Bronco girls still alive at districts

SPOKANE VALLEY — After two games of play, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Harrington/Washtucna girls basketball team is still alive in District 7 2B play.

However, the Broncos are facing elimination later this week after a quarterfinal loss to St. George’s at West Valley High School Monday, Feb. 6.

The Broncos started postseason play in a loser-out game against Kettle Falls Saturday, Feb. 4. Lind-Ritzville/Sprague was pushed throughout the game, leading 11-9 after a quarter, 26-18 at halftime and 39-34 after three quarters. But the Broncos were able to hold off a tough fight from the Bulldogs to stave off elimination with a 51-42 win.

Zoe Galbreath led the Broncos with 17 points and seven rebounds. Harlee Hennings added seven points and eight boards.

“Once (we) started to settle down, everything sort of started to click from there,” Coach Bryce Court said.

The competition level was notched up in LRS’s next game against the second-ranked team in District 7, St. George’s. LRS started off with a 9-8 lead, but the Dragons scored seven straight to build a 15-9 lead after a quarter.

The Dragons built on their momentum in the second quarter to take a 32-19 halftime lead. The Broncos played their opponents to a second-half tie but were unable to cut into the 13-point deficit despite 25 points from Galbreath.

“We made a mistake, and we allowed that mistake to make more mistakes,” Court said. “That’s a growing experience. Some kids are trying to do too much. Some kids are trying to be too passive, but that’s okay and I think we’ll learn from it and get better.”

LRS is still alive in the double-elimination tournament but must defeat the Davenport Gorillas in a loser-out game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Feb. 8 back at West Valley.