Powder River Examiner -

The Broadus Girls Varsity Basketball team battled back from a nine point deficit to snag their first conference win, last Tuesday at home against Jordan. Broadus Head Coach Ashley Emmons told us she was proud of how the girls stuck to their game plan and battled for the lead after trailing the majority of the game. Jordan had an aggressive trapping 1-3-1 zone and the Lady Hawks were able to hit some big outside shots down the stretch to gain the lead. The team was very excited to get their first win of the season under their belts.

The Lady Hawks won the game with a score of 35-32, aided by four three pointers, one each from Emma Isaacs, Oliveah Schaffer, Mia Mader, and Abi Krantz. Abi Krantz led the Lady Hawks in scoring against Jordan, putting up 11 points. Krantz also snagged 6 rebounds, and had 7 steals and 4 blocks. Mia Mader had 7 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Next up for the Lady Hawks was a trip to Carter County, to face the Ekalaka Lady Bulldogs, on Friday. Emmons said that Ekalaka has a solid shooting team, and the Lady Bulldogs were able to use that advantage to come out to an early lead, putting up 21 points in the first quarter, to the Lady Hawks' five points. Broadus was able to match Ekalaka in scoring in the second and third quarters, but the initial deficit was too much to overcome. Final score: Ekalaka 61, Broadus 38.

Emmons commented: "The Lady Hawks are coming along and learning their new system of play. They are finding ways to compete and work together every day in practice and in every game. We are exciting and looking forward to the next time we match up with the Bulldogs again."

The Lady Hawks returned to Broadus to face the hard charging Melstone Lady Broncs on Saturday. Emmons commented on Melstone: "Melstone is probably the best shooting team in the league along with having many other offensive threats. They have a great cohesive basketball system in Melstone and spend countless hours in the gym improving individually and as a team."

Melstone's cohesive system and good shooting was evident throughout the game, as they came out to an immediate lead against Broadus, and kept the lead throughout the game. Emmons said that Broadus had some key players get into foul trouble early in the game, which exacerbated the issue for Broadus as Melstone shot 79% from the free throw line, adding 15 points to their score. Melstone led in every offensive category in the game, scoring an impressive 1.11 points per possession and finishing with four players scoring double digits. Final score: Melstone 72, Broadus 25.

Emmons spoke of the game: "I am proud of the Lady Hawks for their effort and will to not give up. They are starting to understand the commitment it will take to play at this level."

Next up for the Lady Hawks is a home game this Friday against Wibaux. The Lady Longhorns currently sit at 2-2 in conference play, having recently lost 33-53 to Melstone, and beaten Custer/ Hysham in a close game, 43-42. Action will begin with a ½ game of JV Girls at 3 pm. The Varsity Girls game is scheduled to begin at 5:30.

The Lady Hawks will then travel to Hysham to play Custer/Hysham on Saturday, with the JV Girls playing at 1 pm, and the Varsity Girls at 4. Custer/Hysham sits at 1-1 in conference play, having lost to Wibaux as previously mentioned, and having defeated Terry 42-26.

Broadus will host Ekalaka next Tuesday. Ekalaka is 3-1 in conference play.