Lady Broncos defeat Tekoa-Rosalia in league battle

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos fought the Tekoa-Rosalia Lady Timberwolves for their first league win of the season on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Gilson Gym.

They started the game off slowly but went on a scoring run in the third quarter to seal a 50-43 win over the Lady Timberwolves.

The last week was open for the team but they had multiple players out sick which held them back from practicing. Additionally a practice was cancelled due to the weather conditions in the area.

Head Coach Gary Kelly states this caused them to be behind in conditioning and bit out of rhythm at the start of the game on Saturday.

Of the sick athletes was Felicia Ziemer who has been an outstanding point guard for the Lady Broncos, due to this she was unable to play at her full strength on Saturday.

In the first quarter the two teams were locked in a battle with the Lady Broncos putting up eight points and the Lady Timberwolves leading with nine.

At half the Lady Timberwolves led by one point with the scoreboard reading 17-16.

After half the Lady Broncos showed the energy they needed to pull off the win. They outscored Tekoa-Rosalia 20-8 in the third quarter alone.

Because of this lead Kelly was able to extend their rotation a bit. This helped the team keep their stamina on point for the remainder of the game.

Tommi Swannack led the team in scoring putting up 17 points. Peyton Curtis closely followed her with 12 points and Tessa Jantz with 11.

Jantz also played a key part for the team cleaning up the boards by pulling down 13 rebounds.

The fourth quarter held a flurry of three-point shots for Tekoa-Rosalia and they led in points with 18 compared to the Lady Broncos 14.

Tommia Pakootas was able to put up 18 points for the Lady Timberwolves but this was ultimately not enough.

Madison Harder added five points to the Lady Broncos score. Tessa O’Brien hit a 3-pointer and and Rachel Schell added two points to the final score.

The team is still working on their communication in regards to their play strategies. They mostly run a man-to-man defense at this moment but are working on several others.

Kelly said they have a few things to work on defensively and offensively in regards to their plays, the team isn’t totally comfortable right now.

He added, “Both will be outstanding once we work out the kinks.”

When the season began Kelly was extremely focused on reducing unnecessary turnovers and the amount of fouls committed by the team. So far this season their opponents have had foul trouble but no Lady Bronco player has hit even four fouls against them in a single game.

Their turnovers did prove to be a struggle in the first half with seven turnovers coming from missed passes.

Kelly stated, “I am really happy with where we are at. The girls are starting to come together as a team.”

He went on to say that offensively the team is easing into a rhythm and really putting the pieces together to become a competitive team in the league.

The team will not have much of a break over winter vacation but Kelly is hoping the team can move past any sickness and work on their conditioning.

The Lady Broncos hosted the Freeman Lady Scotties at Gilson Gym on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 6 p.m. They will then have a week between games and host the Odessa Harrington Lady Titans on Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 6 p.m.

Neither of these games are league games. The Lady Broncos again face the Tekoa-Rosalia Lady Timberwolves in Rosalia on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 6