Aberdeen Central got off to a slow start, but made up for it with a strong finish Friday night.

The Golden Eagles pulled away from a two-point halftime lead to storm past Rapid City Central for a 53-32 non-conference girls’ basketball victory at Golden Eagles Arena.

“You could definitely tell it was the first game of the season, some nerves, some jitters, some things that we didn’t do super well,” said Aberdeen Central coach Paiton Burckhard, “but got the first game out of the way and came out with a win.”

The hosts struggled shaking the Cobblers in the early stages of the game. Central senior Taryn Hermansen said it took a little time to get back in form.

“It’s all about getting back in that groove,” Hermansen said. “We’ve taken a long time off and so now coming back into it, just building back up that confidence, learning how to play again with a team, especially going off that first game, you never quite know who your matchups are going to be.”

Burckhard said opening games can be a bit interesting, because neither team has played before.

“Going into a first game you know a little about the team you’re playing from the last year, you know about your team, but you just don’t know what it’s going to look like fully when you haven’t played yet,” Burckard said, “so we just knew we had to stick to our plan.”

A big part of that plan was to work the ball inside to Taryn Hermansen and play inside out. Hermansen had a big second half on the way to finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds, leading the Golden Eagles in both categories.

“The first two quarters I predetermined what I was going to do, and the next two quarters I wanted to make sure I had my eyes on the full court, seeing if I can get a pass out for a 3, or if I can take it,” Hermansen said. “Sometimes I get double teamed or triple teamed, so realizing when that happens, obviously another girl is going to be open.”

The Golden Eagles got their offense going in the third quarter to take control, outscoring the visitors 16-4.

Burckhard knew the Cobblers were going to try to pack the paint and bring a press.

“It took us a while to figure that out,” she said, “but once we slowed down, stuck to our game plan, did what we wanted to do, things started to look a little better.”

Lauryn Burckhard contributed 12 points to the Central total, and Kenadi Withers finished with 10, all coming on free throws.

“Kenadi Withers had an awesome night,” Coach Burckhard said. “She knocked down a lot of free throws. She made a lot of things happen for us. She just did not stop moving. Her effort and her energy was noticed.”

Hermansen said it all comes down to putting in the work as she talked about this year’s team motto.

“Our motto is: always be where your feet are, not just physically, but mentally,” Hermansen said. “I mean you can be here, but if you’re not here to work and put the work in like everyone else is, the other team will and that’s when you end up losing.”

The Golden Eagles will host Rapid City Stevens at 1:30 this afternoon.

Coach Burckhard will be looking for a faster start from her team.

“There are a lot of times, and we saw this last year, where we just have a really, really slow start and we dig ourselves in a hole, physically with the scoring, and mentally,” she said, “and it’s kind of hard to get out of that, especially when you’re playing against a team that’s relentless.”

Coach Burckard said the Golden Eagles will need to try to get that resolved, before it gets to the end of the season.

“If we want to be successful down the stretch in this season, we’re going to have to figure out a way to start better. There’s just no way around that” Coach Burckhard said. “If you want to be one of the top teams in the state, you can’t start slow. You have to be pedal to the medal right out the gate.”

RAPID CITY CENTRAL (0-1): Colee Kruse 3 0-0 8, Chloe Schreve 1 0-0 2, Leah Landry 3 4-5 11, Olivia Pierce 2 0-2 5, Antiniah Siquieros 1 1-1 3, Emma Casey 1 0-0 3. Totals 11-37 5-8 32.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (1-0): Ava Yeske 1 0-0 2, Kenadi Withers 0 10-12 10, Emma Dohrer 4 0-0 8, Lauren Burckhard 5 0-0 12, Taryn Hermansen 6 5-7 17, Kamdyn Borge 1 0-1 2, Julia Malsam 0 2-2 2. Totals 17-44 17-22 53.

Rapid City Central 13 21 25 32

Aberdeen Central 11 23 39 53

3-point field goals – Kruse 2, Landry, Pierce, Casey; Burckhard 2. Foued out – Rapid City Central, Persayah Parker. Total fouls – Rapid City Central 22; Aberdeen Central 13. Rebounds – Rapid City Central 20 (Landry 5); Aberdeen Central 38 (Hermansen 9, Burckhard 6, Dohrer 6). Turnovers – Rapid City Central 21; Aberdeen Central 16. Assists – Rapid City Central 6; Aberdeen Central 14 (Withers 3, Dohrer 3). Steals – Rapid City Central 8; Aberdeen Central 11 (Yeske 3, Dohrer 3).