Gorilla girls hold off Broncos

RITZVILLE — Davenport off the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington Broncos, 55-49, in a Northeast 2B girls basketball matchup Friday, Jan. 14.

At the opening tip-off, the Gorillas slapped their full-court press on the Broncos. Their trapping defense resulted in several turnovers that led to a dominant first quarter performance.

In the opening quarter, the Broncos made two free throws and converted only 1 of 10 shot attempts. Emalie Jacoby fueled the Gorilla offense with 7 first quarter points en route to an 18-4 lead at the end of the period.

Bronco freshman Zoe Galbreath found her shooting touch in the second quarter, hitting three buckets.

Behind Jacoby’s 5 points, and 4 points each from Glenna Soliday and Clare Lathrop, the Gorillas went into the locker room ahead 31-16 at the half.

In the third quarter, Lind-Ritzville girls rallied behind the shooting of Galbreath and Claire Wellsandt, who combined for 9 points. The Bronco defense held the Gorillas to just 2 baskets.

At the end of the third quarter, Davenport maintained a 35-29 advantage.

The game’s final period featured the dominant inside play of Lathrop, Davenport’s 6-foot-3 freshman, who scored 8 points in the final minutes of the game.

Jacoby added 7 fourth quarter points.

Each team scored 20 points in the final period, but the Gorillas held on for the 55-49 win.

Jacoby led Davenport scorers with 19 points, followed by Soliday and Lathrop who each had 12. In addition, Lathrop pulled down 13 rebounds.

“Overall, we played pretty good, but we fell apart at the end,” Jacoby said. “Defensively, especially our press, worked well most of the night.”

Galbreath kept the Broncos in the game, scoring a game high 22 points. Raegan Snider and Harlee Hennings scored 7 and 6 points, respectively.

“I thought we overcame a pretty slow offensive start,” Broncos Coach Bryce Court said. “We battled back after facing some adversity. A lot of players got in foul trouble, but players stepped up into roles they’re not used to. We cut it to one point, but they hit some big shots. After that we couldn’t close the gap. But I was proud of the way we played.”

“We had a bad first quarter, but we kept fighting,” the Broncos’ Galbreath said. “In the second half, we focused on winning possessions and making smarter decisions. We need to work on getting the ball to the open person and improve our shooting.”