GRUNDY CENTER – The Bravettes built a lead which reached 15 points by the end of the third quarter, then weathered a late rally by Grundy Center to score a 52-46 win over the Spartans on Tuesday night, Feb. 7.
Defenses dominated for both teams in the first half, which ended with Montezuma leading 19-15.
A sluggish pace went a little more up-tempo in the third quarter, spiced by a nine-point Bravettes run. Mia Boulton hit a pair of treys and Shiressa Wetering made a three-point play the traditional way as the Bravettes took their lead out to 32-22.
The Spartans hit all three of their treys in the second half, and one of those cut Montezuma’s lead to 49-46 with 13 seconds left.
The Bravettes inbounded to Kallie Robison who was fouled. She made a free throw with 10.2 seconds left to push the Bravettes to safety at 50-46, then Boulton added two from the line in the final second.
“Near the end of the game we had three possessions where we did not rebound and that hurt us. We need to get that cleaned up quickly,” said Bravettes Coach Janel Burgess.
Montezuma, switching from man-to-man to matchup zone defenses, kept the lid on the Grundy Center offense for much of the game.
For their part, the Bravettes finished at the rim with shot after shot in th first half – but most drew iron and bounced away.
“We had every shot we wanted to open the game and they did not fall,” said Burgess. “But we relied on our defense, which is what great eams do, and found a way to still be in the lead at halftime.”
“I was extremely proud of our abilities to make adjustments on the defensive end to start the second half, which is why were were able to stretch our lead,” Burgess said.
Post player Carlie Willis used her length to score 23 points for the Spartans.
Boulton was solid for the Bravettes with 20, while guard Madison Johannes splashed down three of Montezuma’s five three-point goals.
It was the regular season closer for Montezuma. The Bravettes lifted their record to 18-3.
Grundy Center fell to 11-10.
“We are very proud of where we are and look forward to hosting Hillcrest Academy,” said Montezuma’s coach.
UP NEXT – Montezuma goes into regional tournament play this Thursday night, hosting 0-19 Hillcrest Academy.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 8 11 19 14 – 52
Grundy Center 4 11 8 23 – 46
MONTEZUMA (52)
Madison Johannes 3-4, 0-0, 1, 9. Ellen Cook 1-4, 0-1, 0, 2. Izzy Roorda 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Claire Erselius 0-2, 3-4, 2, 3. Mia Boulton 6-13, 6-7, 2, 20. Jadyn Sharer 2-4, 1-2, 2, 5. Kallie Robison 3-4, 1-2, 2, 7. Shiressa Wetering 2-9, 2-5, 3, 6. TOTALS – 17-40, 13-21, 13 52.
GRUNDY CENTER (46)
TOTALS – 17-42, 9-14, 16, 46.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 5-11 (Johannes 4-4, Boulton 2-4, Cook 0-2, Erselius 0-2); GC 3-9.
Turnovers: Montezuma 6, GC – 16.
Rebounds: Montezuma 19 (Wetering 6, Cok 5, Sharer 4, Johannes 1 Erselius 1, Boulton 1, Robison 1); GC 30
Assists: Montezuma 8 (Boulton 4, Cook 2, Johannes 1, Sharer 1).
Steals: Montezuma 3 (Cook 1, Erselius 1, Boulton 1).