A hot shooting first quarter mixed in with stingy defense throughout has Bishop Brossart’s girls basketball team moving on in the 37th District tournament.
The Lady ‘Stangs were throwing it into the ocean in the first quarter, scoring 29 points and off to a lead as much as 17 in the first eight minutes against Scott at Campbell County Middle School.
Brossart (25-6) was in cruise control the rest of the way with a 61-40 victory, a stark contrast from the victory over Scott the first time on Jan. 30.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be 86-64 like it was last time,” Brossart coach Aaron Stamm said. “We just scored at will, it was unbelievable. But I was more happy with how we guarded tonight.”
Kylie Smith led the way with 22 points, but the defensive end is where she understood the assignment. Coming in facing the NKAC Division II Player of the Year in Noelle Price, Smith was tasked with containing Price and did so admirably, holding her to eight points through three quarters.
“Just keep her in front of me,” Smith said. “She’s a really good, fast player and I know that because she’s one of my best friends, we play AAU together. We’re on the same team. So I know how quick she is, my goal was just to keep her in front of me and then hopefully not let her score.”
Price would finish with 17 as she got going in the fourth, but nothing came easy. She was constantly faceguarded by Smith as others on the Lady Eagles (10-18) struggled to get much going on the offensive end.
“They jump on you early, and then it’s you have to fight so hard to get back to it,” Eagles coach Eric Pouncy said. “And it’s just it’s tough with the length and everything.”
Scott’s tough season comes to a close as they had to deal with three projected starters transferring in the offseason while second leading scorer Sydney Richmond injured her knee in January and was out for the season. It put a roster filled with underclassmen in spots they weren’t accustomed to in a hurry.
“I’m expecting these kids to do more and then when I thought about it, none of them have had this experience of playing in a game like this with Brossart or Campbell,” Pouncy said. “It was all brand new for everyone but Noelle. But this year was huge for growth. We played a tough schedule, these kids got pushed and will have us prepared for next year.”
Scott is expected to return everyone next season without a senior on the roster.
After the blazing first quarter, things calmed a bit for Brossart on the offensive end. They went without a point in the final five minutes of the first half, but held Scott to just four points in the second and taking a 34-17 lead into halftime.
“We got a little bit relaxed there,” Stamm said. “Just had to refocus and we were really focused on the defensive end.”
Attacking the paint was the name of the game for the Lady ‘Stangs in the third, getting to the line nine times and hitting seven of those attempts, taking a 46-27 lead into the fourth.
Price scored five quick ones to open the fourth to get the deficit to 14, but Brossart’s ability to get out in transition after defensive stops started to wear Scott down as they jumped back ahead 59-36 in the closing minutes.
The victory sets up a battle with Campbell County for the 37th District championship on Wednesday back at Campbell County Middle School.
“They’re good. They’re real good,” Stamm said. “They’re a top 10, top 15 team in the state and they shoot the ball well. We have to run at them and get them off the 3-point line. First time against them they jumped out to a 10 or 12-point lead and we have to avoid doing that again. But we’ll come up with a game plan and do what needs to be done to stay in it.”
Tip is set for 7 p.m. as both have also advanced to the 10th Region tournament next week at Harrison County.
MORE PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Will Jones
LADY ‘STANGS 61, LADY EAGLES 40
SCOTT — 13-4-10-13 — 40
BROSSART — 29-5-12-15 — 61
Scoring
Scott (40) — Price 17, Porada 6, E. Karl 5, A. Karl 5, Miller 4, Bartlett 3
Brossart (61) — Smith 22, Kramer 11, Wieholter 8, Meyers 7, Guidugli 6, Eviston 4, Shewmaker 3
Records: Scott 10-18, Bishop Brossart 25-6