ball to Hamtyn and when that happens we need to have someone else step up and that didn’t happen tonight.”

Huron is back in action Tuesday night when the Tigers travel to Brookings for a girls/boys’ doubleheader.

Mitchell (2-0): Lauren VanOverschelde 2 0-0 5; Sawyer Stoebner 3 4-6 10; Carsyn Weich 1 1-2 3; Addie Siemsen 4 8-10 19; Allison Meyerink 1 0-2 2; Breanna Kirsch 1 0-0 2; Makenzie Peterson 0 1-2 1. Totals: 12 14-22 42.

Huron (0-2): Aly Davis 1 1-2 3; Hylton Heinz 2 2-4 6; Hamtyn Heinz 6 3-4 20; Elizabeth Heinen 2 0-0 4; Makenzie Siemonsma 0 2-4 2; Allison Janes 1 0-0 3. Totals: 12 8-14 38.

FG: M - 12-41 29%; H - 12-38 32%. 3-pt FG: M - 4-20 (Siemsen 3, VanOverschelde 1); H - 6-14 (Ha. Heinz 5; Janes). Reb: M - 28 (Siemsen 6, Meyericnk 6); H - 32 (Heinen 5). TO: M - 17; H - 15.