Lady Indians Win 3rd Place in Sagebrush Tourney
A a fifteen-point second quarter and a nine-point run just after halftime were just enough to allow the Lady Indians to earn a 50-42 win over the Weskan Lady Coyotes in the third place game of the Sagebrush Classic Basketball Tournament in Brewster on Saturday, December 13. The Lady Indians had difficulty controlling the superior size of the Lady Coyotes inside, but good team play resulted in a nice win for the Lady Indians.
Weskan opened the contest with an offensive rebound basket. Kyla Bandel followed with consecutive treys, but she picked up her second foul at the 4:15 mark and headed to the bench. Hanna Bracelin sandwiched two free-throws between two Weskan baskets; one from the post and another offensive rebound stick-back. A baseline drive by the Lady Coyotes tied the contest at 8-all with 2:15 left in the first period. An assist by Kylie Sherlock set up a basket by Kayla Reed, but the Lady Coyotes grabbed yet another offensive rebound and tied the game at 10-all before the quarter break.
The Lady Coyotes took the lead on an offensive rebound basket after a missed free-throw early in the second period. Kyla Bandel answered with a quick bucket. The Lady Coyotes earned their largest lead of the contest (16-12) after banking in a shot from the top-of-the-key and a basket from the right corner. The Lady Indians responded with an eight-point run triggered by two right wing treys by Bandel and a Bandel assist on a Hanna Bracelin backcut. With 3:46 left in the first half, the Lady Indians led 20-16. Weskan would not regain the lead again, even though the advantage narrowed to two points after the Lady Coyotes earned a basket behind the pressing defense of the Lady Indians. Two baskets by Reagan Beims and a free-throw by Bandel closed the first half. St. Francis led 25-18.
Weskan scored first in the third period on a post-move, but a post basket by Emily Elfers and trey by Kyla Bandel from the top-of-the-key extended the St. Francis lead to ten (30-20). The Lady Coyotes would score twice more in the period (on offensive rebound and post-move baskets), but the Lady Indians ran out a series of scores by Bandel (trey), Hanna Bracelin (assist Madi Tice), Bracelin (free-throw), and Elfers (assist Mariah Beikman) to lead 38-24 after three quarters of play.
The Lady Indians extended their advantage further in the final period on two quick baskets by Journey Lee (drive and steal-two). Weskan called time-out with 6:56 remaining to regroup, trailing 42-24. The Lady Coyotes trimmed the lead to 42-29 on a basket from the post just before another score by Hanna Bracelin (assist Kyla Bandel). A steal-two by Kayla Reed moved the score to 46-33. After a trey and a coast-to-coast drive, the Lady Coyotes trimmed the deficit to eight (46-38) at 3:42. A pick-and-roll score by Kayla Reed (assist Bandel) preceded another Weskan post basket (48-40) with just over one minute to play. Only having 4 team fouls, Weskan gave up three quick fouls to place the Lady Indians in the bonus in an attempt to control the clock. Kyla Bandel made 1 of 2 free-throws to move the score to 49-40. Weskan quickly scored a basket on efficient press offense. Another Bandel free-throw completed the game scoring. Winning 50-42, the Lady Indians placed third in the 2014 Sagebrush Tournament.
Kyla Bandel scored 22 points for St. Francis. Five other Lady Indians contributed to the scoring column: Hanna Bracelin 9, Kayla Reed 6, Journey Lee 5, Emily Elfers 4, and Reagan Beims 4. Weskan was led by 6' sophomore Alivia McKinney with 20 and 5' 9" junior McKenna Hale with 8. The Lady Indians made 6 of 12 free-throws; the Lady Coyotes made 5 of 13.
Kyla Bandel placed second in the three-point shooting contest and second in the free-throw contest. Kyla also was selected to the All-Tournament Team along with the following players: Alivia McKinney - Weskan (6' 0" So.); Shana Rogge - Triplains-Brewster (5' 8" Sr.); Dara Roulier - Triplains-Brewster (6' 0" Sr.); and Kadee Braun - Logan (6' 0" Sr.).
The Lady Indians will play Dundy County - Stratton on December 19. The game will be the first home game for the Lady Indians this season.
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