Lady Broncos earn wins against Tri-Cities Prep, Tekoa Rosalia

Days after suffering their first season loss against Asotin on Dec. 2, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos basketball team earned their first victory with a 67-50 nonleague win against Tri-Cities Prep on Dec. 5.

They followed it up with a 62-34 Northeast 2B South League victory against Tekoa-Rosalia on Dec. 8.

Against Tri-Cities Prep, Head Coach Steve Wellsandt said the Lady Broncos played evenly with the Lady Jaguars for the first three quarters of the game. With a 49-45 lead, LRS went on a tear in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Jaguars 18-5, which allowed the Lady Broncos to clinch the win.

Wellsandt noted the team showed improvement against the Lady Jaguars, particularly in shooting and scoring. Senior Peyton Curtis had a standout performance with a season-high 28 points, six steals and five assists. Fellow starter Eliza Galbreath also played well, scoring 16 points.

In addition to the improvement shown by the starting lineup, Wellsandt said he is seeing good effort from the younger athletes, especially freshmen Linnea Shafer, who scored six points, and Julia Klein, who had five points and nine rebounds.

“Offensively, we’re putting up a lot of points, but we need to get a little better defensively,” Wellsandt added.

Wellsandt said the athletes are fitting into their roles on the court, especially Curtis, who he asked to switch from playing as a shooting guard to a passing guard. He felt switching Curtis to point guard would be more beneficial to the team and she has been doing great in her role so far.

The Lady Broncos carried the momentum into their game with the Lady Timberwolves.

LRS had a strong a 20-1 lead after the first quarter. Wellsandt said the team used a three-quarter court press, which he said seemed to fit the team’s style. This caused turnovers and breakaway opportunites for LRS.

Wellsandt added the team ran a fast break offense and strong lead throughout the next two quarters. With the Lady Broncos leading 51-18 going into the fourth quarter, Wellsandt said he used the final minutes to provide some court time to athletes on the bench, who collected eight rebounds during the game.

Wellsandt said Klein is developing into a competitor who can play in almost any position on the court.

Curtis once again led in scoring with 23 points while Lacey Miller also scored in the double digits with 11 points and sank three 3-pointers. Galbreath led the team with five assists and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Broncos’ shooting percentage continued to improve as they made 60 percent of their shots from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line.

Wellsandt said the team will work on improving their free throw percentage during practice. The Lady Broncos will also be running different defense scenarios.

Wellsandt added he and the other coaches are also focusing on keeping athletes healthy during the winter. He explained Schafer missed the Tekoa-Rosalia game because of illness.

Wellsandt said Tessa O’Brien, who has been sidelined with an injury, should be cleared to play before the St. John-Endicott game on Dec. 19. He explained having O’Brien on the court will provide the Lady Broncos with depth in the guard position as they move forward into the season.

The Lady Broncos had a big week of league competition, including a Dec. 12 league game at Reardan. LRS plays back-to-back home league games against Liberty on Dec. 15 and Colfax on Dec. 16.

Wellsandt said the next three games will show him where the Lady Broncos stand in the NE 2B South League in comparison to the Lady Lancers and Lady Bulldogs, who are recognized as two of the tops teams in the conference.