After a faltering start to its season opener on Friday, the Aberdeen Central girls’ basketball program did its best to erase all memory of it on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles scored on three of their first four possessions of the game and hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final minute to knock off Rapid City Stevens 54-50 Saturday afternoon at Golden Eagles Arena.

“It was a much better start to the game than we had (Friday),” said Central coach Mikayla Arechigo of the team’s win over Rapid City Central. “(Friday) we started counting our turnovers to open the night and we started losing track. Today it just seemed like we were having much better success getting the ball into our bigs and finishing our shots.”

Lauryn Burckhard and Taryn Hermansen led the way in that effort. Burckhard was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, and stepped out for a pair of 3-pointers for good measure, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. Hermansen chimed in with 14 points and 11 boards.

Meanwhile, senior guard Caydi Withers complemented Central’s post play with a 4-for-5 shooting day from the perimeter. Withers led the Golden Eagles with 18 points.

“I think we were just more ready today,” Withers said. “(Friday) was, I think, the first-game jitters. Today we were just more ready.”

Withers attributed both her and the team’s offensive success to a collective team effort.

“When one person gets going, I think we all flow better together,” she said. “Someone gets going and it just gets all of our energy up.”

Arechigo liked what she saw from the perimeter, but said there’s more for the Golden Eagles to tap into out there.

“We have some other girls who are good and capable shooters that I think will have their nights later on as the season progresses,” she said.

The Golden Eagles never trailed in the game and led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but victory was never a foregone conclusion. Behind a second-half offensive explosion from Stevens’ junior guard Taaliyah Porter, the Raiders whittled Central’s double-digit lead down to a single possession with just under a minute to play.

“On the defensive end I think we did a nice job,” Arechigo said. “And it’s a good thing we did, because that’s a nice basketball team. In the fourth quarter, we really saw what they are capable of as far as an offensive output.”

Stevens entered the weekend receiving votes in the initial Class AA poll of the season and was coming off a big win over No. 4 Pierre on Friday.

Porter, who had just seven points at the half, exploded for 19 more in the second half, particularly in that fourth quarter, where in a 30-second span, she had a 3-pointer and a fastbreak layup that trimmed an eight-point Central lead to just three points.

The Golden Eagles, however, held sway at the free throw line, going 8-for-10 in the final 52.2 seconds. Hermansen, Withers, Burckhard and Waldo teamed up for that effort, and Burckhard hit the final two of the series with 2.3 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession contest.

“14-for-23 (as a team) isn’t great from the line,” Arechigo said, “but sometimes when you make them in those big moments, that’s positive to see.”

With the win, Central moves to 2-0 on the season and heads out on the road next weekend for a pair of games at Sturgis and Spearfish.

RAPID CITY STEVENS (1-1): Brittany Jones 0 2-2 2, Taaliyanh Porter 8 7-10 26, Finley Love 2 0-0 5, Isabell Higgins 1 0-2 2, Thomiah Poor Bear 3 4-6 10, Halle Peterson 2 0-0 5. Totals 16-43 13-20 50.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (2-0): Caydi WIthers 6 2-2 18, Lauryn Burckhard 6-3-6 17, Taryn Hermansen 5 4-7 14, Ayrlie Waldo 0 2-4 2, Kenadi Withers 0 3-4 3. Totals 17-38 14-23 54.

Rapid City Stevens 7 16 35 50

Aberdeen Central 16 22 32 54

3-pt FG – Rapid City Stevens 5-19 (Porter 3, Love, Peterson); Aberdeen Central 6-14 (C. Withers 4, Burckhard 2). Fouls – Rapid City Stevens 20; Aberdeen Central 16. Rebounds – Rapid City Stevens 20 (Higgins 7); Aberdeen Central 32 (Hermansen 11, Burckhard 6). Assists – Rapid City Stevens 4 (Porter 2); Aberdeen Central 8 (Madison Miller 4). Turnovers – Rapid City Stevens 13; Aberdeen Central 18. Blocks – Rapid City Stevens 0; Aberdeen Central 4 (Burckhard 2). Steals – Rapid City Stevens 8 (Porter 3); Aberdeen Central 4 (Miller, Waldo, Emma Dohrer, Kaylee Donat).