Kocer sets record in 58-38 Lady Lynx win

Danica Kocer was in a record-setting mode in Tuesday’s 20-point victory, a 58-38 outcome, over the visiting Sioux Falls Washington Warriors.

The Lady Lynx senior established a new school record for made 3-point field goals in a career. The record, which was previously held by Sara Hieb and stood at 122, bumped up to 123 as Kocer swished five three’s Tuesday night on Brandon Valley’s home floor. And with the season just five games in, Kocer stands to continually break her own record, which included a trio of 3’s in Thursday’s defeat of Mitchell.

Although the Warriors (4-1) kept pace with the Lynx through the first quarter, 14-11, BV literaly shut down the Warrior offense in the second stanza, limiting them to a single point. 

“We really put together a complete game,” said Lynx head coach Mark Stadem. “The girls played some really good basketball on both ends of the floor.”

A parade of Lady Lynx contributed to the winning cause in the second quarter, which included three of Kocer’s five three’s. In the meantime, Washington – which had the height advantage - gave up the ball either on self-inflicted turnovers or stingy defense by the Lynx. Their only point of the period was a single free throw netted by Samiya Jami with 48 seconds to play.

Stadem felt his team adjusted well to the Warriors.

“Their size can cause teams a lot of problems, and it really challenged us all game. The girls showed a lot of grit hanging in there and battling their bigs,” he said.

Averaging 14 steals a game, the Lynx surpassed that by two against Washington. BV’s Trinity Law opened the second half with a steal she took the length of the floor for two. Despite the early turnover, the Warriors doubled their score in the third quarter largely behind the scoring of Jami, who finished the night with 13 points. Kocer popped in two more 3-pointers in the period, and got contributions from Law, Ashley Wells and Hannah Behrens to make it 43-25 heading into the fourth.

Once again, Stadem utilized his deep-in-talent bench in the fourth, resulting in a 15-point production. The Warriors nearly matched the effort with 13, but the deficit was too big to dig out of by the fourth-quarter buzzer.

BV shot an impressive 75 percent from two-point range, 15-20, and dropped 8-22 from beyond the arc, for a 36 percent rating. Kocer was the only Lady Lynx to score in double figures; she had 19. Aiding the winning cause were Law with nine, Emma Jarovski with eight and Ashley Wells with seven.

For Washington, Sydni Schetnan tossed in eight and Leah Barber had six.

The Warriors had the clear advantage on the glass, 27-18. BV’s rebounding effort was led by Lauren Wells, who had six. Behrens hauled in four and Jarovski clamped onto three.

Assists were plentiful for the Lynx. Lauren Wells and Law both dished out four, while Mara Schaap, Ashley Wells and Hailey Pieper all had two.

Schaap, Pieper and Lauren Wells all had three steals to their credit. Behrens and Ashley Wells had two and one block, respectively.

BV forced the Warriors into 20 turnovers, and the Lynx were charged with 12.

“When we share the ball on offense we can be very difficult to guard. We have numerous girls who can score, and when we are playing for each other, not worrying about stats or minutes, it can be a lot of fun,” Stadem said. “We had numerous girls step up and make contributions in this one, and that will have to be the theme with this team all season.”

 

Brandon Valley 14 27 43 58

SF Washington 11 12 25 38

 

Brandon Valley (2PFG, 3PFG, FT, TP): Andrea Cain 1-2 0-0 0-1 2; Mara Schaap 0-0 0-2 3-4 3; Emma Jarovski 1-1 2-5 0-0 8; Lauren Wells 0-0 0-2 0-0 0; Danica Kocer 2-2 5-7 0-0 19; Hannah Behrens 3-5 0-0 0-0 6; Ashley Wells 2-3 1-2 0-0 7; Trinity Law 4-4 0-3 1-5 9; Lexi Ellingson 1-1 0-0 0-0 2; Jazmyn Larson 0-0 0-1 0-0 0; Hailey Peiper 1-2 0-0 0-0 2. Totals: 15-20 8-22 4-10 58.