Gazelles rally past Golden Eagles

The Yankton Gazelles showed why they are the defending State AA Champions, as they cranked up the defense and held the Golden Eagles to just four points in the final quarter. In doing so, the Gazelles were able to overcome trailing at every quarter break. Late in the second period the Eagles led 28-20, their biggest lead of the game, but baskets by Michelle Graney and Heather Nelson cut the lead to four points at halftime and the Eagles seemed to stuggle offensively the rest of the game. The Gazelles tied the game at 43-43 with 5 minutes left in the game, then used great execution down the stretch and made 4 of 6 freethrows in the closing minutes to keep the Eagles at bay. For the second straight game, the Eagles freethrow shooting didn't help them, as they shot 16-26 from the charity stripe. The Eagles didn't shoot well from the field either as they hit on only 29% of their shots, as compared to 49% for Yankton. The loss by Aberdeen Central and a loss by Mitchell sets up district play which begins next Thursday. The Golden Eagles will host the Mitchell Kernels and the Pierre Governors will host the Huron Tigers. Second round action will be on Friday night with the winners playing each other and the losers playing each other. The Eagles finish the regular season 12-6.

Boxscore:

Aberdeen Central: Sillman 3 2-2 10, L. Graf 2 6-11 10, E. Graf 1 1-2 3, Goodman 1 2-2 4, Norman 3 1-2 7, Burgard 2 4-7 8, Rice 1 0-0 2. Three point goals: Sillman 2

Yankton: Fuks 1 1-2 3, Schoenfelder 3 3-5 9, Nelson 8 1-2 17, Koerner 1 0-0 2, Johnson 5 2-2 12, Graney 3 0-1 6. Three point goals: none

Fouled out: Koerner. Total fouls: Aberdeen Central 16, Yankton 21, Rebounds: Aberdeen Central 28(L. Graf 9), Yankton 32(Nelson 7). Turnovers: Aberdeen Central 10, Yankton 14. JV game: Aberdeen Central (14-2) 56-44 Sophomore game: Yankton 62-48, 9th grade game: none

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