Powder River Examiner -

The Broadus Lady Hawks went into the District Tournament last Wednesday in Miles City knowing their best shot at moving on to Divisionals was to beat Wibaux in the first round. The Lady Longhorns, seeded 5th going into the tourney, had given the 4th seeded Lady Hawks fits in previous engagements, and Wibaux has a history of strong showings at tournaments.

Broadus led throughout the first half, maintaining a narrow lead of 19-16 going into the locker rooms, but Wibaux steadily chipped away at that lead in the third quarter.

"All year we've played a stronger second half," said Broadus Coach Ashley Emmons during a Monday interview. "We just didn't have that strong second half against Wibaux."

In the fourth quarter Wibaux's offense came alive, outscoring the Lady Hawks 16-9, and pulling ahead to win the game 38-33.

42% of Wibaux's scoring occurred in the fourth quarter.

Zeason Schaffer led the Lady Hawks in scoring against Wibaux, with 10 points.

The loss put Broadus in a precarious situation, knowing that even with a win against Terry in the second game, they would have to face the loser of the Jordan and Ekalaka game to continue on. Both teams had beaten Broadus in previous meetings this year.

On Friday, the Lady Hawks came out against Terry and scored easily, though Emmons commented that the team had difficulty in controlling the flow of their offense. The game featured a number of turnovers (61 in total between the teams), and personal fouls (52 between the teams), but Broadus was able to lead easily throughout the game to win 58-41.

Oliveah Schaffer and Ciara McDowell each scored 13 points in the win.

Broadus then faced Ekalaka, which had lost to Jordan earlier in the week. Emmons knew that Broadus would have to step up their game to beat the Lady Bulldogs, and for a large portion of the game her plan was holding true. The back and forth game had Broadus leading by as many as 7 points, in the second quarter, with Ekalaka re-taking the lead in the third. Broadus led in the fourth quarter before Ekalaka made a strong comeback in the last four minutes to win, 57-48, ending the Lady Hawks' season.

Emmons did not lament the loss, commenting: "The Ekalaka game was our best game of the season. All I can ask as a coach is for the players to give their all, and that's how they played. It's disappointing that we didn't move on, but I know they left everything out there on the court."

She emphasized that if the team continues to show that level of commitment in the off-season, getting in the gym to work on their shooting and continuing to train, they'll be great next season.

Ciara McDowell once again led the Lady Hawks in scoring against Ekalaka, downing 11 points.

Emmons wanted to thank her coaching staff, Monica Smith and Lee Turnbough, for all their dedication to the team. "Their work behind the scenes, at practice and in games, is not really seen but by the fans, but they helped out tremendously," she commented.

"I also want to thank our Senior, Lacey Robinson, for her five years of dedication. She worked hard, and she was at the park in the summers, working on her game."

"To the other girls, I want to thank them for believing in ourselves as a team, and sticking to our program."

The Lady Hawks will return the bulk of the team next season, save Lacey Robinson who graduates this spring.

Overall the Lady Hawks finish with a 10 and 10 record including tournament play.

This season the team averaged 42.6 points per game in scoring, while they allowed 38.9 points per game. Broadus had an effective field goal percentage of 33.5%, and made 46.9% of their field goals as a team.

The team brought down 39.5% of offensive rebounds, and 65.5% of defensive rebounds.

Broadus had a 24.4% turnover ratio, and sunk three pointers on 17.5% of their shots over the course of the 20 games statted out on the Hudl program.

The third quarter was strongest offensively for the Lady Hawks, where they scored an average of 11.9 points; the second quarter was their weakest with an average of 9.9 points.

The third and fourth quarters were weakest for their opponents, with Broadus allowing 8.9 points in each quarter. The second quarter was the strongest for their opponents, with opponents scoring an average of 11.2 points against Broadus.

Moving on to the Divisional round from the 4C are Melstone, Jordan, Ekalaka, and Wibaux, having finished at Districts in the order listed.