An unlikely rally was capped off in a most unlikely manner at Golden Eagles Arena Tuesday night.

Aberdeen Central overcame a 12-point deficit with six minutes remaining to secure a 53-48 non-conference girls’ basketball win over Sioux Falls Roosevelt. The Golden Eagles outscored the visitors 19-2 down the stretch after the Riders appeared to have taken control of the contest.

“I think we worked as a team and we had energy in the end. We kicked it into gear,” said Central’s Lauryn Burckhard. “We’re like, ‘Let’s go. We’ve gotta win this.’ We just had momentum to get and we worked together well.”

Central’s Kenadi Withers hit from the perimeter with 1:39 remaining to slice the Roosevelt lead to 48-45, before the Golden Eagles had a possession that featured six field-goal attempts, one free-throw attempt and resulted in four points.

After four missed shots, Taryn Hermansen grabbed a rebound, scored and was fouled to tie the game with 37 seconds left. The junior missed the free throw, but Burkchard was there to collect the rebound and score, putting Central in front 49-48.

After a time out, the Riders were whistled for an over-and-back violation trying to inbound the ball near midcourt. Central’s Emma Dohrer made a pair of free throws to extend the lead before Roosevelt missed two shots and had a turnover. Burckhard capped the win with two more foul shots.

“I think that’s us not giving up on each other,” Hermansen said of the pivotal four-point possession. “Every play we try to just work hard for each other and get that shot up. When you know you’ve got your team up with you, it’s just easy to go do it.”

While Hermansen found herself at the center of that pivotal possession, she pointed to other moments in the game.

“That was a big possession for us, but I don’t think it was the possession that won the game. All the possessions you put together I think won the game,” Hermansen said. “Ava (Yeske) had great defense and that led to a back court (violation) and that helped a lot, too.”

While Roosevelt had executed to near perfection throughout the game, the Riders rushed shots and committed turnovers down the stretch as Central mounted its comeback. Until then, the visitors, who erased their own nine-point deficit in the second period, were giving the Golden Eagles a tough time.

“They did exactly what we talked about. They got 25 (Morgan Johnson) and 30 (Henlee Loof) the ball and then they lit us up with it,” Coach Burckhard said. “That’s something that we just had to figure out how to adjust.”

Loof finished with a game-high 19 points, but had just one 3-pointer in the final quarter of the game.

“After she started making a few shots, we were just like we’ve got to keep up on her,” Lauryn Burckhard said. “We have to make everyone else prove themselves. We have to stay up on her and make other people score.”

Another key factor in the contest was Central’s emphasis on rebounding in the final 16 minutes, something that allowed the Golden Eagles more chances to score.

“We talk about this a lot. Rebounding is a mindset. You finally saw that come back into play. We were being outrebounded by eight in the first half,” Coach Burckhard said. “So it was really good to see those girls buy back into that mindset, because it’s a choice if you want to rebound, and for a while we had one girl in there rebounding and that was the one that shot it, and I don’t even know if that was a choice.”

Hermansen had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Lauryn Burckhard added 14 points and eight rebounds. Both scored six points in the final period. Dohrer contributed 10 points, five in the fourth quarter.

In the end, it allowed Central to inch closer to clinching a home game in the upcoming SoDak 16 playoffs next week.

“It definitely solidifies a home game for us. Regardless of that point of it, I think it also just boosts our confidence and the way we feel,” Coach Burckhard said. “If we would have played a game like that and ended up with a loss, I know we would be feeling a lot differently right now.”

The Golden Eagles, 11-7, cap the regular season with a game at Sioux Falls Jefferson on Friday. They are hoping to be back home for the postseason next weekend.

“This is my fourth year and this is most people’s third year. We’re ready for a home game and we’re ready to go make it to state,” Hermansen said. “We haven’t had that opportunity and it’s something we really want.”

SIOUX FALLS ROOSEVELT (7-12): Brooklyn Koll 3 0-0 7, Susan Olson 1 1-1 3, Morgan Johnson 2 0-0 6, Henlee Loof 6 2-2 19, Kalli Harris 1 2-3 4, Emma Adams 2 0-0 4, Brooklyn Rose 1 2-2 5. Totals 16-40 7-8 48.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (11-7): Ava Yeske 2 0-0 6, Kenadi Withers 3 1-1 7, Emma Dohrer 3 2-4 10, Lauryn Burckhard 4 5-6 14, Taryn Hermansen 8 0-1 16. Totals 20-55 8-12 53.

Sioux Falls Roosevelt 13 29 41 48

Aberdeen Central 11 28 32 53

3-point field goals – Koll, Johnson 2, Loof 5, Rose; Yeske 2, Dohrer 2, Burckhard. Fouled out – Koll. Total fouls – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 14; Aberdeen Central 10. Rebounds – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 32 (Harris 11); Aberdeen Central 29 (Burckhard 8, Hermansen 7). Turnovers – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 18; Aberdeen Central 5. Assists – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 10 (Koll 6); Aberdeen Central 15 (Dohrer 7). Steals – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 2; Aberdeen Centrral 6 (Hermansen 3).