Colfax ends Lady Broncos' postseason run

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos basketball season came to an end last weekend, after the Lady Broncos made a spirited run in the Northeast 2B Conference Tournament.

Following a 59-31 win against the Asotin Panthers on Feb. 12, the Lady Broncos won their next game against the Reardan Indians on Feb. 14 before falling to the Colfax Bulldogs the next night to end their bid for the State Tournament.

The Lady Broncos smothered the Indians defensively in their game last Thursday, winning 40-24. LRS led 23-13 at the half before pulling away even further in the second half. Reardan never scored more than 10 points in a single quarter against the Lady Broncos.

Freshman Dakota Killian scored 21 points, the second time in the tournament that she scored more than 20 points in a game. Sophomore Linnea Schafer added nine points for LRS and junior Eliza Galbreath chipped in five.

With the win, the Lady Broncos made the trek to West Valley High School for the second consecutive day on Feb. 15, to take on the Bulldogs. LRS swept the regular season series against Colfax, but the Lady Broncos had a tough time getting anything started offensively in this game. Colfax led 30-12 at halftime and 48-20 after three quarters, and LRS never scored more than eight points in a single quarter, falling 55-27.

Schafer was the lone Lady Bronco to finish in double figures in scoring, as she finished with 10 points in the loss. Galbreath finished the game with six points, while Killian and fellow freshman Sydney Kinch each added five points for LRS. This was the fourth game in a row that the Lady Broncos were only able to use a seven-player rotation, due to Julia Klein remaining out with a wrist injury suffered in the team's final regular season game earlier this month.

With the loss, LRS ended the season with an even 12-12 record overall. According to data from the WIAA, the Lady Broncos played the 11th-toughest schedule amongst the 62 teams in the 2B classification. LRS also finished in the upper-half of 2B (No. 26) in regards to their RPI, the rating percentage index.

The Lady Broncos will graduate just two seniors from this year's varsity team, Lacey Miller and Brooke Koch. The rest of the team is expected to return for the 2019-20 season, which will give head coach Steve Wellsandt six players with extensive varsity experience.

Three of the six players returning were recognized by the South Division coaches and named to All-League teams. Galbreath was a first-team All-League selection, while Schafer and Killian were second-team All-League picks. Galbreath and Killian will continue to man the key together next season, while Schafer is expected to continue to be the team's main ball-handler.

Wellsandt-in just his second season at the helm for LRS-was also recognized by his peers, being voted the Coach of the Year for the South Division. The Lady Broncos finished league play in second place with a 7-3 record, an improvement over the 2017-18 season when the team finished with a 5-5 league record. In his first two seasons as head coach, Wellsandt has a combined 12-8 league record and a 25-23 overall record.