Lady Badgers lose to Loggers, punish the Spartans
—Photo by DAC COLLINS Mirand Wenk stretches out underneath the hoop in their game against Priest River on Jan. 10.
The Lady Badgers’ winning streak came to an end on Thursday, Jan. 12, when they lost to Libby 40-43, but that loss came after punishing the Priest River Spartans at home (51-30) two nights prior.
In the Priest River game on Jan. 10, the Spartans hit a couple three-point shots right away to take an early lead. Then, about halfway through the first quarter, Bonners Ferry’s leading scorer Kassy Skeen went up for a rebound and came down hard on her knee. Skeen then limped to the bench, where she stayed for the rest of the game. With only two points scored during that entire quarter, things were not looking good for the Badgers.
However, by about halfway through the second quarter, when Bonners Ferry first took the lead, anybody who thought the Badgers might roll over after struggling in the first realized they were sorely mistaken. Kadi Bateman’s jumpshot was dialed in — at one point during the second quarter she sunk two baseline three’s in a row — and Miranda Wenk kept finding ways to contribute from the post position. This balanced offensive attack accounted for 18 points in that quarter and forced Priest River to man up on defense.
The Bonners Ferry team continued to shoot well and build on their lead in the third. By the end of the quarter, they were up by 12 points.
The fourth quarter was more of an offensive exhibition for the home team. They continued to wear down the Spartans, who resorted to fouling towards the end of the game. Unfortunately for them, Wenk, who drew most of the fouls, was stone cold from the free throw line and she helped the Badgers increase their lead to 21 points in the final minutes.
The Lady Badgers also got out to a slow start in their home game against Libby on Jan. 12. This time they were unable to recover from the early deficit.
“The girls fought hard”, head coach Rich Feickert says, “but the first quarter got away from us.”
Feickert says that too many turnovers crippled the Badgers in Thursday night’s matchup. So did free throws, as the Loggers scored 18 (over a third) of their total points from behind the line.
The loss to Libby brings the team’s record to 6-5.