Lady Indians Earn 3rd Place
The Lady Indians defeated the Logan Lady Trojans in the third place contest of the Brewster Sagebrush Classic Basketball Tournament on Saturday, December 10. With the 49-38 overtime win, the Lady Indians improved their season record to 2-2. Hanna Bracelin won the girls free-throw contest. Hanna also was selected to the five-player All-Tournament Team.
The contest opened with a pair of treys, one by Logan's 5' 5" sophomore Brianna Pinkerton and one by St. Francis sophomore Lauren Johnson. A pair of free-throws by Taighe Weeter and a left-wing trey by Emileigh Dinkel (assist Karly Bandel) moved the Lady Indians in front 8-3. A post-move basket by Ryann Kats (5' 9" Jr.) was answered by a shot from the left corner by Reagan Beims (assist Hanna Bracelin). Logan used their first time-out with 2:55 remaining in the quarter, and scored the final three baskets of the period. The scores came on a transition basket by Camryn Greving (5' 8" Fr.) in the post, a stick-back bucket by Tristen McClurg (5' 0" Sr.), and a steal-two by Kats. St. Francis trailed 10-11 after one quarter.
Logan did not score in the second period as the Lady Indians' defense cranked up the intensity. St. Francis scored eleven unanswered points to lead 21-11 at halftime. Emileigh Dinkel chipped in two free-throws to get the scoring started. Hanna Bracelin followed with a score in the lane. Taighe Weeter scored on an offensive rebound moving the score to 15-11. Lauren Johnson's assist led to a trey by Bracelin. Logan called time-out with 4:10 left in the first half trailing 18-11. Only one basket was scored in the final four minutes of the half; a right-wing trey by Bracelin (assist Lauren Johnson). St. Francis led at halftime, 21-11.
Logan returned to the floor after the halftime break ready to play. The Lady Trojans scored the first three baskets of the third period to trim the Lady Indians' advantage to 21-17. Hanna Bracelin's score in the lane prevented the Lady Trojan run from going any further. After a Logan free-throw, Bracelin scored twice more. Zoe Sundstrom's driving score at 4:00 gave the Lady Indians a comfortable 29-18 lead. Logan scored three baskets in the next minute and 49 seconds to narrow the gap again. St. Francis called time-out at 2:11 leading 29-24. Only one more basket would be scored in the period; a top-of-the-key trey by Lauren Johnson (assist Madi Tice). St. Francis led 32-24 after three periods.
Logan's Ryann Kats scored two baskets to open the final period; a left-wing trey and a fast-break basket. Lauren Johnson followed with a score from the right corner (assist Reagan Beims). Lexi Hilburn (5' 7" Jr.) answered with a shot in the lane at 3:10. Kat's free-throw and a turnover-two by Karlee Braun (5' 6" Sr.) tied the game at 34-all with approximately two minutes to play. At 1:30 Lindsey Johnson's steal and assist on a lay-up by Bracelin put the Lady Indians back in front. Five seconds later, a foul on the Lady Indians sent Braun to the line where she swished consecutive shots. In less than one minute, the Lady Indians committed two turnovers, but Logan did not capitalize on either. With 33.2 seconds left, Logan called time-out to set up a play. The Lady Trojans missed their shot attempt, but rebounded the ball a called time-out again. On the next Logan miss, Lauren Johnson grabbed the rebound and advanced the ball up the court before St. Francis called time-out with 5.8 seconds to go. The sideline out-of-bounds pass by Lauren Johnson was mishandled but recovered by Zoe Sundstrom. Sundstrom's last second shot was no good sending the game to overtime with the score tied at 36.
In the first minute of the overtime, Emileigh Dinkel sank a free throw giving the Lady Indians a one-point lead. At 3:05, Logan's Greving scored on an offensive rebound putting the Lady Trojans ahead for the first time since the opening moments of the second period. Lindsey Johnson's shot from the left corner at 2:48 made the lead short-lived. With 1:30 remaining, a Logan turnover led to a trey by Hanna Bracelin (assist Lauren Johnson). Again, the Lady Indians were called for a foul sending Logan to the line. Neither toss was good, Lindsey Johnson rebounded the basketball was was fouled four seconds later. After Lindsey sank both free-throws, the Lady Indians' lead grew to 44-35. Moments later, a steal by Lindsey returned the basketball to the Lady Indians. St. Francis would score twice more; a free-throw by Bracelin and a lay-up by Lauren Johnson to win 49-38 in overtime.
St. Francis was led in scoring by Hanna Bracelin with 22 points. Other Lady Indians contributing to the scoring total were Lauren Johnson 8, Emileigh Dinkel 5, Taighe Weeter 4, Lindsey Johnson 4, Reagan Beims 4, and Zoe Sundstrom 2. The Lady Indians made 9 of 14 from the line.
Logan was paced by Ryann Kats with 14 points. Camryn Greving and Karlee Braun each scored 6.
St. Francis will play Dundy County - Stratton in St. Francis on Friday, December 16. The Lady Tigers are currently 6-0 with their closest margin of victory being 18 points. The Lady Tigers competed in the 2016 Nebraska State Tournament and are looking to return averaging 61.2 ppg and holding opponents to 26.5 ppg. The Lady Tigers are shooting 41% from the field, averaging 28.7 rpg, and 17.5 spg. The Lady TIgers are led by 5' 9" senior Aubrey Fredrick (17.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Grace Fredrick (7.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg).
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