Aberdeen Central bounced back in a big way Tuesday night at Golden Eagles Arena.

After back-to-back losses last week, the fourth-rated Golden Eagles used its strong inside attack to set the tone, never trailed, and picked up a 57-36 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ basketball win over Pierre.

Central scored the first six points of the game and used its defense to force turnovers and create opportunities to score in the paint.

The Golden Eagles never had to settle for perimeter shots, taking advantage of second-chance openings with their strong rebounding, owning a 32-18 advantage over the Governors.

Steals and aggressive defense allowed the Golden Eagles to convert those extra possessions into points.

After those two losses to the top two-rated teams in the state, Central coach Paiton Burckhard praised the team’s focus.

“We talked about doing the little things right and staying engaged,” Burckhard said. “So, really proud of how we performed tonight.”

The inside game paid off, opening opportunities for shooters like Kamdyn Borge, who hit three 3-pointers off kick-outs.

“I think it’s no secret that we draw a lot of attention in the post there,” Burckhard said “and when we have shooters like Kamdyn tonight, it just makes for a really well-rounded team.”

Offensively, Central was balanced with three players scoring in double figures. Borge led the way with 15 points, hitting her shots with precision from both inside and beyond the arc.

Reflecting on the team’s mindset, Borge said, “We came out firing, we were upset from the past two games, and we knew we needed to come out strong.”

Borge also highlighted the advantage of Central’s bigs and inside-out attack.

“Our inside-out game is pretty unstoppable,” Borge said. “You look at the bigs we have and know that’s going to pull in lots of defenders and get looks from it.”

Those bigs, Lauryn Burckhard and Taryn Hermansen, finished with 11 and eight points, respectively. Kenadi Withers contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

Second-chance points and paint-scoring were key all night, as the Golden Eagles repeatedly took advantage of Pierre’s missed shots to extend their lead.

Borge said a key to shooting is having a confident mindset.

“Shot after shot just gains a little bit of confidence,” Borge said. “If it goes in it goes in, either way you’re still going to shoot it.”

Central, 9-3 on the season, now has a road game against third-rated Sioux Falls Washington on Thursday.

“We know what we’re going to see with Washington,” Burckhard said. “The mindset of understanding what we know we’re going to do, then do it, is crucial.”

PIERRE (3-7): Jasmine Jost 1 1-2 4, Molly Olson 5 0-0 12, Emery Larson 2 3-3 8, McKenzi Flottmeyer 1 0-0 2, Faith Baumberger 0 1-2 1, Ellen Hart 0 3-4 3, Alice Rapp 0 2-2 2. Totals 11 10-14 36.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (9-3): Kenadi Withers 4 3-4 11, Emma Dohrer 4 0-0 9, Lauryn Burckhard 5 0-0 11, Taryn Hermansen 3 2-2 8, Kamdyn Borge 5 2-2 15, Camryn Albrecht 1 0-0 2, Ashlyn Behrends 0 1-2 1. Totals 22 8-10 57.

Pierre: 6 13 23 36

Aberdeen Central: 17 35 46 57

3-point field goals – Jost, Olson 2, Larson; Burckhard, Dohrer, Borge 3. Total fouls – Pierre 15; Central 19. Rebounds – Pierre 18; Central 32 (Withers 7). Turnovers – Pierre 16; Central 15. Assists – Pierre 2; Central 13 (Dohrer 4). Steals – Pierre 4; Central 7 (Withers 3).