Lady Broncos fall in two close home games

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos basketball team returned to the court last week for its first games since Dec. 21, falling in two narrow and hard-fought games at home.

The Lady Broncos faced off against the Reardan Indians in the Gilson Gymnasium on Jan. 4, their first league game since defeating Colfax on Dec. 14. The game was neck-and-neck throughout, with the Indians taking a two point lead into the break and eventually winning by two points, 45-43.

Freshman Dakota Killian and sophomore Julia Klein led the Lady Broncos in scoring with 10 points apiece, while three other LRS players finished with at least five points. The loss dropped the Lady Broncos' league record to 1-2 overall, while Reardan improved to 3-0 in what was undoubtedly their closest league game of the season thus far.

The Lady Broncos were 7-19 from the free throw line in the loss, and head coach Steve Wellsandt said that free throws have been an issue for his team this season.

"With as much as we shoot in practice, it's kind of been an issue," said Wellsandt. "We're just not shooting the ball consistently. We'll have a game where we shoot it well, but it hasn't been consistent, and that's hurt us."

The following night's game against non-league foe Connell was also a close affair, with LRS going into the half down by just a point, 26-25. Connell was able to expand upon its small lead in the second half, outscoring the Lady Broncos 36-30 to win the game 62-55.

The loss dropped LRS' overall record on the season to 3-7. Killian and senior Lacey Miller led the Lady Broncos offensively with 14 points each, while junior Eliza Galbreath and sophomore Linnea Schafer both scored nine points.

Wellsandt thought his team gelled much better in this game than in the loss to Reardan, but said turnovers were the determining factor in this game.

"We had way too many turnovers," said Wellsandt. "And that's one of the things we're trying to get these kids to understand, that they have to value possessions. Our possessions have to be meaningful, and that's one thing that we try to focus on in practice."

Offensively, Wellsandt is pleased with how balanced the scoring has been this season, with three players averaging about 10 points per game. Moving forward, making sure that Miller is receiving plenty of good looks each game from beyond the arc is one of Wellsandt's priorities.

The Lady Broncos will play three more games this week, two of them league games. LRS traveled to Pasco on Jan. 8 to take on the Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars in a non-league game.

They will host the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves on Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. The Timberwolves enter the game with an 0-3 record in league play and just a 1-10 record overall on the season. Reardan beat Tekoa-Rosalia by 35 points earlier in the season.

The Lady Broncos will then travel to Asotin to take on the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 12. Asotin is 1-2 in league play and just 1-9 on the season, with their sole victory coming over Tekoa-Rosalia on Jan. 4.

"As far as league play is concerned, we're not in bad shape" said Wellsandt. "The league kind of got shook up, and we're a long ways from being out of this thing."