The Montezuma Bravettes gave a “professional” performance on both ends of the floor Friday night, Jan. 13, in a 68-29 win over Tri-County on Senior Night in Montezuma.
Tri-County entered having not won a conference game, but the Bravettes clearly didn’t overlook them.
Operating from their base defense, the Bravettes denied easy entry passes and and challenged most jump shots.
“Our team played excellent defense and we tried a few different defenses as well,” said Montezuma Coach Janel Burgess. “We are eager to watch that grow.”
“Our ball movement was very unified, which led to many open shots which we stepped into with ease,” the coach said.
Montezuma got its offense going by knocking down four three-pointers in the first quarter, and went inside to post Shiressa Wetering for a couple of goals.
Montezuma led 43-12 at halftime.
The Trojans worked hard to pass the ball around or through the Montezuma defense, but couldn’t get shots to fall.
The Bravettes went on a quick run at the start of the third period to put a continuous clock into effect.
Mia Boulton led Bravettes scoring with 24 points on eight-of-14 shooting from the field and four-for-four from the line. She also was three-for-four on three pointers. Boulton also dished six assists.
Wetering scored 17 points on eight-for-nine from the field.
The Bravetes also got efficiency in the post from Kallie Robison, who shot three-for-four and scored seven points.
Montezuma shot .568 from the field, to Tri-County’s .216.
Guard Madison Johannes scored nine points on three-for-five from the field, including three-for-four on treys. She also had five assists.
“The play of the night,” Burgess said, “was when Abby Pope, who has been our manager for four years, was in uniform for the game and scored a free throw. Abby played basketball until her freshman year, but decided it was west to be part of our program. It was such a special night.”
“We have three seniors (Mia Boulton, Kallie Robison and Madison Johannes) who have truly embraced what our program is all about and lead selflessly each and every day,” Burgess said.
The win lifted the Bravettes to 12-1 overall and 9-1 against SICL teams.
Tri-County stands at 1-13 and 0-10.
UP NEXT – The Bravettes and Braves are at HLV on Tuesday evening, Jan. 17.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 18 25 15 10 – 68
Tri-County 2 10 13 6 – 29
MONTEZUMA (66)
Madison Johannes 3-5, 0-0, 0, 9. Ellen Cook 1-4, 0-0, 0, 0. Alivia Cline 00, 0-0, 0, 2. Claire Erselius 2-3, 0-0, 1, 5. Mia Boulton 8-14, 4-4, 2, 24. Jadyn Sharer 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Jordan Ranfeld 0-1, 1-2, 1, 1. Laila Kercheval 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0. Harlea Pargeon 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Ashlee Eilander 0-0, 1-2, 1, 1. Kallie Robison 3-4, 1-2, 2, 7. Shiressa Wetering 8-9, 1-1, 2, 17. Abby Pope 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1. TOTALS – 25-44, 8-11, 10, 66.
TRI-COUNTY (29)
TOTALS – 8-37, 7-10, 7, 29.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throw made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 8-18 (Boulton 4-8, Johannes 3-4, Erselius 1-2, Roorda 0-1, Kercheval 0-1, Cook 0-2); Tri-County 6-19.
Turnovers: Montezuma 10, Tri-County 15.
Rebounds: Montezuma 19 (Roorda 4, Johannes 3, Sharer 3, Robison 2, Cook 2, Cline 1, Erselius 1, Boulton 1, Kercheval 1, Wetering 1); Tri-County – 19.
Assists: Montezuma 16 (Boulton 6, Johannes 5, Cook 1, Roorda 1, Erselius 1, Sharer 1, Ranfeld 1).
Steals: Montezuma 5 (Johannes 2, Erselius 2, Eilander 1).
Deflections: Montezuma 3 (Johannes 3, Cook 1, Erselius 1).