Lady Indians Place Second
The Lady Indians earned a second-place finish in the 2018 Sagebrush Shootout Basketball Tournament. The Lady Indians were defeated by a good Golden Plains team 33-54 in the championship contest of the tournament on Saturday, December 8, in Brewster.
Golden Plains (GP) earned a quick 0-4 lead getting baskets by Mabel Lugo (5' 7" So.) and Noel Ritter (5' 8" Sr.) to open the contest. Emma Johnson's right-wing trey pulled the Lady Indians within one, but St. Francis would never lead in the contest. Several early turnovers led to additional possessions for the Lady Bulldogs and as the empty possessions and fouls mounted for the Lady Indians, the point spread increased. Ashley Stoll (5' 8" So.) scored on a jumper in the lane, and Hannah Zimbal followed with a fast-break basket on an assist from Karly Bandel. Zoey Hillis (6' 0" Jr.) then added consecutive free-throws. At 3:50, St. Francis took their first time-out trailing 5-8. As play continued, the foul count on the Lady Indians continued to mount as the Lady Indians challenged the aggressive play of the Lady Bulldogs. The next Lady Bulldog score was a signal of things to come; Brooke Stoll (5' 6" So.) swished a right-wing trey. It would be the first of three in the quarter for her. Bandel earned a basket in the lane moving the scoreboard to 7-12, but the Lady Indians would not score again for a while. Lugo's free-throw preceded two more treys by Brooke Stoll; one from the right-wing and the second from the top-of-the-key at the first-quarter buzzer. St. Francis trailed GP 7-18 at the first-quarter break.
Brooke Stoll would strike again.....opening the second period with another right-wing trey (7-21). Hannah Zimbal added one-of-two from the stripe moments later. At 6:25, GP called time-out, and returned to the floor to add a right baseline jumper by Ashley Stoll after earning three consecutive offensive rebounds on the possession. A free-throw by Kassie Miller (5' 5" Fr.) moved the score to 8-24. Lauren Johnson swished a top-of-the-key trey on an assist by Emma Johnson. Lindsey Johnson then added an offensive rebound bucket narrowing the gap to 13-24. Ashley Stoll followed with a left-elbow jumper and two more free-throws. At 2:51, St. Francis used their second time-out. Only one more basket would be scored in the half; a stick-back basket by Zoey Hillis. St. Francis trailed 13-30 at halftime.
Kassie Miller opened the second half scoring with a free-throw for the Lady Bulldogs, Brooke Stoll followed with a right corner trey increasing the margin to 20-plus (13-34). Emma Johnson added a top-of-the-key trey for the Lady Indians ending a long drought for St. Francis. After a press-offense basket by Ashley Stoll, Johnson drained a trey from the left wing. Miller answered with a trey from the top for GP. St. Francis took a time-out at 1:39. No more points were scored in the quarter. The Lady Indians trailed 19-39 at the third-quarter break.
The mounting number of fouls was about to loom larger as the Lady Bulldogs entered the bonus situation. GP would shoot 14 free-throws in the final period. After four consecutive free-throws; two each by Lugo and A. Stoll, Emma Johnson earned a steal-two (plus one). A. Stoll then added a free-throw, an out-bounds-play jumper, and a left corner basket to increase the margin to 22-48. Lauren Johnson then added a top-of-the-key trey. After free-throws by Hillis and Lindsey Johnson, Hillis scored from the post. On a three offensive-rebound possession, GP added a baseline jumper by A. Stoll. At 3:53, Hannah Zimbal fouled out of the contest. The final Lady Bulldog point came on a free-throw by A. Stoll moving the scoreboard to 27-54. With several substitute players completing the contest for both teams, St. Francis' Mia Morrow added a right-wing jumper off an assist by Lauren Johnson. Morrow scored again from a similar location moments later. Jordyn Faulkender added the final basket of the game on an offensive rebound. St. Francis lost to a good Golden Plains team 33-54.
Ashley Stoll led all scorers with 18 points. Brooke Stoll added 15 on 5 treys. Zoey Hillis chipped in 7 points. Four other Lady Bulldogs also scored in the contest. The Lady Bulldogs made 14 of 31 from the line, committed 11 fouls, and had 13 turnovers.
St. Francis was led in scoring by Emma Johnson with 12 points. Lauren Johnson added 6. Lindsey Johnson and Mia Morrow each chipped in 4. Hannah Zimbal added 3 while Karly Bandel and Jordyn Faulkender each scored 2. St. Francis was whistled for 22 fouls, committed 21 turnovers (8 in the 1st period), and made 4 of 8 from the stripe.
Karly Bandel was selected to the five-player All-Tournament team.
The Lady Indians will play Dundy County Stratton, in St. Francis, on Friday, December 14. The Lady Tigers currently have a record of 5-0 with wins over Potter-Dix (62-8), Kimball (69-42), Medicine Valley (62-20), Maywood-Hayes Center (75-33) and Hitchcock County (70-30).
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