Aberdeen Central’s offense came to life in the second and third quarters Friday night, and the Golden Eagles did just enough to stay out of reach in the fourth on their way to a 58-47 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ basketball victory over Brookings at Golden Eagles Arena.

Central struggled to find its rhythm offensively in the first eight minutes of the night, trailing 17-10 heading into the second quarter. But the Golden Eagles held Brookings to single digits in the second and third quarters to take control of the game.

Central coach Mikayla Arechigo noted the Golden Eagles have had to adjust – again – to some injuries and shift players around to different positions and roles, which contributed to the off-kilter start.

“It took a second for us to gel and find our rhythm,” Arechigo said. “We’re a team that’s used to adjusting, so when we get into those spells where it’s tough to find our rhythm, we know we just have to play through them and eventually it’s going to click and come together for us.”

The Golden Eagles used the entire gamut of the offensive playbook in the second and third quarters, starting with perimeter shooting from Anna Malchow, Caydi Withers and Madison Miller. That opened up the lane for Taryn Hermansen, who had a 22-point, 13-rebound performance.

“Taryn came up with a lot of rebounds for us,” Arechigo said. “That’s something that she needs to do and it was good to see her get those and get them to our guards in a calm manner or finish on the offensive end.”

Meanwhile, the Golden Eagle guard play held its own, as Malchow finished 3-for-4 from 3-point range and Hettich notched nine points, nine assists and two rebounds.

“We got some good production from our guards offensively that we haven’t had in a while,” Arechigo said. “That was really positive to see.”

Arechigo singled out Withers’ play as a bit of a lynchpin in Friday’s victory. The junior has had to fill a variety of roles for the Golden Eagles this season.

“We have asked her to do a lot this season,” Arechigo said. “She played inside when we had injuries and when girls came back we tried to work her into that outside position. Now with a (post) out, we asked her to play inside and outside, so she’s someone who’s had to make a lot of adjustments. It was good to see her come out and make some shots and drag down some rebounds for us.”

Withers finished with five points, five rebounds and a steal.

Central’s hot-handed offense cooled ever so slightly in the fourth, but not enough to allow the Bobcats to mount a serious comeback effort.

“Brookings is a team that’s better than their record,” Arechigo said. “I think it’s easy to come in and think it should have been easier than it was. But with two or three girls injured and a team that’s better than their record indicates – they’ve played a lot of those top schools to three points here, 10 points there. It’s a good win for our girls.”

Brookings was led by Logan Smidt with 12 points and eight rebounds. Amari Ward came off the bench for eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Tess Burns and Gracey Sheridan had seven points apiece.

Central has three games remaining in the final week of the regular season beginning Monday with a rescheduled game at Watertown. The Golden Eagles are home Tuesday to host Sioux Falls Roosevelt, then on the road to close out the season at Sioux Falls Jefferson.

“Next week is going to be a tough week,” Arechigo said. “The girls are going to have to make sure they’re taking care of themselves and really dialing in and focusing down the stretch.”

BROOKINGS (4-14): Gracey Sheridan 3 1-1 7, Sophia Hammrich 3 0-0 6, Logan Smidt 3 4-5 12, Sofia Dvergsten 2 0-0 4, Jaden Devine 1 0-0 3, Amari Ward 3 0-0 8, Tess Burns 3 1-4 7. Totals 18-52 6-10 47.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (7-8): Anna Malchow 3 0-0 9, Taryn Hettich 2 5-11 9, Sydney Evans 1 0-0 2, Caydi Withers 2 0-0 5, Taryn Hermansen 0 4-7 22, Madison Miller 1 0-1 3, Lauren Burckhard 3 2-2 8. Totals 21-50 11-21 58.

Brookings 17 25 30 47

Aberdeen Central 10 27 43 58

3-pt field goals – Smidt 2, Devine, Ward 2; Malchow 3, Withers, Miller. Fouled out – Ward. Total fouls – Brookings 19; Aberdeen Central 17. Rebounds – Brookings 28 (Smidt 8); Aberdeen Central 45 (Hermansen 13, Hettich 8, Burckhard 7). Turnovers – Brookings 15; Aberdeen Central 18. Assists – Brookings 9 (Hammrich 5); Aberdeen Central 15 (Hettich 9). Blocks – Brookings 1 (Hammrich); Aberdeen Central 1 (Burckhard). Steals – Brookings 7 (Ward 3); Aberdeen Central 4 (Hettich, Evans, Withers, Burckhard).