Screaming Eagles edge Broncos

REARDAN – Reardan freshman Olivia Wicks scored only 2 points Jan. 6 against Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, but they were the ones that counted the most.

Her basket with 13 seconds left in the game clinched the Screaming Eagles' 44-43 win.

From the start, Chasyn Waters, Reardan's high-energy eighth-grader, and Bronco sophomore Zoe Galbreath took charge of their respective teams on the offensive end of the court. They ended up scoring 6 points apiece in the first quarter.

Tenice Waters matched her sister with 6 points for Reardan and Addy Colbert tossed in 5 points for the Broncos. After one quarter, Reardan led 16-13.

Reardan's defense stiffened in the second quarter. The Screaming Eagles challenged the Broncos' shooters, and when they missed, Mackenzie Bjornberg and Tenice Waters were there to collect the rebounds.

Each pulled down 5 in the quarter. Chasyn Waters' play around the basket resulted in 10 points in the quarter and 16 points for the half.

Galbreath led Lind-Ritzville with 13 first half points.

At the half Reardan led 29-20.

In the second half, the Broncos clawed back. And with less than a minute remaining in the quarter, the Broncos stole two passes, resulting in easy lay-ups to close the gap to 39-35.

With 3:47 left in the final frame, the Broncos took the lead 41-40 on a basket by Galbreath. She added two more free throws with 1:25 left to give her team a 43-42 lead.

After a missed shot by the Screaming Eagles, Lind-Ritzville set up its offense, hoping to increase the lead.

But Wicks stepped into a passing lane and stole the ball. The Screaming Eagles worked the ball around, finding Wicks alone near the free throw line. She sank the shot to give Reardan the 44-43 win.

"I was a little nervous because I had just missed a shot, but I was confident," Wicks said.

"This was a tough game to coach, but I'm satisfied we won," Reardan Coach Bob Swannack said. "We didn't buy in defensively until the end. Sometimes we are undisciplined and go rogue, but when the girls are disciplined, we are really good."

"I was super proud that we came back after being down by 16 points," Ritzville Coach Bryce Court said. "We are only going to get better after that type of experience."

Chasyn Waters and Tenice Waters ended the game with 22 and 9 points, respectively, for Reardan (5-2).

Galbreath scored 25 points for the Broncos (7-6) to lead all scorers.