Lady Indians Advance to Sub-State Championship
With a ten-point victory over the Triplains-Brewster Lady Titans, the St. Francis Lady Indians advanced to the championship game of the Sub-State Basketball Tournament to be held in Quinter on Saturday, March 4. The Lady Indians played especially well in the first half of the contest, earned a twenty-three-point lead early in the second half and held on for a 46-36 victory. The Lady Indians never trailed in the contest, and the win avenged a loss to the Lady Titans (46-56) approximately one month previous.
In what may have been the Lady Indians best half of the season, St. Francis jumped out to an impressive 18-4 first quarter lead. Hanna Bracelin and Reagan Beims each scored on offensive rebounds and Taighe Weeter added a jumper from the right-wing (assist Bracelin) before the Lady Titans placed any points on the scoreboard. After a Triplains-Brewster (TPB) score in the lane, Bracelin added a free-throw and TPB's Taryn Stramel added a runner in the lane. With 3;26 left in the first period, St. Francis used their first time-out leading 7-4. After returning to the floor, the Lady Indians clicked off 11 unanswered points advancing the score to 18-4 by quarter's end. In the run, St. Francis earned a left-wing shot by Bracelin, a top-of-the key trey by Lauren Johnson, a free-throw and left-elbow shot by Lindsey Johnson, and a stick-back basket (plus one) by Bracelin.
The run continued into the second period with the Lady Indians opening with a fast-break score by Taighe Weeter (assist Lauren Johnson) and a Johnson free-throw. The 14-point run gave the Lady Indians some much-needed breathing room and a 21-4 advantage in the contest. The Lady Titans' Maddie Lamb scored from the left-baseline ending the St. Francis run. Maiah Carter added another basket to the TPB side of the scoreboard on an out-of-bounds play. The Lady Indians responded with a driving lay-up by Weeter, a post basket by Hanna Bracelin (assist Emileigh Dinkel) and a left-wing trey by Karly Bandel (assist Bracelin). St. Francis led 28-8 at the halftime break. The Lady Indians had been offensively efficient limiting their first-halt turnovers to 9 and had played especially well defensively causing many TPB turnovers with limited fouls..
But a competitive Triplains-Brewster team was not going to quit fighting and improved their play dramatically in the the second half. After an opening basket from the left-corner by Zoe Sundstrom, it became apparent what TPB's game plan for the second half would be. Maiah Carter, TPB's strong post-player, scored on a stick-back basket and soon would add several more points from the post. Though the Lady Indians soon received two treys, one each from Lauren Johnson and Emileigh Dinkel, extending the margin to 23 points (36-13), the Lady Titans were poised to make a run. The Lady Titans scored five consecutive baskets in the final four minutes of the third period to trim the advantage to 36-23. Meanwhile, the Lady Indians were losing composure and tallying up many of their 16 second-half turnovers.
With 7:35 left in the final period, a basket by Stramel moved the Lady Titans within ten points (36-26). A short-time later, the Lady Indians scored their first basket in six minutes of play on an assist by Hanna Bracelin to Lauren Johnson in the lane. With approximately 5:30 to play, the Lady Titans drained a trey reducing the lead to single-digits (38-29). After two free-throws by Lindsey Johnson, TPB earned a post basket by Stramel. Two free-throws by Carter trimmed the lead to seven (40-33) with 3:46 to go. Then, neither team scored in over two minutes, as the Lady Indians began to be very deliberate offensively and both teams missed the shots they attempted. With approximately 1:30 to play, Bracelin scored in the post for the Lady Indians. At 1:03, TPB's Carter was called for an offensive foul nullifying a certain basket. After a Bracelin free-throw, Elke Kernal sank a left-wing trey for TPB narrowing the lead to 43-36. The Lady Titans quickly called time-out with 31.6 seconds to go. Needing to foul to preserve the clock, the Lady Titans failed to do so until almost ten seconds had expired. With 22.2 seconds remaining, Bracelin sank consecutive free-throws. After a miss by the Lady Titans, Zoe Sundstrom sank one-of-two to move the final score to 46-36.
Triplains-Brewster was led in scoring by 5' 9" junior Maiah Carter with 14 points (8 in the 3rd period). Taryn Stramel (5' 6" junior) added 8 points. The Lady Titans made 5 of 9 from the line as the Lady Indians had played exceptional defense without fouling..
The Lady Indians received 15 points from Hanna Bracelin (8 in the 1st period). Lauren Johnson added 9 points and Taighe Weeter 6. Others adding to the Lady Indians' point total were Lindsey Johnson 5, Zoe Sundstrom 3, Karly Bandel 3, Emileigh Dinkel 3, and Reagan Beims 2. The Lady Indians converted 10 of 18 from the free-throw line.
With the win, the Lady Indians advanced to the Sub-State championship game against Quinter to be played at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, in Quinter. The Lady Indians have not played for the Sub-State Championship since 1989.
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