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Bears fall in squeaker against West Liberty by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · December 24, 2024
In a heartbreaker that ended in controversy, the West Branch girls’ basketball team dropped a 49-48 battle with West Liberty Friday night on the road.
“I’m super proud of the girls and their effort, their competitiveness, their composure, and their never back down,” Bears Head Coach Justin Liddle said. “We’ve got a lot of fight in this team. We get down like 18-6 to start this game, and then battle, battle, battle. They’re starting to buy in to the things we’re trying to do.”
West Liberty came out strong, racing out to a 7-0 lead as West Branch called timeout with 5:45 to play in the first. The lead expanded to 12-0 before Katelyn Essington got the Bears on the board with a 3-pointer. West Branch began to claw back into the game, with a free throw apiece by Addi Schultes and Alysa Pierce making it 16-5. Schultes then had a pair of unanswered jump shots while Lexi Skay grabbed an offensive rebound and put back a layup, setting up an 18-11 deficit at the end of the first.
Skay added a 3-pointer to start the second, cutting West Liberty’s lead to four points. Skay then had an offensive rebound and layup, forcing a Comets timeout with 3:26 to play in the half as West Branch trailed by two.
Following the reset, the Comets had an 8-0 run before a West Branch timeout with 2:21 to play. The Bears closed the half with a free throw by Skay followed by a pair of shots from the charity stripe by Schultes. Ava Burnett then set up the last basket of the half by assisting an Essington layup as West Branch faced a 28-21 deficit following two quarters.
Schultes continued her offensive breakout to open the third with a drive and layup. Pierce followed with a pair of layups as West Branch trailed by just one, 28-27 at a West Liberty timeout with 5:47 left in the quarter.
Sulli Bucknell got on the scoring ledger, sinking a jump shot on a bank shot after getting an offensive rebound. Pierce added a free throw as the Bears trailed 33-30, but West Branch starter Jenie Gomez had to go to the bench shortly thereafter with four fouls and 2:50 to play in the third. Skay drew a foul moments later, getting one of two chances to go. West Liberty held a slim 35-31 edge to start the fourth.
Schultes started the final period with a nifty play, splitting a double team and getting a layup to go to bring the game to within a single possession. The Comets called timeout with 7:10 to play.
Essington gave the Bears their first lead of the game on an inbounds 3-pointer as West Liberty called timeout with the score sitting at 36-35 with 5:18 to play.
Pierce had an impact play defensively, drawing a charge. Schultes worked her way to the line, scoring on both free throw chances as the Bears trailed 43-38. Skay then had another offensive rebound and layup to bring the game within a single possession. After West Liberty answered with two more points, Schultes set up a Pierce layup as the Bears called timeout with 1:13 to play and the visitors trailing 45-42.
Pierce drew a foul and added a free throw, cutting the deficit to 45-43. After a Pearson Hall layup for the Comets, the Bears answered with a massive 3-pointer by Burnett to cut the deficit to one point. With West Branch needing to foul, the Comets bled out about 10 seconds of game clock before going to the line in the bonus.
Kylee Daufeldt got one of two shots from the charity stripe, pushing the edge to 48-46. The Bears caught a break when West Liberty fouled in the West Branch backcourt, sending Schultes to the line for the potentially game-tying free throws with 8.7 ticks left.
The first free throw bounced high in the air and clanked around the iron a few times before going in as Schultes and the Bears’ supporters breathed a sigh of relief. The second one went in without issue, knotting the game with seconds remaining.
Pierce stifled the Comets’ first attempt at a game-winner with a crucial block. The ball was recovered by West Liberty and Mallory Wulf attempted a half-court heave as time expired. Wulf’s shot was no good, but a controversial foul call on the shot sent the West Liberty junior to the line for three shots. After discussion, the officials put 0.3 seconds on the clock, which was not enough time for a catch-and-shoot basket.
The first two free throws were off, giving West Branch a sliver of hope that the game could be decided in overtime. The final charity stripe attempt went through, giving West Liberty its third win of the year and denying the Bears their first River Valley Conference win of the season.
“It sucks to lose a heartbreaker in the fashion that we did,” Liddle said. “I think when we go back and watch the film, we’re going to be pretty happy with the strides that we made and the improvement that we’ve had so far.”
The coach added that his team kept their composure in several crucial moments during the game, which gave the Bears a chance at the end.
With junior starter Kennedy Simpson, the team’s leading scorer, out for the second straight game, West Branch had to turn to other offensive options. Schultes had a team-high 15 points on efficient 4-7 shooting, while Skay had 11 points and a whopping 17 rebounds for a double-double.
“It was a step forward with us, because when we get Kennedy back those girls are going to be playing with more confidence,” Liddle said.
West Branch had another strong defensive night, holding an opponent to under 50 points for the fourth time this season. The coach said the team had “a really solid effort all-around.”
After the game, the Bears had a chance to decompress from a hectic first half of the schedule before returning to action with a Jan. 9 road non-conference matchup at Burlington–Notre Dame. Liddle said “it’s time to take a break,” adding that film study and practice would be keys after six days off.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 11 10 10 17 48
WL 18 10 7 14 49
West Branch statistics: Katelyn Essington 3 3-6 8, 3 3-pointers, 4 rebounds; Lexi Skay 4 4-8 11, 1 3-pointer, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block; Ava Burnett 1 1-10 3, 1 3-pointer, 6 rebounds, 1 steal; Jenie Gomez 0 0-2 0, 1 assist; Addi Schultes 4 4-7 15, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Alyssa Pierce 3 3-8 9, 4 rebounds, 1 block; Sulli Bucknell 1 1-4 2, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal. Team totals: 16 16-45 48, 4 3-pointers, 43 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks.
West Liberty statistics n/a
West Branch 20, Regina 90
On Nov. 19, No. 3-ranked Regina showed why it earned that designation, defeating West Branch at home, 90-20.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 6 5 5 4 20
Reg 20 29 21 20 90
West Branch statistics: Lexi Skay 2 2-7 4, 7 rebounds, 1 assist; Ava Burnett 2 2-7 5, 1 3-pointer, 5 rebounds; Jenie Gomez 0 0-2 0, 2 rebounds; Alyssa Pierce 2 2-8 5, 4 rebounds; Addi Schultes 1 1-7 3, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal; Lander Malloy 0 0-0 0; Katelyn Essington 0 0-3 0, 3 rebounds; Grace Hamann 0 0-0 0; Emalyn Poe 0 0-1 0; Sulli Bucknell 1 1-4 3, 1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds; Alissa Van Hall 0 0-1 0. Team totals: 8 8-40 20, 2 3-pointers, 28 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal.
Regina statistics: Morgan Miller 14 14-17 30, 1 3-pointer, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 8 steals; Caitlin Martin 6 6-9 13, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Ella McLaughlin 5 5-7 12, 1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Addie McLaughlin 7 7-11 16, 2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, 1 block; Adalee Klein 1 1-5 5, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks; Nora Wade 0 0-2 0, 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Ella Keune 3 3-4 9, 1 3-pointer, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Anna Trenkamp 0 0-0 0; Maddie Squiers 1 1-1 2; Maggie Sueppel 1 1-1 3, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block. Team totals: 38 38-57 90, 5 3-pointers, 29 rebounds, 27 assists, 17 steals, 5 blocks.
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