Lady Broncos near the halfway point in the season

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos are proving their coach’s early predictions for the season true. They spent the last week bringing in the New Year by winning all three of their games.

The girls now have a 3-2 league record and a 6-3 record overall.

Head Coach Gary Kelly said, “This week has been very humbling and rewarding. I think we all enjoyed the feeling of these wins over the weekend, but today we are ready to face the next few tough matches.”

He went on to discuss the schedule for the remainder of the season, which holds quite a few tough match ups including their game on Tuesday, Jan. 5, versus Northwest Christian. NWC currently holds a 4-1 league record for the season.

Kelly made a prediction at the beginning of the season that the team would start winning games mid-season and be where they need to be to make it to post season play. This week of games showed the team is right where they need to be.

Last week the Lady Broncos faced Odessa-Harrington in a nonleague game on Dec. 29, where they defeated the Lady Titans 45-29.

“We played really well. We came in and played the game we knew we could play. It was good to see the holiday rust knocked off,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the entire roster played even minutes, as they knew this match up could go their way if they played hard. Their goal was to avoid playing down to the level of the competition.

In the first quarter the Lady Broncos were leading 15-1 and by halftime were up 22-4.

This allowed Kelly to rest some of the starters for their next league game versus Tekoa-Rosalia the following night.

Peyton Curtis led the team in scoring with 21 points followed by Holly Nygren and Tessa Jantz each with six. Madison Harder added five points to the team, Tommi Swannack put up four points and Tessa O’Brien added another three.

Harder additionally racked up 10 rebounds for the team.

Curtis shot at 56 percent from the field during this game while playing 19 minutes.

The team made five three-point shots during this game and Nygren accounted for two of these going 2 for 6 from the three-point line.

The third quarter held 14 points for the Lady Broncos compared to the Lady Titans’ 12 points. The second half held many turnovers for the Lady Broncos and the Odessa-Harrington offense was ready to take advantage of these by racking up 13 points compared to the Lady Broncos’ nine points in the fourth.

Kelly reflected on the game and stated, “We were really able to do what we wanted offensively and defensively which was great to see.”

To prepare for their next game versus the Lady Timberwolves on Dec. 30 at Rosalia the team focused mainly on running through offenses and tuning them up. Kelly wanted to give the team some exercise but also allow them to rest for the game.

“Jantz was huge in this game in so many ways,” Kelly said. “She really set the tone for the rest of the team.”

Jantz had 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Another large factor in this win for the Lady Broncos was the defense the girls brought to the court. In the last few games the defense has really come together for the team, Kelly said.

The game was not a blow out for the Lady Broncos and by half they were only up by one with a score of 26-5. The third quarter held nine points for the Lady Broncos and Tekoa-Rosalia had eight.

Kelly said the fourth quarter could have gone either way if not for the support the team received from the crowd.

“In the last stretch the crowd and the boys basketball players were very into the game, they were yelling and motivating the team which had a huge bearing on the game,” Kelly explained.

He said the team is prone to struggling in high-pressure situations and this support made the game less stressful and transformed it into a fun situation.

The Lady Broncos added 12 points to their lead compared to the Lady Timberwolves’ seven for a final score of 47-40.

Swannack made 15 points for the team followed by Curtis and Jantz each with 12. Felicia Ziemer added four, Lacey Miller scored three and Rachel Schell made one.

In this game, Kelly saw the team really play their game and execute the way they needed to.

“It was a win we needed. Though Tekoa-Rosalia’s record may not reflect it, they are every bit as tough as the other teams in our league,” Kelly stated.

The team tightened up their defense and made running an offense tough for the opponent.

Kelly said, “Between this and the crowd support we would have been tough to beat for anyone.”

“They have made progress as a team and have not only reached but exceeded their team goals,” Kelly explained.

He sees the team coming together mentally and getting along on and off the court. These wins have proved to the team how tough they are and proved they have the ability to compete in post season play.

The team next faced the Liberty Lady Lancers on Saturday, Jan. 2, in Liberty where they continued their winning streak with a 61-48 win.

Curtis led the team in scoring once again putting up 20 points followed by Jantz with 15 and Swannack with 14. Harder and Ziemer also added five each for the Lady Broncos.

Kelly stated the team came out from the tip and controlled the game.

He continued by saying how stifling their defense was, “They had no answers for our defense. We would make adjustments and shut down whatever they would try.”

Swannack had four steals and was credited with creating turnovers by anticipating the opponent’s moves. Kelly said he does not have to run a play for her; she is able to make plays on the court and hustle to help her team be successful.

“When the team is focusing on shutting down Tessa and we are working the ball outside to Peyton, Tommi is there to get us our hustle points and her defense is key,” Kelly continued.

“Harder was really instrumental in this game. I asked her to play a different role on the court. I had her guard their best player,” Kelly advised.

Harder is used to playing the post-position against big, strong players and in this game she had to guard a quick, sharpshooting guard.

Kelly said Harder started out uncertain at the change in position, but quickly added to the Lady Broncos’ success since the Lady Lancers did not anticipate her flawless defense.

He continued to say her success in this new position really fired the rest of the players up and motivated them to dominate the court.

In the first half the Lady Broncos were up 23-19.

Jantz went 6 for 8 from the field even after being guarded by multiple defenders. While she was the focus of the Lady Lancers’ defense, Curtis was able to stay open on the perimeter and put away free throws in the final stretch of the game to seal the team’s victory.

In the final two quarters the Lady Broncos outscored Liberty 38-29.

During five of the last 12 quarters the Lady Broncos have held their opponents to single digit scoring.

Kelly said, “As a coach this week was a great moment for me. I got to see all of their hard work pay off. It made me really proud of where we are at.”

While this last week was a great experience he is making sure the team does not become complacent. “We need to polish everything up, we have a lot of tough games coming up and the rest of the season will be hard. But I think we are in the right spot to make that next push to get a good seat in the playoffs,” Kelly said.

For Tuesday’s league game versus Northwest Christian the team will do what they do best, they will come out and play their game.

“We are going to keep defense tight and focus on getting more offensive production from all five girls on the court and not just three. If we can do that, it will be the difference maker for the team,” Kelly said.

The Lady Broncos face the Davenport Lady Gorillas at home on Friday, Jan. 8, with tipoff at 7:30 p.m.