Powder River Examiner -

With the Lady Hawks down one of their star players in the divisional tournament, Abi Krantz, following a knee injury, Broadus was left with only seven players for a must-win game against Broadview/Lavina, and later a battle for third and fourth place against Melstone.

Broadus made their way to that game via a second place District trophy two weeks ago in Miles City, and faced Custer/Hysham in the first round of the divisional tournament, last week in Lockwood.

Broadus was quite familiar with Custer/Hysham from their days in the 4C, so in preparation for the game, Broadus Head Coach Ashley Emmons watched film of the team from last season, as well as their District games, and prepared a defensive strategy for this meeting.

Both teams played close in the first quarter, with Custer/ Hysham leading 13-10 after one. From there, the Lady Hawk's defense shut down the Lady Rebels, while the Broadus offense built up steam, limiting Custer/Hysham to 3 points in the second quarter while scoring 18.

Broadus won the game 44-27, bolstered by 11 points from Mia Mader and 10 from Abi Krantz, as nearly everyone on the team scored in the win.

The next round of play was against Roberts, a town located along Highway 212 north of Red Lodge. Roberts' hot shooter was Taylee Chirrick, who scored the bulk of the points for Roberts, as she put up 40 points.

As Chirrick got on a roll, Emmons adjusted the defense to limit Chirrick, but it was too late as Broadus couldn't make up the difference from a poor third quarter of shooting in which Broadus scored 2. A fourth quarter comeback made up some difference, but the Lady Rockets were able to bump Broadus to the consolation bracket in the 56-47 win.

Roberts would go on to beat Ekalaka in the championship.

The Roberts game was also where Abi Krantz suffered her knee injury, sidelining the effective shooter.

Broadus' next opponent was Broadview/Lavina, a team which Broadus had lost to by only 2 points back in December.

Emmons' game plan was to force them to play on the perimeter, as B/L's size was an advantage over Broadus.

Broadus shooters were on fire during the game, with Emma Isaacs sinking 5 of 7 three pointers to score 15, Zeason Schaffer knocking down 15, and Mia Mader leading the team in scoring with 17.

Meanwhile the bulk of B/L's scoring came from Hailey Fiske, who scored 27.

One Broadus player was quoted as saying "We played an UNO reverse card," as this time around Broadus beat B/V by two points – 56-54.

Emmons commented on the close win: "The girls played together as a team better in that game than they have all season. Their chemistry really meshed well, and I'm so proud of them!"

The win put the Lady Hawks in contention for third and fourth. With a win against Melstone, Broadus would have been able to challenge Ekalaka for second and a berth at state.

Mia Mader, with the lay-up in Lockwood.

Having lost to Melstone twice this year, Broadus was well prepared and knew that Melstone could bomb in shots from three point range whenever they were open. So, the strategy was to not leave anyone open and try and limit the long distance threat.

Melstone still put up 25 threes and connected on ten.

On offense, the balanced scoring attack seen throughout the season held strong, as Mia Mader landed 17, Zeason Schaffer 14, and Ciara McDowell 10.

Unfortunately the offensive side fell a little short, as Broadus lost 46-56 to end their season.

As the team looks ahead to next season, Abi Krantz graduates this year, with the team maintaining a very strong core. Ekalaka graduates most of their starters, so the Lady Hawks are a force to be reckoned with in the 4C for 2023-24.

More pictures from the tournament are available in the March 9th photo gallery.