Aberdeen Central held Huron to just eight second-half points – and just two in the final quarter – en route to a 53-28 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ basketball victory Thursday night at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

The late-game surge for the Golden Eagles came on the heels of a first-half scoring scuffle from both teams.

Huron made a pair of 3-pointers in the opening stanza and led 10-5 early before Central scored the final six points of the quarter. The Golden Eagles also took a narrow 23-20 lead into the break thanks to a pair of 3s from Anna Malchow.

“We got some good play from our guards,” said Central coach Mikayla Arechigo.

But as needed as that play was, it was the front-court tandem of Taryn Hermansen and Grace Kuch that carried the day for the Golden Eagles. Hermansen notched 20 points – 13 in the second half – while Kuch added nine.

“We talk about making sure we have patience, but also knowing when to go, and I felt like we had good balance of that tonight,” Arechigo said. “Pushing the tempo, but also if we didn’t have the advantage, working it around and getting our posts good looks and good touches.”

Malchow complemented the inside play with a trio of 3-pointers, while Sydney Evans spotted up for some mid-range buckets and Taryn Hettich forced the issue in transition.

Huron, meanwhile, went ice cold in the second half, particularly from the perimeter.

“We talked a lot about how the pressure really wasn’t on us because of where we’re at,” Arechigo said. “We’re in a pretty comfortable position where there’s a great chance we’ll be in the SoDak 16, so we can come out with the attitude of ‘how high can we climb?’”

Malchow finished with nine points, Evans with six and Hettich with four for Central.

Huron was led by Isabelle Ellwein’s eight points. Bryn Huber had seven and Hamtyn Heinz and Heaven Gainey had five each.

Central will host O’Gorman Monday at Golden Eagles Arena before heading to Watertown Tuesday and rounding out the week back at home against Brookings Friday.

“We have some tough games down the stretch,” Arechigo. “They’ll give us a challenge.”

HURON (9-8): Bryn Huber 2 2-2 7, Hamtyn Heinz 2 1-1 5, Isabelle Ellwein 3 0-0 8, Heaven Gainey 2 1-2 5, Lizzy Heinen 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 5-7 28.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (6-7): Taylor Lyke 1 0-0 2, Anna Malchow 3 0-0 9, Taryn Hettich 1 2-2 4, Sydney Evans 3 0-0 6, Madison Miller 1 0-0 3, Grace Kuch 4 1-1 9, Taryn Hermansen 9 2-3 20. Totals 22 5-6 53.

Huron 10 20 26 28

Aberdeen Central 11 23 39 53

3-pt field goals – Ellwein 2, Huber; Malchow 3, Miller. Total fouls – Huron 13; Aberdeen Central 13.