The Govs started a day full of basketball at The Monument with the first game of the afternoon against Sioux Falls Jefferson, and it was a thriller as expected. The Govs fell to this Cavalier’s team earlier in the regular season by a score of 70-60, so they had hopes of exacting revenge in the fin al day of the State Tournament. The game begun in Rapid City with rapid pace as both teams went back and forth trading buckets and playing at breakneck speed as they have done all season. Emery Larson had found a groove from outside the arc on Thursday, and it carried through all the way to today where she started her afternoon with an early three, which would be a theme throughout the contest. Lennix DuPris also had a strong first half for Pierre scoring nine, as the Govs carried a three-point, 28-25 lead into the half. Larson started to really heat up in the second half as she went on to hit five more threes as the offense picked up for both teams. But the Govs would be shorthanded after both Addison Soma and Gracelyn Taylor would foul out, and Abby Horner started to do Abby Horner things. One of the Govs most important players of the day was Grace Richter, who played one of her best games of the season doing it both on the offensive and defensive side of the floor. With under a minute left, Richter drew a foul going for a loose ball and would head to the free throw line with the chance to give Pierre the late lead. Richter, who had struggled at the line in the game against Mitchell Friday, knocked down both shots with ice in her veins to put her team ahead 51-50. On the ensuing possession, the Cavs staved off two near steals by Molly Olson and Jasmine Jost when Abby Horner laid up a contested bucket to win the game and give the Cavs the 52-51 victory. This concludes the season for the Govs, and the careers of five outstanding seniors, Lennix DuPris, Grace Richter, Gracelyn Taylor, Addison Soma & Carley Malm who all continued to build on a program headed on an upward trajectory for success. Head Coach Kirk Beebout said it has been his life’s work to get to this stage, and he gives all the credit to his team, and mainly those seniors who did so much for the program. ...read more read less