Lady Broncos drop nonleague game to SJE, defeat Mary Walker

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball Head Coach Steve Wellsandt used one word to describe the Lady Broncos’ 1-1 split from last week: interesting.

The Lady Broncos began the week with a 54-59 nonleague loss to Southeast 1B St. John-Endicott in overtime on Dec. 19.

LRS would rebound from the loss the next day to pick up a 55-13 league win against Mary Walker, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.

Against SJE, Wellsandt said LRS did not start the game well in terms of shooting. The Lady Broncos opened the game with a 12-8 lead after the first quarter and only scored 13 points in the second quarter.

The Lady Broncos maintained their lead, scoring 19 points in the third quarter, yet SJE slowly chipped away at the score after making 16 points.

In the fourth quarter, Wellsandt said LRS’ offense “went flat,” which caused him to tighten the team’s formation. The Lady Eagles scored 15 points to tie the game 48-48 and send it into overtime.

SJE outscored the Lady Broncos 11-6 in overtime to clinch the win.

Peyton Curtis led the team in scoring with 21 points while Lacey Miller racked up a season-best 16 points. Linnea Schafer was also in the double digits with 11.

Wellsandt said part of the loss can be attributed to the Lady Eagles out-rebounding LRS, 36-17.

He said the team will continue to focus on defense and rebounds during practice.

The Lady Broncos also had players who recently returned from injury and illness, but were not 100 percent in terms of recovery. Starter Eliza Galbreath also missed the game because of illness.

Wellsandt said losing players to illness and injury created gaps in the lineup and forced athletes with less experience to step up and fill varsity roles.

Wellsandt said he hopes the SJE loss was a learning experience for the athletes, specifically when it comes to taking care of the basketball.

In the future, he also hopes players will be composed during high-pressure situations and not letting mistakes on the court become bigger than what they are.

He also hopes athletes will assess the situation and play more offense before shooting the ball.

Against Mary Walker, the Lady Broncos continued to struggle with their offense and shooting, yet they played good defense, which allowed them to maintain a 23-7 lead after the first half.

The Lady Broncos’ scoring improved in the third quarter as they put up 14 points, and then added 18 points in the final quarter.

Wellsandt had the team try a different offensive formation for 4-5 minutes, which he said worked well and they might use in future games.

During the game, Wellsandt played athletes who have not spent many minutes in the past several games.

He said this was a good opportunity for him to see how athletes have progressed since the first game. It also allowed starting athletes an opportunity to rest.

Wellsandt added players like Aaliyah Yaeger, Brooke Koch and Tessa O’Brien, who all recently returned to the team after recovering from injuries and illness, showed improvement in the Mary Walker game.

Curtis sank 16 points to lead LRS in scoring while Schafer added a season-best 12 points.

Wellsandt said the win against Mary Walker provided a boost in confidence for the team as they head into Christmas break where they took four days off from practice. The Mary Walker game marked the fifth contest for Lady Broncos in the last nine days.

Wellsandt hopes the break will provide the athletes an opportunity to rest and recharge.

The Lady Broncos, who have an overall record of 4-4, return to action on Dec. 28 with a nonleague road game against Northeast 1B South League’s Columbia-Burbank

Columbia-Burbank comes into the game with an 0-6 record.

The Lady Broncos will finish the 2017 portion of their schedule on Dec. 30 when they travel to Dayton for a nonleague game against the Lady Bulldogs.