B-E girls' basketball: Chargers split two in LEC

• Emma Friedrich

Brandon-Evansville’s Emma Friedrich looked for an open teammate during the first half of the Chargers’ win over Rothsay last Thursday night. (Echo Press photo by Eric Morken)

Talk about it

The Brandon-Evansville girls survived some shooting woes against Rothsay but couldn’t overcome those same problems a night later

By Eric Morken

emorken@echopress.com

Not often can a team make just three field goals in the opening half and still take an eight-point lead into the break.

That’s what happened for the Brandon-Evansville girls last Thursday night as they overcame a slow start to beat Rothsay 59-45. The Chargers trailed the Tigers 12-2 with 8:06 left in the first half before Elizabeth Vinson hit her team’s first field goal on a triple from the top of the key.

Brandon-Evansville responded from the free throw line after that. That’s where they won the game after going 23-of-27 from the stripe on the night. Included in that was a 15-of-16 mark in the first half that helped them overcome a tough shooting night.

“We didn’t shoot very well to start with,” head coach Dick Simpson said. “We had some looks and didn’t hit them, and they kept fouling us. [We went] 23-of-27 from the free throw line. That was the game.”

Things opened up a little bit in the second half as the Chargers got off to a quick start that helped blow the game open. Senior Megan Friedrich drove on one of the first possessions after the break and found a wide open Emma Friedrich for a lay-up.

That seemed to get the Chargers going as more shots started to fall. Brandon-Evansville stretched its lead out to around 20 for much of the final 10 minutes.

“When you can get three field goals in the first half and be ahead, that’s a positive,” Simpson said. “Second half, we made some shots. We had a good start. They came out with that half-court press and we got a two and a three just like that and they got out of it. Things kind of went from there.”

The Chargers shot just 25 percent from the field (16-of-63) but still had three players in double figures. Megan Friedrich led the way with 13 points to go along with six rebounds. Vinson added 12 points and six boards, while Emma Friedrich had 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Tigers shot just 33 percent from the field (17-51) and were led by Ashley Maack’s 21 points. No other player was in double figures. The Chargers also out-rebounded the Tigers 38-30 and had just nine turnovers to Rothsay’s 15.

The Chargers couldn’t survive their same shooting woes a night later in Battle Lake. Brandon-Evansville shot just 25 percent (12-47), and the Battlers were even worse from the field after shooting 13-of-62.

The difference came in the final eight minutes as the Chargers watched a 10-point lead slip away. They scored just once over their final 14 possessions and had four of their 21 turnovers during that stretch.

“It’s kind of a disappointing deal,” Simpson said. “We had them and just couldn’t put it away there. We had shots, but they wouldn’t go in and then they kind of got on a little roll.”

Just four players scored for Brandon-Evansville. Megan Friedrich was the only one in double figures as she finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Emma Friedrich added nine points and seven boards as well.

The Chargers fell to 5-5 in the LEC with the split. They currently sit in fourth place in the league and have another LEC contest at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy this Thursday night.

GAME STATISTICS

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE 16 17 – 33

BATTLE LAKE 19 19 – 38

TOTALS – B-E – FG – 12-47; FT – 4-10; Rebounds – 33; Turnovers – 21; Battle Lake – FG – 13-62; FT – 12-17; Rebounds – 39

B-E – Steffenson – 6 points; M. Friedrich – 16 points, 7 rebounds; Vinson – 2 points; Megan Kokett – 7 rebounds; E. Friedrich – 9 points, 7 rebounds

BATTLE LAKE SCORING – Maddie Stueve – 12; Abby Scholten – 2; Maddy Merickel – 2; Carly VanWatermulen – 7; Katie Rilla – 4; Emily Marso – 11

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE 22 37 – 59

ROTHSAY 14 31 – 45

TOTALS – B-E – FG – 16-63; FT – 23-27; Rebounds – 38; Turnovers – 9; Rothsay – FG – 17-51; FT – 6-11; Rebounds – 30; Turnovers – 15

B-E – Megan Kokett – 9 points; Carlie Steffenson – 7 points; M. Friedrich – 13 points, 6 rebounds; Vinson – 12 points, 6 rebounds; Mariah Hansen – 5 points; E. Friedrich – 11 points, 7 rebounds; Sara Roers – 2 points

ROTHSAY SCORING – Maack – 21; Lexy Dunbar – 8; Emma Larson – 5; Kristi Peterson – 4; Alexis Craig – 7

Tags: brandon evansville sports, sports, chargers, basketball