HURON – Aberdeen Central put together a solid second half to push past Huron 52-39 in an Eastern South Dakota Conference Thursday night girls’ basketball battle at the Huron Arena.

The win broke a five-game skid for the Golden Eagles, now 9-6 overall.

Central, which scored just 16 points in the first half, broke through for 20 points in the third quarter alone to take a two-possession lead heading into the final stanza. 

The key difference, said Central coach Mikayla Arechigo, was her team’s ability to take care of the basketball.

“We put together a full game and had significantly fewer turnovers than we have had previously,” she said.

After committing 27 turnovers in a loss to Harrisburg last time out, the Golden Eagles had just 13 miscues Thursday night and just two in the second half.

Central was also able to find a rhythm offensively, as Taryn Hermansen and Lauryn Burckhard locked down the interior with a combined 31 points. Hermansen finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Burckhard chimed in with 13 points and seven boards. Caydi Withers manned the perimeter and had a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 10 points.

“We had contributions from a variety of different players tonight,” Arechigo said.

Huron was led by twin scoring outputs from Hamtyn Heinz and Hylton Heinz, who had 13 points apiece.

Central will head to Tea Area on Monday for a twice-postponed contest against the Titans.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (9-6): Caydi Withers 3 1-2 10, Lauryn Burckhard 4 5-5 14, Taryn Hermansen 7 3-5 17, Taylor Lyke 2 1-2 5, Emma Dohrer 0 3-4 3, Ava Yeske 1 0-0 3. Totals 17-42 13-18 52.

HURON (6-10): Aly Davis 1 0-0 2, Hylton Heinz 3 5-7 13, Hamtyn Heinz 5 1-1 13, Elizabeth Heinen 1 0-0 2, Allison Janes 1 1-4 4, Tatum Peterson 1 3-4 5. Totals 12-39 10-16 39.

Aberdeen Central 4 16 36 52

Huron 7 17 30 39

3-point field goals – Withers (3), Burckhard, Yeske; Hy. Heinz (2), Ha. Heinz (2), Janes). Fouled out – HUR, Heinen, Mackenzie Siemonsma. Total fouls – Aberdeen Central 20; Huron 20. Rebounds – Aberdeen Central 34 (Hermansen 9, Burckhard 7); Huron 23 (Heinen 6). Assists – Aberdeen Central 11 (Dohrer 4); Huron 8 (Hy. Heinz 3, Ha. Heinz 3). Turnovers – Aberdeen Central 13; Huron 13. Blocks – Aberdeen Central 3 (Burckhard 3); Huron 2 (Heinen 2). Steals – Aberdeen Central 4; Huron 8 (Ha. Heinz 3).