Lady Broncos split sub regional contests, set to face DeSales Friday

After losing to Northwest Christian in Saturday’s round of the sub-regional tournament, the LRS Lady Broncos rebounded and collected a Monday victory over Davenport.

The win sends them to a Friday night contest at Mt. Spokane High School against DeSales from District No. 9. The game is currently scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

The Lady Broncos need the win for a chance to play for the No. 3 or No 4 seed to the regional tournament. That game would be played on Saturday.

Head coach John Galbreath has been reviewing film and watched DeSales play twice recently.

“Their team is similar to the one they had last year when we played them so it’s not foreign territory,” he said. “They are pretty structured, I would say. Our size is going to be our advantage. I think our league is an advantage as well. The top four teams are pretty competitive night in and night out.”

The Lady Broncos took a 39-33 win over Davenport in a must-win situation on Monday.

While the final score was in LRS’ favor, Galbreath said the game wasn’t perfect.

“It was ugly. It was a win. We had stretches where we played well but we had a lot of stretches where we didn’t,” he said.

LRS opened with a 12-8 effort in the first quarter and then saw the lead whittled away. By the half, they were out front, 21-19.

The third quarter was the saving grace as the Lady Broncos dominated the period, 12-2. The fourth quarter went to Davenport, 12-6.

Asked if he made specific adjustments at the half, Galbreath said he sought more intensity.

“I told them to play harder,” he said. “I challenged them to compete.”

None of the Lady Broncos scored in double figures.

Tommi Swannack and Jenna Bennett led the team with nine points. Tessa Jantz scored five. Mallory Kessler, Dalyn Killian and Sydney Nelson each had four. Felicia Ziemer and Randi York each scored two.

The Northwest Christian loss was a brawl. LRS took a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Crusaders responded with a 19-10 advantage in the second and a lead at the half, 26-24.

“We didn’t rebound at all in the first half,” Galbreath said.

The result was extra scoring opportunities as NWC capitalized on offensive rebounds and extra chances.

“What got them back in the game was their second, third and fourth opportunities,” Galbreath said. “I was highly disappointed. That was a tough one to take when you have the number one team on the line.”

Jantz led the team with 16 points and nine rebounds.

“She put together a nice game against them,” Galbreath said.

Kessler scored 11 points. Swannack had six and Killian added five.

York scored three and Bennett added two.