PIERRE �” The girls were back in town.

Boosted by the return of senior guards Amanda Stout and Paige Burkett, the Pierre Lady Governors snapped a five-game losing streak in style over the weekend, routing Spearfish 62-31 on Friday night before downing Sturgis 60-45 on Saturday afternoon.

For the opening tip on Friday, the Lady Govs looked like another team, led by Burkett, who scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, made six steals and dished out three assists to lead Pierre in all categories Friday night.

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She poured in 10 of Pierre’s first 11 points and generally imposed her will on the game.

“The competitive drive that she brings is just so valuable,” Pierre coach Lisa Kannegieter said. “Both of those girls, the biggest thing that they bring is their drive and their tenacity, and you could really see that Friday.”

Spearfish hung in the game for one quarter, as both teams pressed on defense and turned the ball over. But the Lady Govs separated themselves from then on, outscoring their opponents 20-3 in the fourth quarter.

Kaitlyn Severyn added 11 points off the bench for Pierre, while Katie Ludemann scored eight.

“We were able to wear them down down the stretch,” Kannegieter said. “We had a chance to put them away in the first half, but we missed some bunnies. But I thought our defensive intensity was good.”

On Saturday the Lady Govs actually trailed after one quarter, but again blew the game open with one big frame, dominating the Spartans 20-6 in the second quarter to take a 30-18 lead into the half.

“We were able to play 10 kids both nights, and that helped,” Kannegieter said. “Our young kids are very athletic, and after the last few weeks, where they were forced into roles the weren’t really ready for, they were able to contribute in the way we need them to, and they had some poise.”

Amber Olson led Pierre with 19 points. Severyn again shone, scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

While the return of Stout and Burkett helped spark the Lady Govs to a pair of wins and a 6-7 record on the season, they got bad news as well.

Senior Linsey Peterson will not return from her ankle injury.

“That’s tough; it’s tough on the team, but it’s really tough on Linsey,” Kannegieter said. “But now hopefully we can stay healthy and put in some of the things we want to do and accomplish what we want to accomplish the rest of the season.”

The Lady Govs have seven regular season games left, with two against district opponents. Though they aren’t perched atop the district standings �” as they have been in years past �” Kannegieter said they aren’t ruling anything out.

“Anything can happen,” she said. “We played Aberdeen and Huron pretty tough without Paige and Amanda, so we’ll just keep trying to get better every game.”

Pierre plays at Brookings on Friday night.