LRS girls split pair, sit in second place in league

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball team fought for most of the game, but fell to Liberty on Friday, 45-37 in Spangle. On Tuesday, the Lady Broncos defeated Tekoa-Rosalia 67-19 at home.

Before the season, LRS head coach Steve Wellsandt identified the Liberty Lancers as his team's toughest opponent of the season.

As the season progressed, Wellsandt said he feels his team has gotten closer and closer to where they need to be to compete with Liberty. On Friday, his players showed a little of that.

LRS hung with the Lancers early and finished the first quarter down 10-8. The Lady Broncos outscored Liberty 10-5 in the second quarter to go into the locker room at halftime with an 18-15 lead.

However, Liberty got rolling in the second half, outscoring LRS 30-19 and hung on for an eight-point victory. Janaye Wilkie was LRS' lone double-digit player, scoring 12 points.

LRS' rout of Tekoa-Rosalia was decided by halftime, as they led 39-12. Wellsandt started playing his entire bench in the first half. This meant extended playing time for Amelia Court and Grace Fedie, who both swing between the varsity and JV teams.

LRS opened the second half with its starting five, who immediately went on a 12-0 run before being replaced by the entire bench with four minutes remaining in the quarter. Dakota Killian and Wilkie led LRS with 12 points each.

LRS is 6-2 in league play, good for second place behind Liberty, and hold an overall record of 10-5 on the season.

Next, the Lady Broncos take on Asotin on the road on Jan. 25.