STURGIS - Sturgis used strong play in the first and fourth quarters to defeat Rapid City Stevens 48-29 in a Greater Dakota Conference girls basketball tilt Friday night at Brown High School.
The Scoopers dominated the first five minutes and built a 15-0 lead. Five players, paced by Julia Hale and Alyssa Gouldin, entered the scoring column. The pair evenly split eight points.
Amy Sykora scored to beat the first-quarter buzzer and bring Stevens within 17-6.
Cady Barden converted a layup as the Scoopers led 21-10 in the second quarter. Rapid City trailed by only seven points (21-14) at halftime as Emily DeVries banked in a 10-foot shot at the buzzer.
Brooke Garner converted a field goal attempt to pull Stevens within five points, at 21-16, early in the third quarter. A 9-5 scoring edge lasting the rest of the period gave the Scoopers a 30-21 edge with eight minutes left.
Sturgis recorded eight of the next 12 points and had a 38-25 cushion with four minutes left. Carsey Barden netted a 3-pointer as Sturgis had a 41-25 advantage.
The Scoopers shot 63 percent from the field in the second half and 43 percent for the game.
Carsey Barden finished with a game-high 18 points for Sturgis, now 1-2 in the conference and 2-2 overall. Hale followed with 10 points.
Rapid City fell to 0-3 in the conference, 0-3 overall, despite 14 points from DeVries.
"We started out like gangbusters," Sturgis head coach Mike Friedel said.
"We played well, passed well, offensive rebounded well, shot well."
He added the Scoopers were flat later in the opening stanza.
Halftime discussion focused on having to learn how to play when a team is trailing, Friedel related.
"You also have to know how to play when you're ahead." He said Stevens played well when it was behind.
The Scoopers used the efforts of Rebekah Larson and Gouldin to excel on the offensive boards, according to Friedel.
He added everyone chipped in Friday.
Michele Klapprodt, Stevens' head coach, said her squad committed a lot of turnovers in the early stages.
Stevens had moments when it executed one or two plays, Klapprodt added, but went back to playing one-on-one.
Stevens will play Huron next Friday, Dec. 21. Sturgis will host Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Jan. 4.
