In just their third game since late December, last year, coach Chris Schofield and his 2022 varsity Lady Bruins were handed yet another schedule change Monday, traveling to North Bend on short notice for a game before the regular season starts Wednesday evening, January 26th.
After making the trip to North Bend, the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Bruins matched play early, keeping the score tied at 4-4 at the mid-way point of the first period. But the soft press in the Lady Bulldog back court helped the Lady Bruins establish themselves in the paint, allowing junior Ashlyn Schofield #44 to score 8 of the Lady Bruins 10 points in the period.
Trailing by 4 points to start the second period, the Lady Bulldogs struggled to keep up with the Lady Bruins, and after missing from the outside, they got to the line three times, but the Lady Bruins continued to score. After dominating the paint in the first, the Lady Bruins hit from behind the arc in the second, with Rockette Marrington #12 and Zoe Carlson #11 both combining for 6 of the Lady Bruins 10 points in the period.
With a 7 point lead to start the third period, the Lady Bruins saw a determined North Bend team picked up the pace to start the third, getting to the line 4 times and scoring more points than they had in the first and second periods combined. But again, the Lady Bruins matched North Bends output, putting up 13 points of their own, led by #12, Rockette Marrington, who hit for 9 points, hitting 2 of 3 from the free throw line as well as a 3 pointer, to send the Lady Bruins into the fourth period leading 33-27.
In the fourth the Lady Bruins defense stopped the Lady Bulldogs from believing that a North Bend comeback was possible, allowing only 4 Lady Baskets in the final period of play, as the Lady Bruin offense, led by Zoe Carlson, #11, scored 6 of the Lady Bruin 16 points in the period, to take the 49-40 win.
The Compass had a chance to talk with coach Schofield, who said, “The girls showed a lot of toughness tonight after so much time away. We had a little rust, but defensively we were really strong.” he said. “We played with a lot of confidence offensively, and made some big shots at opportune times.”
The Lady Bruins will be the early ticket Wednesday night as the Lady Bruins and the varsity boys host Douglas, with the Ladies tipping off at 5:30pm.
