Lady Hawks Finish Regular Season With Win Against Wibaux, Come Close At Ekalaka

The Lady Hawks played some of their finest basketball of the year over the weekend, as they sealed up a second place conference placing with a win against Wibaux on Friday, and played a strong game against Ekalaka on Saturday.

The Wibaux Lady Longhorns played a flex offense against Broadus; the first time Broadus had seen that offense all season. That new look led Wibaux to take the lead early and maintain it into the second half, where adjustments made to the defense by Broadus Coach Ashley Emmons finally led to a turnaround in the score.

Mia Mader had a big second half of scoring, with 17 points all coming in the third and fourth quarter, and battling through much of that scoring with a bloody nose suffered earlier in the game.

Abi Krantz had an outstanding night, going 8 of 9 from the free throw line, with 18 points in total. Emmons commented: "Abi has really stepped into her role, and has been more physical under the hoop."

With the Lady Hawks scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter, they pulled ahead to a 49-41 win. The team rejoiced as they finished the game, sealing second place in the district and a first-round bye at the district tournament.

During the warm-ups at Ekalaka on Saturday, Zeason Schaffer sprained her ankle, and was out for the game. With Emma Isaacs already out due to a concussion from last week, the Lady Hawks were down two starters, forcing the bench players to step up to the challenge against the undefeated in conference Lady Bulldogs.

The team rose to the occasion, "breaking out of their shell" as Emmons put it, with every player on the team scoring four or more points. Ciara McDowell led with 14 points, sinking 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, while Maddie Zimmer had 11 points. Both had their highest scoring game of the year.

As a team, Broadus sunk 13 of 18 from the free throw line for a 72% three throw percentage, and had a 48% effective shooting percentage, while Ekalaka shot 32%. Nonetheless, turn-overs by Broadus and steals by Ekalaka helped the Lady Bulldogs to continue their undefeated conference record.

The final score of 62-52, Ekalaka over Broadus, was the closest a 4C team has come to defeating Ekalaka all season according to Coach Emmons, which Emmons attributes to the Lady Hawks' ability to play well as a team. "I told the girls to focus, stick together, and play as a team, and that's just what happened at Ekalaka. They played really well and I'm proud of them."

The Lady Hawks have now sealed up second in the conference for the sixth time in program history, from data provided by Broadus Activities Director Mike Richards. The other years in which Broadus placed second were 1983-85, 1992, and 2001. The team has six historical conference titles.

The team's first test at Districts will come on Friday night at 6 PM at the Custer County High School Gym in Miles City, as they play the winner of the Wibaux vs. Plevna game. Plevna finished the regular season with a 1-16 record, while Wibaux finished at 10-7, so there's a strong chance Broadus will face Wibaux again. Three teams move on from Districts to Divisionals, which take place March 1-4 in Lockwood.

Schaffer and Isaacs are expected to be back on the court this week.