The Britton-Hecla girls basketball team wrapped up regular season play with a 5329 loss to Groton Area and will travel to Tulare to take on Hitchcock-Tulare in quarterfinal action of the Region 1B tournament on Saturday.
The Lady Braves had been scheduled to play H-T on Tuesday but quarterfinal games were pushed back due to bad weather. Semifinal contests will be played on Monday in Webster with those winners advancing to the SoDak 16 on March 2.
The Lady Braves battled Groton Area for most of the opening period, trailing just 9-6 with under two minutes to play as Tiyanna Schott and Alyssa James both put rebounds back up for two. But then the lid went on the basket.
Britton-Hecla did not score for over 10 minutes and by the time James converted a threepoint play with 7:14 left in the third period the local cagers trailed 35-9. Coach Terry Nelson’s crew did actually outscore the visitors 23-20 in the second half but it was far too little too late.
Schott led the Lady Braves with nine points and 10 rebounds, Sterling Brassfield added eight counters, and Alyssa James pulled down 10 boards.
GROTON: Brooke Gengerke 2 0-0 4, Aspen Johnson 1 0-0 2, Sydney Leicht 5 3-5 14, Jerica Locke 1 0-0 2, Jaedyn Penning 1 4-5 6, Kennedy Hansen 1 4-5 6, Brooklyn Hansen 2 0-2 5, Laila Roberts 1 1-2 3, Rylee Dunker 2 0-0 5, Mia Crank 1 1-1 3, Emily Clark 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 12-18 53.
BRITTON-HECLA: Sterling Brassfield 3 2-3 8, Alyssa James 2 1-3 5, Jayden Bender 1 1-2 3, Tiyanna Schott 4 1-2 9, Addison Wade 0 0-2 0, Heather Storbakken 1 0-0 2, Annika Tank 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 5-12 29.
GA (12-7) 17 33 44 53 BH (4-15) 6 6 17 29
3-point goals - Leicht, B. Hansen, Dunker. Total fouls – GA 12, BH 17.
