Lady Broncos defeat Wilbur-Creston, fall to Reardan

With only two games last week the Lady Broncos now have a record of 7-3 and are in fourth place in the league.

They started the week on Tuesday facing the Wilbur-Creston Lady Wildcats at home.

The Lady Broncos got off to a poor start against their opponents, putting up just four points on offense and allowing the Lady Wildcats to record 11 points in the first quarter.

“We just had a slow start,” Head Coach John Galbreath said.

Galbreath said the teams defensive intensity was down and the girls tried to force too many plays.

In the second quarter the Lady Broncos were able to increase their score by 14 and at the half were behind by three, 21-18.

They closed to within one point of the Lady Wildcats in the third quarter before dominating the fourth quarter.

Peyton Curtis put up 14 of her 16 points in the final quarter of the game with the rest of her team contributing seven additional points for the Lady Broncos total fourth quarter scoring of 21 points.

Their defense also held the Lady Wildcats to four points in the fourth, securing the win 54-38.

Tommi Swannack was second in the Lady Broncos’ scoring with 10 points while Madison Harder and Mallory Kessler put up eight points each.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, the Lady Broncos traveled to Reardan to face the Lady Indians.

They led their opponents in scoring for the first three quarters, starting the fourth quarter 43-36.

The Lady Broncos’ defense slipped up however, and the Lady Indians were able to outscore the Lady Broncos 24-15 and the same went in favor of the Lady Indians, 60-58.

“It was a frustrating night up there,” Galbreath said.

Offensively the team played well all night, Galbreath explained, but during the final quarter the defensive effort dwindled.

Galbreath said the team really wanted the win in Reardan but just fell apart defensively and did not compete hard enough in the fourth quarter.

Swannack had a dominant performance on the court with 18 points. Jenna Bennett put up a further 15 points and Kessler recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Broncos then moved into a non-league match up with Connell on Tuesday.

Galbreath expected it to be a good game and stated Connell had lost to Columbia-Burbank, the team the Lady Broncos recorded their first win against, earlier in the season.

They will then hit the road again to face Liberty and then Freeman over the weekend.

Galbreath said the Lady Broncos will need to eliminate mistakes if they want to beat the Lady Lancers on their home court.

“We are hurting ourselves,” he explained. “We are our own culprits on that.”

Though the Lady Broncos handled Liberty pretty well earlier in the season, Galbreath said they are a different team on their home court.

“We’ve got to definitely show up and play,” he said.

Their next opponents, the Freeman Lady Scotties, have struggled this year.

With a young team, Galbreath expected the Lady Broncos would take the Freeman game but said a team should never underestimate their opponent.

After the weekend games the Lady Broncos return home for their last home game on Jan. 30 before the district tournament begins.