HURON – Brookings held off a determined effort by the Tigers on Tuesday night, by hitting 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes to preserve a 45-40 ESD girls’ basketball win at Huron Arena.

The Bobcats, who came in winners of two of their last three games, got balanced scoring in the win over a pesky Huron team.

The Tigers, who fall to 0-12 on the season, have played particularly well over their last three games and were poised to break into the win column.

Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the early going. Havyn Heinz scored 25 seconds into the game on a layup to put the Tigers ahead. Brookings got six shots on its first possession, as the Bobcats owned the offensive boards, although none of the shots fell.

The Bobcats did pull even seconds later, as Megan Gilk got them on the board, but Huron got two free throws from Heinz and 1-of-2 from Sami Shoultz to forge a 5-2 lead.

Brookings however, started on an 11-1 run that extended into the second quarter to establish a 13-6 lead.

Huron kept chipping away, as Heinz went 4-of-4 from the line and Tenley Buddenhagen got a field goal to counter a basket from 6-foot, 3-inch sophomore Johanna Miller that gave the Bobcats a 15-12 lead at the break.

The first half was a tale of two divergent teams, as Brookings ended with 15 points, all from the field, with one 3-pointer, and spread among seven players.

Huron, on the other hand, spent the first half at the free-throw line where they converted 8-of-12 from the stripe and ended with only two field goals, with eight points coming from Heinz.

The pace picked up in the third quarter, but not the method, as the Tigers continued to make their living at the free-throw line – they would go 8-of-8 from the stripe in the quarter – and kept within striking distance.

Michaela Jewett got Brookings started with a short jumper, but Gracie Schoenfelder hit the first two of her six free throws in the quarter.

Megan Gilk hit a 3-pointer for Brookings to make it 20-14, only to see Heinz drain field goals on consecutive possessions to carve the deficit to two points.

That’s how much of the third quarter would go.

Ava Burns got a field goal and free throw to make it five points, but Schoenfelder hit two more charity tosses. Jewett hit a short field goal, but, again Schoenfelder hit 2-of-2.

Heinz carved the lead to a single point with two free throws inside of 1 1/2 minutes in the quarter, but Miller hit a free throw and Burns converted another old fashioned three-point play to close the quarter for Brookings, with the Bobcats on top 29-24.

The fourth quarter found Huron getting its first 3-pointer of the game, as Schoenfelder dialed long distance in the opening seconds of the period. Jewett pushed the lead back to four with a deuce, but Schoenfelder hit 1-of-2 to make it a three point game.

Gilk hit a jumper to make it a five-point game seconds later, matching the largest lead for the Bobcats in the second half, only to see Kylie Overbay come off the bench to drain a 3-pointer. Heinz cut it to two with a layup on the next Tiger possession, but Gilk hit a 3 to put Brookings back up by five with less than four minutes to play.

The tide flowed Huron’s way, as Schoenfelder converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Heinz hit another pair of free throws to force the first tie since it was 2-2 in the early going.

Ironically, from that point on the team that had not been to the line often ended up winning the game at the charity stripe.

Jewett hit two, but Schoenfelder scored again inside to knot the game at 40, but fouled out with 29.6 seconds to play.

Jewett hit those two free throws and after a Huron turnover, the Tigers were forced to foul. Hieb hit two free throws and Gilk went one-of-two in the waning seconds for the final margin.

For the Bobcats, Jewett scored 14 points and claimed a game-high 11 rebounds, including a 4-for-4 effort at the stripe, all in the final two minutes of the game.

Gilk scored the first points of the game and the final point, gathering 11 points on the night to dent double figures as well for the Bobcats.

Brookings owned a hefty 45-29 edge on the boards in the game, which led to 18 more shots from the field.

Neither team shot well – Brookings was 16-of-56 for 29 percent, while the Tigers were 9-of-38 for 24 percent – so the edge in the number of field goals was key.

Heinz scored 18 points – including a perfect 10-of-10 at the line – and had six rebounds in the game as well. Schoenfelder added 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Tigers. Huron ended the game 20-25 from the line as a team.

Both teams committed just 10 turnovers.

Next up for Huron is a trip to Yankton on Friday night.

BROOKINGS 45, HURON 40

Brookings (6-4, 6-3 ESD)

Megan Gilk 4 1-2 11; Carolyn Hieb 1 2-2 4; Grace Eggebrecht 1 0-0 2; Ava Burns 3 2-2 8; Michaela Jewett 5 4-4 14; Alli Gordon 1 0-0 3; Peyton Evans 0 0-2 0; Johanna Miller 1 1-2 3. Totals: 16 10-14 45.

Huron (0-12, O-10 ESD)

Tenley Buddenhagen 1 0-0 2; Havyn Heinz 4 10-10 18; Sami Shoultz 0 1-4 1; Gracie Schoenfelder 3 9-11 16; Kylie Overbay 1 0-0 3. Totals: 9 20-25 40.

Brookings 6  9  14  14  –  45

Huron 5  7  12  16  –  40

3-point goals – B 3-17; H 2-15. Rebounds – B 44 (Jewett 11); H – 29 (Schoenfelder 8). Turnovers – B 10; H 10. Total fouls – B 18; H 16. Fouled out –Schoenfelder.