Govs girls beat Tigers in semis, inch closer to state title

Junior forward Reese Terwilliger shined for Pierre, as she finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Terwilliger also went a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line.

Terwilliger thrived in the paint, where she scored 14 of her team’s 30 points in that area.

“I think we really recognized that we had strength down-low, so we kind of used that to our advantage tonight,” Terwilliger said.

Junior guard Ryann Barry also played well for the Govs, adding 10 points and five assists. She led her team with two three-pointers.

Pierre struggled shooting Thursday in its 42-34 victory against Rapid City Stevens, finishing just 14-of-49 (29 percent) from the floor.

But the second-seeded Govs were much more efficient against the No. 6 Tigers. Pierre shot 20-of-40 (50 percent) overall, 4-of-15 (27 percent) behind the arc and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Beebout explained how his team turned things around, offensively, in the semifinals.

“I think (since it was) our second time playing here, it gave us a little more confidence that we could just play our game and do what we do,” he said.

Terwilliger and Barry didn’t take long to get warm, as they combined for the Govs’ first 11 points to start Friday’s game. And thanks to its stingy defense, Pierre led 11-2 with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Govs (20-3) later extended their lead to 15-2 to end the period.

Its offense slowed in the second quarter, but Pierre still separated itself even further after the Govs’ defense continued to give Harrisburg fits.

With 23 seconds left in the half, senior guard Ayvrie Kaiser, who dished a team-high six assists, knocked down a running layup to give Pierre a 24-10 advantage at the intermission.

The Tigers (17-6) came out energized to begin the third quarter, and Harrisburg’s Makinley Lawrenson would eventually cut her team's deficit to 30-21 with just over three minutes left in the period.

But Pierre ended the quarter with the momentum, thanks to a baseline jumper by Terwilliger and five-straight points by senior guard Remington Price.

The Govs were now up 37-21 entering the final frame, where Beebout’s team kept their foot on the gas pedal.

Pierre notched its biggest lead of the night (41-23) with just over six minutes remaining.

Even though Harrisburg shrunk its deficit back down to 43-34 nearly three minutes later, the Govs finished off the Tigers with an 8-3 run to send themselves to the championship game.

Barry with a nice dish to Kaiser, who finishes.39-23 Govs | 6:57 4Q #CJsports #sdpreps pic.twitter.com/A3HYV6F3s0

— Pierre CJ Sports (@PierreCJsports) March 11, 2023

“It’s just unreal,” Barry said on how it feels knowing she and her teammates will play in the final round. “It’s one of my dreams, and it’s about to come true.”

Pierre outrebounded Harrisburg, 29-23, and outscored the Tigers in the paint, 30-22. The Govs also dished 18 assists and racked up eight steals.

Barry spoke on her team’s defense against Harrisburg.

“I think we just played team-defense a little better. We were a little more focused and locked-in this game,” she said. “And we really worked hard to fight for every rebound and loose ball.”

But for Pierre, the job’s not finished.

The Govs will face No. 1 Sioux Falls Washington (20-3) in the finals on Saturday at the Pentagon at 7:45 p.m.

And that matchup will be even more intriguing, given the fact Pierre lost to the Warriors, 57-49, on Jan. 7.

Terwilliger explained what it will take for the Govs to walk away as the state champions.

“If we focus on our defense like we have been, do the little fundamentals and we stay together and are focused, I think we can execute really well tomorrow,” she said.