By Rich Winter 

605 Sports

PIERRE— With a 15-3 record and a Class AA No. 3 ranking South Dakota hoops fans must be wondering where in the heck did these Pierre girls come from?

The Governors missed the state tournament in each of the last two years but Pierre coach Kirk Beebout said he saw better things coming during a challenging 2021-22 season. 

“Last year we started 3-9 and we had to learn how to play without Katie Williams,” Beebout said. “We won seven of eight games down the stretch and just missed hosting a home playoff game.”

In the 2022 SoDak 16 the Governors lost to Sioux Falls Jefferson, a team that knocked off top-rated Sioux Falls Washington in the first round of the Class AA state tournament. 

“There was a lot of growth last year and that was just our path,” he said. 

Entering the season with the entire roster returning, Beebout had an idea the girls would be good. It didn’t hurt that Beebout somehow coaxed former Pierre boys coach Terry Becker to come out of coaching retirement and join his staff. 

“He saw the potential in our girls,” Beebout said. “I wanted to ask him because you have a guy that knows basketball and cares about kids. I knew he would help us.”

A hungry Pierre squad started quickly, reeling off six consecutive wins to start the season before a road loss to Sioux Falls Washington on Jan. 7. The only home loss came against Brandon Valley on Jan. 19. The Governors third loss came against a 16-4 Bismarck, North Dakota squad in early February.

While the Governors haven’t seen many postseason accolades the last few seasons they are brimming with talent.

Senior Remington Price has been on the varsity since her eighth-grade year. She recently surpassed 1,000 career points and broke Pierre’s all-time 3 pointers made record. 

“She’s been the face of our program the last few years and she is a big time shooter,” he said. 

Beebout calls 5-foot-11 post Reese Terwilliger the most coachable player he’s ever worked with. Terwilliger averages 12 points and eight rebounds per game. 

Reese Terwilliger plays the post for Pierre and averages 12 points and 8 rebounds per game - Photo Courtesy of Tom Plooster, Pierre Capital Journal

Senior Ayvrie Kaiser will be headed to Northern State next fall to play volleyball. At 6-feet tall she’s a menace on the court. 

“Ayvrie is a phenomenal athlete,” Beebout said. “She can handle and do a little bit of everything.” 

Sophomore guard Lennix DuPris handles point guard duties for the Governors. 

“She is super skilled and does a little bit of everything,” he said. “She’s good at steals, assists and rebounds well for a guard. She can also score if we need her to.” 

Beebout calls junior guard Ryann Barry the emotional leader of the team. 

“She plays with so much heart,” he said. “She guards the other team's best players, she’s full of energy, she’s a leader and against Sioux Falls Washington she scored 30 points.”

Sydney Tedrow comes off the bench and Beebout says she has a very high basketball IQ and can play every single position. Beebout also mentioned senior Maya Shorter and junior Aleise Christopherson who Beebout called a defensive game changer. 

The Governors are currently seeded No. 2 in the girls AA ranks. Their remaining schedule sees a home game with No. 3 seed Sioux Falls Jefferson on Tuesday and a road game against Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Friday. 

“The mantra of our team this year is let time tell and put your head down and work hard,” Beebout said. “We know we can beat anybody but we respect everybody and know we’re going to have to beat a tough team just to make it to the state tournament.”

Longie, Iron Horse net 50-point game last week 

Flandreau Indian’s Malik Longie and Crazy Horse’s Noah Iron Horse logged 50-point games this past week. 

On Feb. 15, Iron Horse tossed in 50 points in a 120-31 win over Takini. 

On Feb. 16, Longie poured in 56 points in a 71-58 win over Oldham-Ramona/Rutland, breaking his own school record of 53 points scored at the Dakota Oyate Challenge earlier this season. 

It’s the sixth and seventh time this season a South Dakota boys basketball player has scored more than 50 points in a game this season. 

Individual 50-point Games in 2022-23 Season

57 — Lower Brule’s Brian LaRoche Jr.

56 — Flandreau Indian’s Malik Longie 

54 — Tiospaye Topa’s Kris Meeter

53 — Flandreau Indian’s Malik Longie 

51 — Aberdeen Central’s Spencer Barr 

51 — White River’s Joe Sayler

50 — Crazy Horse’s Noah Iron Horse 

Wold, Ryken and Bauer break 3-point records

Chester Area’s Layke Wold, Yankton’s Drew Ryken and Great Plains Lutheran’s Halle Bauer broke 3-pointer records at their respective schools this past week.  

Wold broke the Chester Area single season record set by Chris Mohr (67). Ryken topped the Yankton single season record set by Tate Pesicka (62). Bauer broke the Great Plains Lutheran school record for most career 3-pointers with 81.

Seven players join 1,000-point club 

A total of seven players scored their 1,000th career point this past week, including Lower Brule’s Gavin Thigh, Herreid/Selby Area’s Tray Hettick, Red Cloud’s Adriano Rama, Canton’s Jacob VandeWeerd, Huron’s Reilyn Zavesky, Avon’s Courtney Sees and Harding County’s Keegan Hett.

Top performers

Here’s a rundown of the top performers from the week of Feb. 13-18 in South Dakota boys and girls basketball. 

• Brandon Valley’s Hilary Behrens logged 31 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and three 3-pointers in a 73-65 win over Tea Area on Feb. 13. 

• Lower Brule’s Gavin Thigh poured in 42 points in a win over Little Wound on Feb. 13. Thigh added 20 points in a win over Wolsey-Wessington on Feb. 18. 

• Canistota’s Tage Ortman tossed in 25 points to pace the Hawks to a 61-56 win over Howard on Feb. 14. Ortman added 24 points, five assists and three rebounds in a victory over Colman-Egan on Feb. 17. 

• Mount Vernon/Plankinton’s Reed Rus 21 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and six steals in a 78-39 win over Bon Homme on Feb. 14. 

• Sioux Valley’s Oliver Vincent tossed in 27 points and became Sioux Valley’s all-time assists leader in a 73-48 win over Castlewood on Feb. 14. Vincent added nine rebounds, nine assists, six steals and three 3-pointers.

• Quintin Fischbach pumped in 26 points and hit seven 3-pointers to power Northwestern to a 73-56 win over Redfield on Feb. 14. 

• Winner’s Blake Volmer stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots in a 62-59 victory over Platte-Geddes on Feb. 14. Volmer added 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 52-29 win over Mobridge-Pollock on Feb. 17.

• Corsica-Stickney’s Avery Broughton logged 27 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in a 54-31 win over Tripp-Delmont/Armour on Feb. 14. 

• Viborg-Hurley’s Coral Mason recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds and six steals in a 68-32 victory over Menno on Feb. 14. 

• Wessington Springs’ Avery Orth posted 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 41-37 win over Kimball/White Lake on Feb. 14. 

• Dakota Valley’s Isaac Bruns logged 28 points and 21 rebounds in an 85-49 win over Canton on Feb. 16. 

• Benicio Zephier (27 points/eight rebounds) and Greg Zephier (22 points) led Marty to an 85-42 win over Centerville on Feb. 16. 

• Potter County’s Ryder Falkenhagen pumped in 38 points in a 67-59 win over Ipswich on Feb. 16. 

• Centerville’s Thea Gust recorded 29 points and hit eight 3-pointers in a 64-61 win over Dell Rapids St. Mary on Feb. 16. 

• Potter County’s Ashlee Kaup scored 25 points in a 44-34 win over Ipswich on Feb. 16. Kaup added nine rebounds and hit four 3-pointers. 

• Gregory’s Cassidy Keiser tossed in 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 61-42 win over Burke on Feb. 16. 

• White River’s Joe Sayler poured in 37 points and hit four 3-pointers in a 79-46 win over New Underwood on Feb. 17. 

• De Smet’s Tom Aughebaugh recorded 23 points and hit seven 3-pointers in an 86-25 win over Oldham-Ramona/Rutland on Feb. 17. 

• Jones County’s Cooper Feddersen had a monster game with 32 points and 20 rebounds in a 78-59 win over Bennett County on Feb. 17. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in a win over New Underwood on Feb. 13. 

• Tea Area’s Mara Grant logged 27 points and a school-record 18 points in a 71-40 win over Elk Point-Jefferson Feb. 17. 

• Lily Klein (22 points/10 rebounds) and Claire Sheppard (21 points/seven rebounds) led Flandreau to a 77-41 win over Chester Area on Feb. 17.

• Ethan Bovill scored 25 points in Alcester-Hudson’s 69-61 win over Burke on Feb. 18. Burke’s Reed Benter tossed in 34 points. 

• Centerville’s Luke Knight recorded 26 points in a 69-33 victory over Scotland on Feb. 18. 

• Mitchell’s Colton Smith poured in 26 points and collected five rebounds in a 63-47 win over Watertown on Feb. 18. 

• Logan Peskey (25 points) and Josh McMasters (23 points) powered Iroquois/Lake Preston to a 67-54 win over Elkton-Lake Benton on Feb. 18. 

• Lower Brule’s Brian LaRoche scored 27 points in a 59-52 win over Wolsey-Wessington on Feb. 18.