There was some emotion inside The Pit on Saturday afternoon as the Braves rolled to a 20-point victory over West Washington.
It was the penultimate game for Brownstown in this regular season, but it was the final home game for the Braves, meaning it was the final home game in the careers of Brownstown’s five seniors.
When they were subbed out with a big lead in the fourth quarter, they let it soak in — four years of hard work and memories in that gym, playing in their final game.
Not only did the 50-30 victory improve Brownstown’s record to above .500 at 12-11, but it was special getting seniors Emma Klinge, Andrea Bair, Hannah Stahl, Addie Shelton and Peyton Brock a victory in their final home game.
“For five girls to play it for four years, the night in, night out grind, you’re not going to remember wins and losses, you’ll remember some, but it’s all the memories in the locker room and on the bus ride,” Allman said. “Those are the memories that will last them a lifetime.”
Brownstown jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game. They cooled off a bit and led 12-5 after the first quarter.
The Braves extended their lead to 26-16 at halftime as Kalee Borden led the team with nine first-half points. Stahl was right behind her with five.
The lead continued to balloon from there for Brownstown. They took a 45-20 lead at the end of the third quarter and added five more to that before triple zeros hit the clock.
Even though Brownstown had a comfortable lead in the fourth, Allman wasn’t pleased with the amount of turnovers that amounted in the final frame.
“We can’t have that lack of focus and turnovers there at the end,” Allman said. “I think we made like six of seven turnovers there in that fourth quarter. Just lack of focus, understanding of where girls were.”
Stahl and Borden both led the Braves with 11 points on the day. Maddy Hackman scored eight, Jenna Klosterman seven, Klinge five, Bair three, Mallory Klosterman three and Shelton two.
Saturday was one of the first games this season that Brownstown felt like it had the size advantage.
The Braves will travel to North Harrison (9-10) on Thursday night for their final game of the season.
“It’s always a tough place to play,” Allman said. “They’ve got a Division I type player in Diana Burger. They’re going to come out and compete. We’ve just got to come in focused and ready to play.”
When the season is all said and done, an accomplishment that goes beyond the results on the court is that Allman will be able to nominate all five seniors for academic all-state this season.
“I can’t say enough about our five seniors,” Allman said. “They’re absolute role models on the court, in the classroom and outside of school. They’re going to be future leaders in whatever they decide to do.”