Lady Indians Play Well in Weskan
The Lady Indians played well in their games against Weskan on Tuesday, January 9. The junior varsity Lady Indians earned a 28-7 victory in a two-quarter contest to open the evening. The varsity Lady Indians played with good poise and confidence to gain a 57-29 win.
In the JV contest, St. Francis jumped out to an early 14-1 lead and cruised to a lop-sided win. The Lady Indians played good defense and worked the basketball well offensively, but the major factor in the contest was the numerous turnovers tallied by the Lady Coyotes. St. Francis gained many extra opportunities to score from the empty possessions the Coyotes faced. St. Francis scored off the opening tip on an assist by Karly Bandel ending in a lay-up by Emma Johnson. Johnson's steal-two gave the Lady Indians a four-point advantage. Freshman Stephany Rother made one-of-two to place the Lady Coyotes on the scoreboard. Johnson's top-of-the-key trey was followed by a post basket by Hannah Zimbal and a right-wing trey by Alondra Gomez. With 2:50 remaining in the first quarter, Weskan called time-out to re-group trailing 12-1. Gomez scored on a turnover-two a short time later. The Lady Coyotes first basket of the contest came late in the first quarter when freshman JC Allen scored from the right baseline. Emma Johnson set up the last basket of the period with an assist to her sister Lauren.
Lauren Johnson's top-of-the-key trey opened the second and final period giving the Lady Indians a 19-3 advantage. Weskan's Blakely Aldridge (Fr.) earned an offensive rebound basket, but Taighe Weeter soon answered with a driving score. At 5:05, St. Francis took a 30-second time-out for strategy. On the next SF possession, Hannah Zimbal scored on a nice cut to the basket. Emma Johnson's top-of-the-key trey gave St. Francis a 26-5 lead. Late in the contest, Jylian Laten's offensive rebound basket was followed by a left-wing score by JC Allen. St. Francis had dominated the action, winning 28-7.
Emma Johnson led St. Francis in scoring with 10 points. Lauren Johnson and Alondra Gomez each added 5. Others scoring for St. Francis included Hannah Zimbal 4, Jylian Laten 2, and Taighe Weeter 2. JC Allen led the Lady Coyotes with 4 four points.
St. Francis controlled the action throughout the varsity girls game. The Lady Indians valued the basketball limiting turnovers and played an offensively aggressive game. Weskan junior Jenna See opened the game with a lay-up. Lindsey Johnson followed with a pair of free-throws, but See soon scored from the free-throw area. The Lady Indians tied the game on an assist from Hanna Bracelin leading to a break basket by Taighe Weeter. Freshman Brylee Aldridge swished a shot from the right-wing to give Weskan a 4-6 advantage. It would be the last lead the Lady Coyotes would hold. Lauren Johnson scored from the right-elbow after an assist by Reagan Beims, and Lindsey Johnson added an offensive rebound basket at 3:56 to give St. Francis an 8-6 lead. A nice pass from Karly Bandel led to a left-elbow score by Bracelin. After Lady Indian turnover led to another See lay-up, the Lady Indians closed the quarter with three more scores; all coming after Bandel assists. Lindsey Johnson, Lauren Johnson (trey), and Bracelin each added baskets to increase the St. Francis lead to 17-8.
Good defense coupled with some cold shooting by the Lady Coyotes limited Weskan's scoring output to 4 points in the second period. Though the Lady Indians only scored 10 in the quarter, it was enough to extend the margin to 15 points. Reagan Beims opened the period with consecutive free-throws. After a stick-back basket by Allen, Lindsey Johnson scored on a offensive rebound for St. Francis. Taighe Weeter then added a turnover-two and an assist on a basket by Karly Bandel. The Lady Indians now led 25-10. Stephany Rother (Fr.) chipped in an offensive rebound basket for Weskan with approximately 3-and-a-half minutes to play in the first half. Only one basket was scored in the final minutes of the half, a post basket by Hannah Zimbal on an assist from Jylian Laten. St. Francis led 27-12 at halftime.
The Lady Indians would continue to slowly increase their lead throughout the second half. Lauren Johnson opened the third period with a coast-to-coast drive. Lindsey Johnson soon added another offensive rebound basket. After a score by Aldridge, Reagan Beims found Taighe Weeter open for a fast-break basket (33-14). Aldridge then added back-to-back treys; one from the left side and the other from the top-of-the-key. St. Francis then received two free-throws by Emma Johnson and two free-throws from Hanna Bracelin to return the margin to 19 points (39-20). The final scores of the period came on a pair of free-throws by Weskan's Hallie Eck (Jr.) and a post move by Reagan Beims. St. Francis led 41-22 after three periods of play.
Lauren Johnson scored on a strong cut to the hoop to open the final period (assist Reagan Beims). Beims followed with an out-of-bounds play basket. After a baseline jumper by Aldridge, See scored in the lane, and Aldridge swished a trey from the right wing. The flurry trimmed the margin to 46-29, but it would be the last points the Lady Coyotes would score. St. Francis added the final eleven points of the contest to the scoreboard. Lauren Johnson's assist led to a basket by Taighe Weeter. Karly Bandel scored on a baseline drive. Emma Johnson, Weeter, and Hanna Bracelin each added free-throws, and Jylian Laten scored on a cut to the basket after an assist by Beims. St. Francis had controlled the action throughout and defeated a scrappy Weskan team 57-29.
St. Francis received balanced scoring with three players in double-figures; Taighe Weeter 12, Lindsey Johnson 10, and Hanna Bracelin 10. Others adding to the Lady Indians' point total were Lauren Johnson 7, Reagan Beims 6, Karly Bandel 4, Emma Johnson 3, Hannah Zimbal 3, and Jylian Laten 2. The Lady Indians made 14 of 20 from the line and only committed 7 fouls.
Weskan was led by freshman Brylee Aldridge with 15 points. Jenna See added 8. The Lady Coyotes made 2 of 4 from the stripe and were called for 13 fouls.
St. Francis will play Dighton, in St. Francis, on Friday, January 12.
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