The Golden Eagles scratched and clawed their way to victory on Thursday night.

Fifth-rated Aberdeen Central outlasted Yankton 57-53 in overtime to earn an Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ basketball win at Golden Eagles Arena and remain unbeaten on the season.

Central head coach Mikayla Arechigo was glad to come away with the emotional win.

“There was a lot of emotions from a lot of different players,” Arechigo said. “This is one that the girls really wanted, and we went deep in with our bench and a lot of girls contributed, so it was just a good win for our program.”

Entering the overtime period tied at 48, the Golden Eagles outscored the Gazelles 9-5 thanks to a balanced scoring effort. Central sophomore Kenadi Withers said the players knew they needed to rise to the challenge and make plays when it mattered most.

“It was good knowing that we all stepped up and we all played our part,” Withers said.

Each player’s role became bigger before the contest even began, as freshman standout Lauryn Burckhard was out due to an injury. Despite having the shuffle her lineup around due to the absence of Burckhard, Arechigo was pleased with how her team responded.

“You just don’t really know quite what you’re going to have to do, because a team like (Yankton) that plays two bigs and three guards, it would’ve been a great matchup for us to have (Lauryn) in there,” Arechigo said. “But Kenadi and Ashlyn (Behrends) really stepped up for us in Lauryn’s absence, and that was good to see.”

Both squads exchanged leads during a first quarter that ended in a 14-14 tie. Throughout much of the first half, Central struggled to get into an offensive rhythm due to pressure from Yankton’s defense, as well as unforced errors on the Golden Eagles’ part. Arechigo said it took the team time to settle into the game.

“It felt like it was just one turnover after another from a coaching perspective,” Arechigo said. “I think that we had to find our rhythm and find an offensive flow without Lauryn in there and it just took us a little bit of time to settle in and understand what we were trying to accomplish.”

The second quarter was much of the same, with both teams trading baskets. However, the Gazelles finished the half by scoring the final three points to take a 25-22 advantage into the locker room.

Withers said the team’s mindset kept them in the game in the first half.

“We were competitive, we had energy, we tried to keep our heads up,” Withers said. “We used Taryn (Hermansen). Taryn stepped up a lot. She’s a good person to have and I love playing with her.”

Hermansen, who finished with a team-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, seemed to be in the right place at the right time when Central needed a rebound or a basket. Arechigo noted that Hermansen played with a “relentless” attitude throughout the game.

“She played some extended minutes tonight too,” Arechigo said, “and she just was relentless.”

The Gazelles were just as relentless when it came to scoring. The Yankton duo of guard Claire Tereshinski and forward Macy Drotzmann gave the Golden Eagles problems on both ends of the court throughout the game. The duo combined for all but seven of Yankton’s 53 points, with Tereshinski scoring a game-high 31 points and Drotzmann totaling 15. Central was forced to use different players to guard the pair of Yankton scorers throughout the game.

“We had to mix up girls who were guarding them,” Withers said. “Ava Yeske did really good job guarding (Tereshinski).”

Withers finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, for the Eagles, while Caydi Withers also finished with 12 points.

Central, now 5-0 on the season, is off for the Christmas break before traveling to the Corn Palace in Mitchell to play Thunder Basin, Wyo. in the Hoop City Classic on Friday, Dec. 29.

Arechigo said the team will focus on resting and getting ready for next week’s contest.

“We’ve got to watch some film on that, got to get some kids rested and healthy,” Arechigo said, “and just get back to work on taking care of the basketball and focusing continuing to be strong on the boards.”

YANKTON (2-3): Claire Tereshinski 12 5-10 31, Camryn Koletzky 1 4-4 7, Macy Drotzmann 6 3-4 15. Totals 19 12-18 53.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (5-0): Kenadi Withers 5 2-4 12, Caydi Withers 4 1-2 12, Taryn Hermansen 12 1-4 25, Emma Dohrer 1 0-2 3, Ava Yeske 0 2-2 2, Ashlyn Behrends 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 7-16 57.

Yankton 14 25 38 48 53

Aberdeen Central 14 22 36 48 57

3-point field goals – Tereshinski (2), Koletzky; C. Withers (3), Dohrer. Total fouls – Yankton 18; Aberdeen Central 12. Rebounds – Yankton 21 (Drotzmann 6); Aberdeen Central 35 (Hermansen 12). Turnovers – Yankton 12; Aberdeen Central 13. Assists – Yankton 4 (Tereshinski 3); Aberdeen Central 12 (Ayrlie Waldo 3, K. Withers 3). Steals – Yankton 4 (Tereshinski 2, Payton Moser 2); Aberdeen Central 6 (K. Withers 2).