Lady Broncos cage the Tigers; defeat Lady Pats

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos are right on track as their season settles into a bi-weekly schedule. The ladies traveled to Hartley last Tuesday night and played to a 43-33 win. They then took on San Jacinto on the road and outlasted them in a high-scoring game at 82-66.

In the game with Hartley, the Lady Broncos held a slight advantage early in the game, but trailed by one point at the break. After a big third quarter, the ladies found their rhythm and stayed solid to get the win.

“The girls played a great game against Hartley after a long two-hour bus ride,” coach Korey Conkin said. “We had our best third quarter so far and took a good lead going into the fourth. We had to overcome two starters sitting with three fouls in the first half, but fought back in the second.”

Shaelyn Owiti put in 13 points and Berkeley Alexander added 12. Brianna Butler put in nine, Hannah Howard had five, and Jensen Hatley helped with four. The team shot 58 percent from the free throw line.

On Friday, the ladies played hard against a good team. They were able to dominate early and settle in to a fundamental game. They turned up the heat from the bonus line and finished at 86 percent. San Jacinto had to play catch up the entire game, but could never stop what the Lady Broncos threw at them.

“I told the girls they would probably not see a better guard than the one from San Jacinto,” Conkin said. “She was hard to stop with her quick handles and her step-back long shot. We were able to play with true grit by way of suiting up only seven girls of which two fouled out early in the fourth quarter. The girls also stepped up and hit many free throws to finish up a tough game.”

Alexander finished the game with 28 and Butler was hot outside with 20. Owiti, Hommel, and Briley Chadwick put in 10 each, and Howard helped with four.

The ladies will go to River Road on November 29 and then participate in the Miami Tournament December 1-3.