Britton-Hecla split a pair of games in the past week, falling to Clark-Willow Lake but winning a one-point nail-biter over Waubay-Summit, and will wrap up regular season play at Groton on Friday.
The Lady Braves took a 7-11 record into a contest at Hamlin last night Tuesday and could possibly host a Region 1B quarterfinal game on Tuesday.
The top four seeds will host regional contests and B-H was in the fourth spot through Monday games. Seed positions could change based on final games being played this week.
Pairings as of seed points through Monday contests would have ninth seed Waverly-South Shore (1-18) playing at eight seed Aberdeen Christian (2-16) in the play-in game on Monday. Tuesday matchups would have the 8-9 winner at top-seeded Warner (18-2), seven seed Wilmot (5-15) at second seed Leola-Frederick (13-6), six seed Langford Area (6-13) at third seed Northwestern (9-9), and fifth seed Hitchcock-Tulare (6-13) at four seed Britton-Hecla (7-11).
Britton-Hecla 62 Waubay-Summit 61
Britton-Hecla put together its best quarter of the season to grab a 12-point lead after three periods and then weathered a furious Waubay-Summit rally to post its one-point victory.
Sterling Brassfield finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, a school record nine assists (since B-H began in 2002) and five steals to lead the way. Jayden Bender added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Tiyanna Schott contributed 12 points and eight boards. The club also set a B-H shooting school mark, hitting 25-50 shots for an even 50%.
“That third period was the best quarter of the season by far for us,” said B-H coach Terry Nelson. “We threw some good passes, shot the ball when we were open, and hit the offensive boards. Then in the fourth quarter we got too excited.”
It looked like it was going to be a tough night for the Lady Braves midway through the second quarter. The visitors led just 15-14 at the first quarter break but opened the second period with a 10-2 run to lead 25-16 with 5:11 left in the half. Brassfield answered with back-to-back fielders and Addison Wade hit two quick buckets to cut the margin to 28-24 and Waubay-Summit led 30-26 at intermission.
Then came the Lady Braves best quarter of the season. Brassfield hit a trey from the corner, Schott scored on a baseline jumper, and Bender put in a follow shot for a quick 7-0 run to go up 33-30. W-S tied it at 36 but B-H went on a 13-0 run led by Schott’s six points and five from Brassfield to give the local crew a 49-37 lead with a quarter to play.
But Waverly-South Shore made things interesting with five points in the first minute of the fourth stanza to cut the lead to seven. The Lady Braves still led 58-51 with under three minutes to play but W-S went on a 10-2 tear to take a 61-60 lead with 27 seconds left. Brassfield countered with a driving hoop at the 15-second mark, both teams turned the ball over, and Waubay-Summit’s inbounds play on their end of the court with 1.8 ticks on the clock failed.
“We just have to be consistent, keep rebounding, play defense, and put the ball in the hole,” stressed Nelson. “But being consistent is the main thing.
WAUBAY-SUMMIT: Eva Benike 3 3-3 9, Faith Larson 5 1-2 13, Ava Breske 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Strang 5 1-12 12, Madison Zirbel 3 9-12 15, Brianna Lindholm 3 0-0 7, MacKenzie Zubke 1 0-0 2, Liza Purdy 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 1521 61.
BRITTON-HECLA: Sterling Brassfield 9 3-6 23, Tiyanna Schott 4 46 12, Jayden Bender 5 3-7 13, Addison Wade 4 0-0 8, Heather Storbakken 3 0-0 6. Totals 25 10-19 62.
W-S (10-9) 15 30 37 61 B-H (7-11) 14 26 49 62
3-point goals – Larson 2, Strang, Lindholm; Brassfield 2. Fouled out – Larson, Zirbel; Storbakken. Total fouls – WS 20, BH 18.
Clark-Willow Lake 69 Britton-Hecla 44
Britton-Hecla trailed by 16 at halftime and the Lady Braves weren’t able to dig out of that hole.
Sterling Brassfield led Britton-Hecla with 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Jayden Bender added 12 points and eight boards.
BRITTON-HECLA: Sterling Brassfield 5 3-7 14, Tiyanna Schott 2 2-4 6, Jayden Bender 5 2-4 12, Heather Storbakken 0 1-2 1, Rae Ann Hagenson 1 1-2 3, Daynika Zuehlke 0 4-6 4, Mallory Grupe 1 0-0 2, Faith Small 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 13-25 44.
CLARK-WILLOW LAKE: Sami Brenden 1 1-2 4, Tehya Vig 5 5-6 17, Kameryn Nesheim 6 4-5 19, Brynn Roehrich 4 0-0 8, Jo Vandersnick 5 00 11, Shelby Begeman 3 0-0 8, Eliza Larson 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 10-13 69.
B-H (6-11) 8 19 31 44 C-WL (7-10) 17 35 56 69
3-point goals – Brassfield; Brenden, Vig 2, Nesheim 3, Vandersnick, Begeman 2. Fouled out – Roehrich.
