Lady Lynx clinch 56-50 victory at charity stripe
By:
Jill Meier, Journal editor
Brandon Valley’s Lexi Ellingson pushes her way through two Brookings defenders in the team’s 56-50 win Jan. 4 against the visiting Brookings Bobcats. Ellingson scored four points in the ESD Conference victory. Jill Meier/BV Journal
Brandon Valley and Brookings (3-2, 3-2 ESD) matched up in nearly every facet of their Jan. 4 meeting in Brandon, except for one: free throws.
And that’s largely what lifted the Lady Lynx to a 56-50 Eastern South Dakota Conference victory. The Lynx were given 22 chances at the charity stripe, where they cashed in on 17, while the Bobcats had limited opportunities, sinking 5 of 6.
“The girls showed some guts in this one,” Lynx head coach Mark Stadem said. “It was a game to dig down and finish.”
BV’s fast-paced offense dictated the first half, charging to 17-10 and 32-22 leads at the first- and second-quarter breaks.
The second half was a different story, however.
“The emotional win on Tuesday (at Harrisburg) took a bit of a toll and it showed in the second half,” Stadem said. “When we get tired like that, we have to learn to communicate a little better on the defensive end.”
Behind Michaela Jewett’s game-high 23 points and another 10 from Johanna Miller, the Bobcats made runs at the Lynx lead, getting within two points, but were never able to tie things up or overcome the deficit.
“Give Brookings credit, they had some girls hit some big shots in the second half, but we always seemed to have an answer,” Stadem said.
Danica Kocer put up 18 points to lead the Lynx. Trinity Law and Ashley Wells kicked in 13 and 10 points, respectively. The Lynx hit 7-17 from the perimeter. The Bobcats also collected on seven 3-pointers out of 15 tries.
The Lynx had a slight edge on the boards, 24-21, and had four players credited with four rebounds: Felicity Klinkhammer, Ashley Wells, Law and Hailey Pieper.
Lauren Wells accounted for three of the team’s nine assists. Sam Taylor, Kocer and Law each had two. Law was also credited with three of BV’s five steals. The Lynx turned the ball over 16 times.
Brookings charted eight assists, two steals and 15 turnovers.
Brandon Valley 17 32 44 56
Brookings 10 22 37 50
BV (2PFG, 3PFG, FT, TP): Sam Taylor 0-0 0-2 0-0 0; Lauren Wells 1-2 0-2 4-4 3; Danica Kocer 2-6 3-6 5-6 18; Felicity Klinkhammer 0-0 0-1 4-4 4; Ashley Wells 3-5 0-1 4-4 10; Trinity Law 1-5 3-5 2-4 13; Lexi Ellingson 2-5 1-3 0-0 4; Hailey Pieper 1-3 0-0 2-3 4; Hannah Behrens 0-0 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 9-26 7-17 17-22 56.
