Late free throws lift Brownstown in conference win

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BROWNSTOWN

Brownstown Central’s girls basketball team knocked down its free throws in the waning minutes to come away with a 44-31 Mid-Southern Conference win against Silver Creek on Saturday.

Up four after 24 minutes of play, the Braves (10-4, 5-2 MSC) made 12 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter to distance themselves from the Dragons (5-9, 2-4 MSC).

The Braves held the Dragons to just one field goal in the opening quarter.

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Brownstown scored eight unanswered points following the tip, with Kristen Stuckwisch and Madison Klinge each hitting 3-pointers.

After a basket from the Dragons’ Jaclyn Emly, Shelby Stuckwisch and Halle Hehman each hit 3-pointers to give the Braves a 14-2 lead after eight minutes of play.

Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter.

After two scoreless minutes the Dragons went on a 5-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Kylie Wilkinson.

The Braves then answered with free throws by Farmer and a score from Ashley Schorer before Bella Hinton closed the scoring in the first half with a basket.

At the break, the Braves led 18-9.

The Braves went on a 7-0 run from the 5:10 to 4:05-mark in the third quarter to build a 28-14 advantage.

However, Silver Creek answered with 10-0 run.

In the final 3:45 of the third quarter, Emly scored 10 points to pull the Dragons within reach at 28-24.

The Braves played the clock, and made the most of its opportunities at the stripe, in the fourth quarter to hang on for the win.

“I thought we got a little rattled when we were down 28-24, but we calmed down,” Braves coach Karla Rieckers said. “We spread them out on offense and did a nice job of taking care of the basketball. We followed that up by getting defense stops. I thought we kept our composure.”

The Dragons didn’t get within six points in the final eight minutes of play.

Up 33-26, with 5:55 left, the Dragons started fouling the Braves.

From 4:15 to 2:42, the Braves went 7-for-10 from the line to lead 40-26.

The Braves hit 4-for-6 from the charity stripe the remainder of the way to secure the victory.

Schroer led the Braves with 17 points and Kristen Stuckwisch scored 13.

Emly led the Dragons with 15 points.

On the boards, the Dragons out-rebounded the Braves 23-21. BC finished with 10 total turnovers.

From the line, the Braves made 18 of 25 free throw attempts total. The Dragons did not shoot a free throw in the game.

“We wanted to attack the basket, but their height advantage made it a little tough on us,” Rieckers said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how we stepped up. Last game, we talked about how we needed to get to the free throw line more. I’m certainly glad we did that.”

Brownstown will host Madison on Tuesday for a non-conference game.

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