The Lady Bruins walked onto the court for their first 2020 post-season match up against the 6-4 Cascade Christian Lady Challengers with the weight of an entire season hanging over their head. Both teams split regular season play with each winning at home, leaving Thursday nights game to decide who would win the season match-up as well as continue on in the post-season.
A charged-up crowd welcomed the tension and watched as the Lady Bruins disrupted the Lady Challenger offense from the tip-off. With the Lady Challengers struggling to get the ball over the timeline, senior point guard Sidney Alexander #11 took it upon herself to put the Lady Bruins up early, hitting a bucket and a 3 pointer for 5 points in the first 52 seconds of the first quarter forcing an early Cascade Christian time-out.
Junior guard Lexee Murray #20 came up big off the bench in the first dropping two 3 pointers in the period to lead all Lady Bruin scorers in the first with 6 points. But it was the smothering Lady Bruin defense that dictated the course of the game, allowing only three Lady Challengers on the scoreboard early and holding the Lady Crusaders to only 7 points after holding them virtually scoreless for the first 4:00 minutes of the game.
The Lady Bruins established an eight-point lead in the first, but the Lady Challenger adjustments allowed only three Lady Bruins into the scorebook in the second as they attempted to close the gap before the half-time break. Again Sidney Alexander led the way hitting another 5 points from a 3 pointer and another bucket as the Lady Bruins were held to just 10 points by the physical Cascade Christian defense desperate to stay in the game.
The Lady Challengers stayed with the Lady Bruins in the second hitting for 12 points as the Lady Bruins took a 25-19 advantage into the half-time break.
The regular-season games clearly were learning experiences for both teams as you could visibly see the adjustments from half to half and game to game with the biggest adjustments being made to handle each other’s defensive press. Coming out in the third period both teams again worked on getting the ball over the timeline and breaking the other’s press. It worked for the Lady Challengers in the third period as Cascade Christian matched the Lady Bruins in the third hitting from the outside twice, hitting under the basket, and getting to the line for 12 points in the period.
Junior forward Shelby Jirsa #5 came up huge in the third period after hitting two 3 pointers and going 2 of 2 from the line for 8 of the Lady Bruins 13 points in the quarter. Lady Bruin center, Sierra Fitzhugh #00, and Lexi Schofield #1 also added to Bruins score as the Lady Bruins went into the final period with just a 7 point 38-31 lead.
Trailing the Lady Bruins again going into a 4th quarter, the Lady Crusaders were desperate to keep the Lady Bruins out of the scorebook in the fourth and refused to allow easy baskets by fouling if the Lady Bruins managed to get a shot off. This tactic sent the Lady Bruins to line 14 times in the fourth to the peril of the Lady Challengers. The Lady Bruins went 12 of 14 from the line in the fourth period itself, and put the game away 55-36 after allowing only 5 Cascade Christian points in the final period.
Talking with an excited Coach Schofield after the game, “What a great environment tonight! Our community is so supportive and it was a difference-maker for us tonight. They killed us on the boards the first two games, we did a better job on the glass tonight which was a big key for us. The other key for us was keeping them from scoring in transition. They really hurt our press the first two times we met…so we made some adjustments and focused on making them beat us in the half-court. Stretching the lead back up to 9 points in the fourth forced their hand and made them start fouling with about 2 minutes left. That really helped us pull away and put the game on ice.”
The Lady Bruins will advance to the next round of postseason play after the rankings freeze late Saturday.
