Bishop Brossart got off to a hot start, thing is, Bethlehem was on fire.
The Banshees (16-6) didn’t miss much in the first half against the Mustangs (17-6), shooting out to a 41-26 halftime lead on their way to a 66-49 victory in Friday’s girls All “A” state tournament quarterfinals at Eastern Kentucky University.
Bethlehem ended up shooting 50 percent from the field, but the first half is where the damage was done, hitting just under 60% of their shots.
“We played a three-two, a two-three, man, sagging man. I mean, anything we did they just made shots in the first half,” Mustangs coach Steve Brown said.
The Mustangs held a 16-13 lead thanks to Zoee Meyers burning up the nets with three of her six 3-pointers the game. That would be their last lead of the game, however, as the Banshees responded with a 11-2 run to end the quarter and take a 24-18 lead into the second.
They really started to separate from there as four different players ended up in double figures led by Carlie Thurmond’s 18 points. Emma Filiatreau had 16, Tessa Miles and Ashtyn Miles with 15 apiece.
After Bethlehem built the 15-point halftime lead, Brossart was unable to get any closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Meyers led Brossart with 20 points, Molly Kramer adding 10.
While it may not have ended how they wanted, Brossart still took in the ultimate experience of being able to practice at Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University on Thursday in-between their first round game with Jackson County and Friday’s quarterfinal matchup, as well as play on EKU’s floor.
“I think I feel pretty good about the loss because we’ve got six seniors and they’ve kind of seen it before. Maybe not a big part of it before. necessarily, but they’ve seen it before and they’re mature bunch of kids and we’ll be fine. It gave these kids an opportunity to play or practice on three college floors and we’ll be ready to go the rest of the season,” Brown said.
The loss snapped Brossart’s eight-game winning streak.
Now they’ll shift their attention to the final three weeks of the regular season that still includes an important 37th District matchup with Scott on Feb. 7.
“We start the grind and now we look towards the district and I’m not so sure that there may not be a draw or whatever to get this thing figured out before it’s over with. We’d love the one seed because it gets you to the region, but it doesn’t guarantee you’re going to win the district,” Brown said.
BETHLEHEM — 24-17-13-12 — 66
BISHOP BROSSART — 18-8-10-13 — 49
Bethlehem (66) – Thurmond 18, Filiatreau 16, T. Miles 15, A. Miles 15, Clayton 2
Brossart (49) – Meyers 20, Kramer 10, Planeaux 7, Lloyd 5, Shewmaker 4, Rowe 3