RAPID CITY – Aberdeen Central knew that to get past top-seeded and undefeated Brandon Valley in Friday’s State AA girls’ basketball semifinals, it would take some work.

Brandon Valley never gave the Golden Eagles an opportunity, bolting out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and leading by double digits at the end of the first quarter en route to a 73-44 victory.

“Credit to Brandon, they do a lot of things really well,” said Central coach Paiton Burckhard. “And on top of that, they shot the ball well tonight. We had moments where we saw some light with consistent good things, but just not enough to get over the hump.”

The Lynx dominated the inside, scoring 38 points in the paint to just 14 for the Golden Eagles. Add an 8-for-19 performance from 3-point range, and there weren’t many weaknesses for Central to exploit.

Brandon Valley also held the Central duo of Taryn Hermansen and Lauryn Burckhard to just six combined first-half points.

However, senior Ava Yeske was solid from the outside, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc to help keep the Golden Eagles afloat.

“Yeske was phenomenal in the first half and kept us alive,” coach Burckhard said.

Hermansen and Lauryn Burckhard found room to operate in the second half, as Burckhard finished with 15 points and Hermansen with 11 points and eight rebounds. Yeske’s four 3’s powered her to 14 total points.

Brandon Valley got a dominant performance from Alyvia Padgett, who had 32 points. Padgett went 9-for-10 from the line in that effort. Gracie Salter dropped in six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points and five boards for the Lynx, who move on to face O’Gorman in tonight’s championship contest.

Central will meet Sioux Falls Washington in the third place game at 6 tonight (CDT).

“Our message to the girls after the game was to not let tonight’s outcome take away from us having some really good moments so far this state tourney,” coach Burckhard said. “We get to play again (Saturday) in the third and fourth place game, and that’s exciting. One more to go.”

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (16-7): Ava Yeske 4 2-2 14, Kenadi Withers 1 1-2 3, Emma Dohrer 0 0-2 0, Lauryn Burckhard 4 5-6 15, Taryn Hermansen 5 1-2 11, Kamdyn Borge 0 1-1 1. Totals 14-39 10-15 44.

BRANDON VALLEY (23-0): Ava Kellenberger 4 0-0 8, London Geiver 2 0-0 5, Alyvia Padgett 11 9-10 32, Gracie Salter 8 0-0 22, Jalisa Parker 0 2-2 2, Vivian Thompson 1 0-0 2, Nya Vellema 1 0-0 2. Totals 27-51 11-12 73.

Aberdeen Central 9 22 37 44

Brandon Valley 19 39 56 73

3-pt field goals – Yeske 4, Burckhard 2; Geiver, Padgett, Salter 6. Total fouls – Aberdeen Central 13; Brandon Valley 16. Rebounds – Aberdeen Central 21 (Hermansen 8); Brandon Valley 30 (Salter 5). Assists – Aberdeen Central 4 (Borge 2); Brandon Valley 13 (Padgett 5, Salter 3). Turnovers – Aberdeen Central 19; Brandon Valley 13. Steals – Aberdeen Central 8 (Dohrer 2, Hermansen 2, Borge 2); Brandon Valley 14 (Padgett 5, Salter 3). Blocks – Aberdeen Central 1 (Borge); Brandon Valley 3 (Anika Pedersen 2).