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Cats, Panthers clash in rivalry showdown
It was rivalry night in Bronaugh on Tuesday, as the host Wildcats and Lady 'Cats welcomed in the Sheldon Panthers and Lady Panthers for a GVVC varsity basketball twinbill.
Despite being without starting point guard Nicole Hagerman, the Lady 'Cats still managed to control the contest from start-to-finish, coming away with a 37-26 victory.
Meckinize McCartney's jumper late in the first half trimmed Sheldon's deficit to 18-14. The Lady 'Cats however, went into the half with a tidal wave of momentum, courtesy of Bailey Cliffman's half-court swish at the buzzer, and a 21-14 advantage.
The second half opened with Bronaugh forward Emma Morris' close-range bucket, increasing the lead to nine.
Mahalia Swink's breakaway lay-in at the midpoint of the third sliced Bronaugh's advantage to 25-19.
Back-to-back buckets in the paint from guard Haley Byram and center Maurissa Foulk stretched Bronaugh's advantage to 31-21 entering the fourth.
The Lady 'Cats put the contest virtually out-of-reach early in the fourth, via Braxton Rocco's 15-foot jumper, followed by Rocco's assist to a cutting Byram for the lay-in, and a 35-21 lead.
A long jumper by Cliffman with three minutes remaining, put the contest on ice, as Bronaugh held an insurmountable 37-22 edge.
Byram led all scorers with 13 points, while Lady Cat teammates Josie Banes and Cliffman combined for 15. For Sheldon, McCartney finished with a team-high nine points, while Swink chipped in eight.
"The story tonight, was once again turnovers, in key spots early in the game," said Lady Panther head coach, Jacob Well, adding that his squad also had major struggles in the shooting department.
Said Well: "(Bronaugh) had a lot of fast break layups because of (our) sloppy passing. Also, rebounding was a struggle — (we) couldn’t come back from a 10-point deficit. They fought hard, but the better team won tonight."
The victory ups the Lady 'Cats to 6-4 overall, while Sheldon moves to 3-6 on the season.
OT thriller
A low-scoring affair in the boys contest culminated with Bronaugh hanging on for a 42-41 overtime victory.
"We played an extremely tough game, and at the end of the day, Bronaugh hit a shot with 12 seconds (remaining) to put them up by one, and win it in overtime," recounted Sheldon head coach, Caleb Howerton.
Summed up Howerton of the tough loss: "(Freshman) William Chapman was the best player on the court (for us) tonight. He kept us in the game, and proved that he is going to be a huge force in our league for years to come."
Chapman concluded with a team-high 15 points.
The victory improves Bronaugh to 3-6 overall, while the loss drops Sheldon to 1-8.