LRS basketball teams drop non-league games

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys and girls basketball teams continued their seasons with a pair of non-league games against the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors and the Davenport Gorillas.

The LRS teams faced off against Almira/Coulee-Hartline at home in the Gilson Gym on Dec. 18. The Lady Broncos fell 45-39 to the Warriors, falling to 3-4 overall on the season (1-1 in league play). The Lady Broncos trailed by seven points heading into halftime and played evenly with the Warriors in the second half, but were unable to break through and grab the lead.

Junior Eliza Galbreath led the Lady Broncos offensively with 13 points. Three other players—freshman Dakota Killian, and sophomores Linnea Schafer and Julia Klein—scored at least six points.

For the Broncos boys team also struggled offensively in its game against the Warriors following the girls game, losing 50-40 to drop to 3-4 overall on the season (0-2 in league play). The Broncos were outscored 27-19 in the first half and had scored just 26 points entering the fourth quarter before the offense finally warmed up.

Bryce and Drew Kelly led the way in the scoring department for the Broncos, with the elder Bryce finishing with 17 points and the younger Drew finishing with 12 points. Combined, the brothers account for 29 of the team’s 40 points, with no other player on the team scoring more than five points.

The boys and girls teams then traveled to Davenport on Dec. 21 to take on the Gorillas in another non-league matchup.

The Lady Broncos fell 58-38 to the Gorillas, and were outscored 49-30 in the final three quarters of play. Schafer led LRS in scoring with 17 points, while Killian scored 10. The Lady Broncos fell to 3-5 on the season with the loss.

The Broncos took the court following the girls game, falling 53-48 in a tight game. After being outscored 30-16 in the first half, the Broncos rallied in the second half, outscoring the Gorillas 32-23. But the deficit was too much to overcome. Bryce Kelly led LRS with 20 points in the game, while Spencer Gering finished with 12 points.

The teams don’t play again until Jan. 4, as they take on league foe Reardan at home. The girls game begins at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow right after.

The teams play at home the next day for a non-league game against the 1A Connell Eagles on Jan. 5. The games will have an earlier tip-off than usual, with the girls game beginning at 4:30 p.m. and the boys game tipping right after.