BLOOMFIELD

The Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran girls basketball teams went in opposite directions as a result of pool games Monday in the eighth annual Toby Yoho Classic at Eastern Greene.

The Braves used hot second quarters to defeat South Knox 41-26 and Edgewood 54-18.

Trinity was outscored 21-9 in the third period against Salem and lost 54-32, while Owen Valley hit two 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds of the second period and used that momentum for a 57-32 victory.

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Brownstown coach Karla Rieckers said she was pleased with the results Monday.

“We were concerned about having to play at 9:30 a.m. the day after Christmas, but I thought the girls executed the game plan,” she said.

Braves go unblemished

In the morning game, the Spartans held a 12-11 lead at the end of the first period before Brownstown went on a 13-0 run during the first 4:35 of the second quarter to take control of the game.Madison Klinge had the hot hand during that rally with a pair of 3-point baskets, plus a layup, and Tayler Garland also added a 3-pointer.

South Knox managed only two free throws with 40 seconds left in the half as the Braves held a 24-14 lead at the break.

Kristen Stuckwisch opened the scoring in the third period with a layup, and Garland added two free throws to extend the lead to 28-14.

Klinge topped the Braves with 14 points, while Garland hit another 3-pointer in the third period and finished with eight points.

The Braves started fast against Edgewood by taking a 13-6 lead at the end of the first period, then extended its lead to 29-10 at the half and to 46-14 after three periods.

The Braves featured balanced scoring with Ashley Schroer leading with nine points, Grace Jaynes scored eight, and Stuckwisch, Garland and Keeli Darlage scored seven apiece.

“I think our defense has played well the last five or six games,” Rieckers said. “We have struggled in previous games with our shooting, but today we were making shots and our shooting percentage was better than it had been in past games.

“We were getting people in positions to shoot the ball. We’re getting people back healthy, and when we get people back that makes things a lot better. We have everybody healthy except Brooklyn (Snodgrass).

“I like the rotations we have. I told the girls if you need a break, I can give you a break, but when you’re out on the floor you have to play hard.”

The Braves (11-6) will play the first place team from pool C at 11:15 a.m. today. They have won six straight games.

Cougars fall short

Trinity coach Mike Lang said he knew coming into the tournament it was going to be tough for his team to top either the Lions or the Patriots.“If this was a soccer tournament we’d be in the ‘pool of death,’” he said. “That’s the way I looked at it. Sull (assistant coach Donna Sullivan) and I were joking on it on the way home after the blind draw.”

Salem held a 20-16 lead at the half before outscoring Trinity 21-9 in the third period to take a 41-25 lead into the fourth, and the Cougars could manage only seven points in the fourth period.

In the second game, the Patriots jumped on top 7-0 but the teams played even the remainder of the quarter for a 15-10 score at the end of the first period.

“Once Owen Valley jumped out 7-0 we battled back and played really well except for the last 10 seconds when they went on a 6-0 run and really put the hammer to us,” Lang said. “We can’t give up six points in the last 10 seconds.”

Jodi Goecker drove for a layup in the opening seconds of the second quarter for a 15-12 score, and another layup by the junior guard left her team trailing 28-22 with 2:50 left in the half.

The score remained at the six-point difference with under a minute the Patriots added a basket.

The score remained 30-22 for the next 50 seconds until Daza Drake hit a 3-pointer for a 33-22 lead.

The Patriots stole the inbounds pass and passed the ball to Kara Schafer and her 3-point attempt hit nothing but net at the buzzer, and Lang said those two baskets left his team in a big hole.

“I told the girls there were some negative spots here that we’re disappointed in, but we’ve also got some positive things we did and that’s what we’ve got to focus on and think about coming back and getting two wins (today).”

Hackman topped the Cougars (4-10) in scoring with 12 points and in rebounds with 6.

Owen Valley had three players in double figures, topped by Payton Catforini with 16 points.

Piper Acton returned to action for the Cougars after missing five games because of a concussion and she topped her team in scoring with 12 points. Abby Hackman added nine points and had 11 rebounds.

Lang said having Acton back on the floor gave the team another dimension.

“She’s got a long way to go in terms of getting herself in shape, but it’s good having her back on the floor,” Lang said. “It’s another dimension we have. We definitely needed her length against Owen Valley. They are a very long and athletic team.”

Trinity will play their first of two games starting at 9:30 a.m. today.