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Bronaugh girls fall in district play, 37-32
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
HUME -- The Bronaugh Lady Wildcats basketball team entered the semifinals of the Class 1, District 7 girls' basketball tournament knowing Wednesday night's contest would present a tough challenge, as head coach Sean Crane's squad found itself pitted against the second-seeded Lady Blue Jays of Montrose High School.
Crane's squad was unfazed, however, since the Lady Wildcats entered the night fresh off of a strong performance in the opening round, in a 61-34 defeat of the tournament's hosts, the Lady Hornets of Hume High School. The momentum the Lady Wildcats gained from that victory ultimately proved to be not quite enough, however, as the Lady Jays took the victory by a final score of 37-32.
As the contest began, it was clear that the Lady Wildcats were just as ready to play on the defensive end of the floor as they were in the opening round. The usually potent Montrose offense that entered the night fresh off of a 45-21 victory over Miami in the tournament's opening round struggled mightily with Bronaugh's defense throughout the night, ultimately allowing the Lady Wildcats to stay in the contest, despite substantial struggles on the offensive end.
By the time the contest's first 8 minutes came to an end, the Lady Jays had missed 10 of their 14 field-goal attempts, ultimately allowing the Lady Wildcats to overcome a 3-for-9 performance to stay in the game, down by just one, at 12-11.
Both sides continued to struggle to produce points as the minutes wore on, but Montrose ultimately continued to get the better of the exchange in the second quarter. After winning that period, 10-8, head coach Kevin LaSalle's squad went to the locker room at halftime with a 22-19 advantage.
By the time the half came to an end, a quick look at the stat sheets gave a clear indication as to why neither squad was able to keep up with its previous offensive production. Through the contest's first 16 minutes, Montrose went 8-for-21 from the field, while Bronaugh was 7-for-26.
As the second half began, things never really got better for Bronaugh. Though the Lady Wildcats were able to dictate the pace of the contest throughout its duration, Crane's squad never was able to find its rhythm on the offensive end.
By the time all was said and done, the Lady Wildcats finished the contest 12-for-56 from the field, while Montrose was 12-for-48. Despite making the same number of field goals in the contest, Montrose had a significant edge in that area of the game since half of the Lady Jays' field-goals were 3-pointers.
On top of that, the Lady Wildcats had five free-throw attempts in the opening half and never got to the line in the second half, despite a number of instances both fans and the Bronaugh coaching staff voiced strong displeasure at the fact that the Lady Wildcats didn't get a trip to the line. Montrose, on the other hand, made more free throws than Bronaugh even attempted, finishing the night 7-for-13 from the charity stripe.
Those advantages were all the Lady Jays needed as they scored five of their 10 points in the final period at the free-throw line to turn a 27-25 lead after three quarters into a five-point victory.
Martell Moore led the offensive effort for the Lady Wildcats in the contest, as she finished with 10 points. Amanda Raper finished with nine, while Courtney Conner added five, and Sierra Arens and Katey Rider rounded out the scoring with four apiece.
Audrey Collins led the offense for Montrose with 17 and was joined in double figures by Joyce Jurgensmeyer with 10.
The loss brought an end to Bronaugh's season, while Montrose moved on to face the Lady Bobcats of Drexel High School in the tournament championship game. Drexel punched its ticket to the title game with a 57-19 victory over Appleton City in Wednesday's other semifinal matchup.
Tipoff in the championship game is set for 6 p.m., Friday, at Hume.