Lady Broncos basketball go 1-2 in league play for the week

It was a busy week for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos basketball team in Northeast 2B South League play.

The Lady Broncos earned a 56-42 league win against Reardan on Dec. 12 to capture their first road victory of the season.

After the Reardan win, LRS lost back-to-back league games, the first on Dec. 15 to Liberty, 58-50, then a 71-34 loss to Colfax the next day.

Head Coach Steve Wellsandt said the games against Liberty and Colfax showed him where the Lady Broncos stand in the NE 2B South conference.

After completing the first round of league play, LRS, who are 2-3 in league play and 3-3 overall, currently sits in fourth place in the conference standings, one game ahead of Reardan.

Against Reardan, the Lady Broncos had a slow start in the first quarter, scoring only three points. Wellsandt attributed the team’s first quarter to them making several unforced turnovers during the first quarter.

The Lady Broncos turned up their offense in the second quarter to bring them to a 16-15 lead at the end of the first half. LRS continued their momentum throughout the third and fourth quarters.

Other than the first quarter, Wellsandt said LRS played well against the Lady Indians. Peyton Curtis led the team in scoring with 26 points. He said Brooke Koch had a standout game with 12 points and four rebounds.

Wellsandt said Assistant Coach Caitlin Jeske has been working with the post players and having them learn different moves during practice. Koch has been one of the athletes who have taken the skills she has learned from the post drills and implemented them into the game.

The Lady Broncos returned to Gilson Gym for a battle against Liberty on Friday. Like the Reardan game, Wellsandt said the Lady Broncos were off to a slow start in the first quarter, scoring only five points.

He again attributed the team’s first quarter performance to unforced turnovers and unnecessary fouls. Wellsandt also felt the Lady Broncos allowed too many rebounds and penetration from the Lady Lancers.

LRS gained momentum in the second quarter, scoring 13 points to bring the score 31-18 at the end of the first half.

The Lady Broncos found their footing in the third quarter, putting up 27 points to make it a one-point game, 46-45, at the end of the quarter. Wellsandt said LRS ran out of gas at the end of the fourth quarter, which allowed Liberty to outscore LRS 10-5 and secure the win.

Curtis led the Lady Broncos in scoring with 20 points while Lacey Miller added 10.

The Lady Broncos were in an uphill battle against Colfax on Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs had a 37-13 lead after the first half.

LRS sank in 16 points to bring the game 55-29 at the end of the third quarter. Colfax outscored the Lady Broncos 16-5 in the fourth quarter.

Curtis led the game in scoring with 16 points while Julia Klein added eight.

Wellsandt noted Colfax is a talented team with several senior athletes who have a lot of experience playing the game. Like the games against Reardan and Liberty, Wellsandt said the Lady Broncos made many unforced turnovers and allowed the team to control the game through drives, defense and rebounds.

Wellsandt added the team will spend the next two weeks of practice working on rebounding, defense and cutting the number of turnovers they make in a game.

Another area where the Lady Broncos have also experienced difficulty in keeping athletes healthy.

Wellsandt said Aaliyah Yaeger missed all three games because she was sick. Koch missed the Colfax game because of illness.

Linnea Schafer was expected to miss the Lady Broncos’ Dec. 19 game against St. John-Endicott while Eliza Galbreath is expected to miss the upcoming games due to illness.

The lack of numbers hurt the Lady Broncos in terms of guard depth. During the Colfax game, Wellsandt said many of the athletes already had playing minutes with little rest and the fatigue caught up to them.

LRS took a break from conference play and faced St. John-Endicott on Dec. 19 at Gilson Gym. St. John-Endicott came into the game with three-consecutive losses, the most recent against Garfield-Palouse, 35-32, on Dec. 16.

The Lady Broncos traveled to Springdale to play Mary in a nonleague contest on Dec. 20. The Lady Chargers recently lost to Kettle Falls, 48-15, on Dec. 16.

Wellsandt said the team will have more eligble players in the next two games. Tessa O’Brien returned during the Colfax game, and Yaeger and Schafer are expected to return during the next two games.

Having more athletes will allow Wellsandt to move Klein back to an inside position in the team’s formation.

Wellsandt explained Klein has been one of the players who came the bench and played a lot of minutes in different positions in all six games, which he said can be a little hard on a freshman athlete.

Despite the back-to-back losses, Wellsandt said he believes the Lady Broncos will finish the season better than when they started.