FORT PIERRE — After giving up 25 first quarter points, it looked as if it would be a long night for the Stanley County girls’ basketball team against Winner on Thursday.

But the Lady Buffs made the adjustments to stay with the Lady Warriors before eventually falling, 64-56. Winner, ranked ninth in this week’s Class A poll, is now 8-3 and has won six of its last seven games, including a 41-point blowout at Bennett County last week. The Lady Buffs trailed by as much as 14 points in the first eight minutes and needed some desperate measures to avoid a runaway loss.

Brandi Prince provided some of those measures. The junior guard scored 12 points in the second quarter and 18 in the half as Stanley County had a manageable 39-31 halftime deficit. Prince would score a career-best 28 points, going 12-of-16 from the line. She missed an off balance shot in the final seconds that kept her from becoming the sixth Lady Buff to score 30 or more points in a single game.

Josh Linehan | Capital Journal Stanley County’s Brandi Prince drives the lane and scores against Winner on Thursday night at Parkview Gym in Fort Pierre. Advertisement

Kendra Karst’s three-pointer with less than a minute to go in the third brought the home team back to within three at 43-40. Winner staved off the rally and led by 13 points, 55-42 midway into the fourth quarter. Two free throws by Prince and a basket by Karst made it a five-point Warrior lead with one minute remaining. Winner would score five of the last seven points to finish off the win.

The Warriors made only three field goals in the second half but were 21-of-26 from the line for the bulk of their points. Sharee Galbraith, a six-foot-1 junior, scored Winner’s first 10 points of the game and would end up 14-of-18 from the line. She led the team with 24 points, the most by a Stanley County opponent this year.

Winner got balanced scoring with five players having eight or more points. Prince, Karst and Sara Sweetman combined for 50 of Stanley County’s 56 points.

The Lady Buffs are now 4-7 on the season and will be back at Parkview Gym to face arch-rival Cheyenne-Eagle Butte on Saturday.

The schedule for Saturday will feature the boys JV game at 3 p.m, with the girls JV game to follow. The boys varsity game will tip off at approximately 6 p.m. with the girls varsity game to follos.

Basketball parents will be honored between the boys varsity game and the girls varsity game.

The Stanley County players are also spearheading an effort to gather water and paper products to be donated to the visitors following the blizzard earlier this month. Anyone wishing to help is encouraged to bring bottled water or other disposable products to Saturday’s game.

Winner 25 39 47 64

Stanley County 15 31 41 56

Winner scoring: Kory Novotny 2 4-6 8, Renee Whetham 2 5-5 9, Sharee Galbraith 5 14-18 24, Kirby Bertram 2 2-2 8, Kelli Norrid 1 0-0 3, Amanda Hucher 3 1-2 9, Calli Galbraith 1 0-0 2. Shaneyl Nagel 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 27-35 64.

Stanley County scoring: Kendra Karst 4 2-2 13, Brandi Prince 8 12-16 28, Sara Sweetman 2 5-6 9, Tara Russell 2 0-0 4, Kelly Sweetman 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 19-24 56.

Team statistics: 3-pointers—Bertram 2, Hucher 2, Norrid, Karst 3; FG percent—Winner 38.1 (16-of-42), SC 47.2 (17-of-36); Rebounds—Winner 22 (S. Galbraith 5), SC 18 (Haley Hand 4); Turnovers—Winner 21, SC 23; Total fouls—Winner 17, SC 26 (Whetham out).