Lady Indians Advance
The St. Francis Lady Indians advanced to the championship semifinals of the Brewster Sagebrush Classic Basketball Tournament with a 63-41 win over Cheylin on Monday afternoon. The Lady Indians will play Golden Plains in the semifinal game on Friday, December 9, at 6:00 p.m. in the South Gym at Brewster High School. Golden Plains advanced by defeating Heartland Christian 62-20 on Monday evening.
St. Francis jumped all over the Lady Cougars early in the contest. St. Francis' aggressive defense gave the Lady Cougars difficulty especially early in the contest. The result was many turnovers leading to additional possessions for the Lady Indians. Though the game was a hack-fest with 44 total fouls (22 on each team) and 52 free-throw attempts, only one player fouled out of the contest. Thirty free-throws were attempted in the first half alone as neither team adjusted well defensively.
The Lady Indians took a 5-0 lead getting an early basket (plus one) from Reagan Biems on a high-low pass from Hanna Bracelin and a steal-two by Zoe Sundstrom. After a Cheylin free-throw, Lindsey Johnson scored on an offensive rebound, Beims scored on an out-of-bounds play (assist Karly Bandel), Madi Tice added two free-throws, Emileigh Dinkel swished a trey from the right-wing (assist Lauren Johnson), and Johnson scored from the left side. The outburst quickly advanced the score to 16-1. Meanwhile, the Lady Cougars were having difficulty getting shots against the defensive pressure applied by the Lady Indians and the Cheylin turnovers continued to mount. Cheylin moved into the bonus with 30 seconds left in the first period. Jessie Frisbie (5' 10" So.) scored two free-throws for the Lady Cougars in the final seconds of the first period making the score 16-3 at the first quarter break.
Twelve of the 14 Lady Cougars points in the second period came from the free-throw line. St. Francis also added 9 points to their total from the stripe. Hanna Bracelin opened the second period with a score from the lane. After three Cheylin free-throws, Bracelin recorded two assists on a fast-break basket by Lauren Johnson and a left-wing trey by Emileigh Dinkel. Madi Tice's steal and assist led to a Taighe Weeter lay-up. Another steal-two by Bracelin moved the point spread past twenty for the first time (27-6). Cheylin called their second time-out with 4:26 left in the first half. After the time-out, Rachel Keltz (5' 11" Jr.) scored from the post for the Lady Cougars; the only field goal of the first half the Lady Cougars would score. Weeter's assist to Bracelin on a cut through the lane was followed by a Bandel assist to Bracelin on a break (plus one). The margin grew to 32-8. The remainder of the points scored in the first half came from the stripe, as both teams were whistled for numerous fouls. St. Francis led 40-15 at halftime.
As might be expected, Cheylin returned to the floor with renewed determination; while the Lady Indians appeared a bit disinterested and began the second half with offensive carelessness. Several Lady Indian turnovers led to extra possessions for the Lady Cougars. Cheylin earned the first basket of the second half on an offensive rebound by Jessie Frisbie. Forty-seven seconds into the second half, Zoe Sundstrom picked up her fourth foul. After a Keltz free-throw, Josie Frisbie (5' 6" So.) scored on an offensive rebound trimming the deficit to 40-20. The small Cheylin run was halted by a trey by Lauren Johnson (assist Hanna Bracelin). Cheylin scored the next 8 points on consecutive treys by Arais Castillo (5' 6" Sr.) and an offensive rebound by Kaylynn Hendricks (5' 8" Fr.). With 2:28 left in the third period, St. Francis called time-out to re-group leading 45-28. After the time-out, Lauren Johnson's assist found Bracelin in the post for a score. Castillo answered with another trey, her third in a row, from the right-wing. The Lady Indians closed the period with two Bracelin free-throws and a basket by Taighe Weeter (assist Bracelin). St. Francis had struggled somewhat, being out-scored 9-16 during the period, but still led 49-31.
The teams played nearly evenly during the final stanza. St. Francis scored the first three baskets of the final period getting a steal-assist from Madi Tice that set up a lay-up by Taighe Weeter, a left-corner shot by Hanna Bracelin, and Bracelin score from the free-throw area after an assist by Karly Bandel. The small run moved the Lady Indian advantage to 55-31. Zoe Sundstrom wedged an offensive rebound basket between two driving scores by Jessie Frisbie. Emileigh Dinkel then swished a trey from the right-wing (assist Bracelin), but Frisbie answered again from the left corner. Keltz preceded a driving basket by Lindsey Johnson with a strong post move. The game closed after a free-throw by Zoe Sundstrom and another Cheylin score from the left-wing. St. Francis defeated Cheylin 63-41 though the Lady Cougars had won the second half of the contest.
Hanna Bracelin led the Lady Indians in scoring with 19 points. Seven other Lady Indians also added to the total. Those scoring for St. Francis included Emileigh Dinkel 9, Lauren Johnson 8, Taighe Weeter 8, Lindsey Johnson 5, Zoe Sundstrom 5, Reagan Beims 5, and Madi Tice 4. St. Francis made 15 of 26 free throw attempts.
Jessie Frisbie led Cheylin with 14 points. Arais Castillo added 10 and Rachel Keltz chipped in 9. The Lady Cougars made 14 of 28 from the stripe.
