BROOKINGS – The Bobcats raced out to a 17-3 lead and had all the answers against Mitchell during a 70-60 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ basketball victory Monday night at Bob Jostad Gymnasium.

Brookings shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) and went 8-for-8 at the foul line in the opening quarter while building a 25-9 advantage.

The Kernels twice pulled within three points in the second, the latter occurrence coming at 27-24 with 5:03 showing on the clock. However, the Bobcats were up 41-33 heading to halftime.

Brookings’ lead fluctuated between eight and 17 points in the third period, as the home team was on top 57-43 heading to the fourth.

The margin peaked at 20 points – 70-50 – with 1:52 remaining.

“I thought the girls battled and played well,” said BHS assistant coach Jason Smidt. “Against a team like Mitchell, you can’t let your guard down at all. It’s a long game – we made runs, they made runs back at us. But the thing that’s positive for us is we answered all their runs. Anytime they made a run and tried to get it close, we did a nice job of answering it.

“I loved how aggressive we were with attacking their press, because the way that they get you on that press is by not being aggressive. And we were aggressive – put the ball on the floor, got some layups, got some easy looks early because of the press and I think that helped us out.”

The Bobcats shot better than 50 percent for a majority of the game, finishing at 45.8 percent (22-of-48). They were 23-for-29 on free throws and held a 42-23 advantage on the glass.

All five Bobcat starters scored in double figures, led by Michaela Jewett, who posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Carolyn Hieb totaled 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and dished out four assists.

Grace Eggebrecht, Ava Burns and Megan Gilk added 11 points apiece. Eggebrecht was 3-of-4 from the floor and 5-for-5 at the stripe and grabbed five rebounds. Burns had seven boards.

“That was big. Anytime you can have balance like that, it’s going to be huge for us,” Smidt added. “We have a lot of girls that can step up right now. If you have a tough night, we have other girls who can step up and score.

“I think that’s going to help us down the stretch as we make a run at the playoffs.”

The Kernels’ Avia Haley scored 14 points and fellow reserve Carly Haring chipped in with 11.

Brookings (7-7, 7-5) plays host to Harrisburg on Thursday at 7 p.m. Mitchell (6-9, 4-8) welcomes Yankton on Friday.

BROOKINGS 70, MITCHELL 60

Mitchell (6-9, 4-8 ESD)

Shianne Hiemstra 0-3 0-0 0, Tori Misiaszek 2-7 2-2 6, Jordyn Cranny 3-7 2-3 9, Payton Morgan 0-3 2-2 2, Tayler Factor 1-4 0-1 2, Tess Limberg 3-4 2-2 8, Mandy Schmidt 0-2 0-0 0, Avia Haley 3-9 5-6 14, Camryn Krogman 3-4 1-1 8, Carly Haring 3-8 5-8 11. Totals 18-51 19-25 60.

Brookings (7-7, 7-5 ESD)

Grace Eggebrecht 3-4 5-5 11, Michaela Jewett 3-9 7-11 14, Megan Gilk 3-7 5-5 11, Carolyn Hieb 4-5 2-2 12, Ava Burns 4-10 3-4 11, Alli Gordon 0-0 0-0 0, Kailee Bartels 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Lippert 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Evans 2-4 1-2 5, Emma Hardin 0-1 0-0 0, Kennedy Schafer 0-1 0-0 0, Celia Dobrenski 0-1 0-0 0, Amanda Schulte 0-0 0-0 0, Johanna Miller 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 22-48 23-29 70.

Mitchell   9  24  10  17  –  60

Brookings 25  16  16  13  –  70

3-point goals – M 5-15 (Haley 3-6, Krogman 1-1, Cranny 1-3, Limberg 0-1, Schmidt 0-1, Morgan 0-3), B 3-10 (Hieb 2-3, Jewett 1-3, Schafer 0-1, Gilk 0-3). Rebounds – M 23 (Hiemstra 4), B 42 (Jewett 10). Assists – M 7 (Cranny 3), B 10 (Hieb 4). Steals – M 9 (Limberg 3), B 3 (Gilk, Burns, Miller 1). Blocks – M 1 (Haley 1), B 2 (Gilk, Burns 1). Turnovers – M 10, B 18. Total fouls – M 19, B 21. Fouled out – Factor. Technical fouls – none.