By BRAD BAUGHMAN, for The Democrat
For most of the season, the Brown County High School girls basketball team was the hunted.
When the Eagles drew the 22-3 Brownstown Central Braves in the opening round of the IHSAA 3A Sectional No. 26, they became the hunters.
After spotting the Braves’ eight quick points to start the game, the Eagles settled in, and battled the state’s fifth-ranked team in 3A before eventually falling 59-52.
“You never want to start a game out in the hole, so we definitely felt like we were digging ourselves out of one most of the game,” said Brown County Coach Matt Roberts about the early deficit.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]The Eagles trailed 16-11 after the first quarter, and despite a solid 16-point second quarter, they were unable to trim the spread as the Braves put up 16 points of their own.
In that second quarter, Eagle forward Gracie Matlock scored six consecutive points, and Abby Fleetwood banked in a halfcourt buzzer-beating three to keep the Braves’ lead at five, 32-27.
Roberts said the Eagles had planned to use both their 2-3 zone that they had so much success with during the season and an aggressive man-to-man. Early on, however, the Eagles scrapped the zone in favor of the man-to-man. “We felt we were having too much trouble covering the perimeter in some possessions where we went zone, so we decided to stick with our man,” Roberts said.
The aggressive, physical defense the Eagles employed did disrupt the Braves’ rhythm and force 18 turnovers. “They were really physical with us and we didn’t respond very well,” said Brownstown Central Coach Brandon Allman.
Allman added that the 18 turnovers “might be a season high for us and is really uncharacteristic for us.”
Despite the amped-up Eagle defense, Brownstown Central pushed its lead to 13, at 46-33, with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Following a Brown County time out, the Eagles scored the final six points of the quarter. Matlock converted on a conventional three-point play followed by Allison Stogsdill’s lone three-pointer of the game, and the Eagles trailed 46-37 heading into the last quarter.
Brown County enjoyed an 8-4 run to start the final quarter, cutting the Braves’ lead to 50-45 with just under five minutes remaining. Two free throws by Stogsdill and a bucket by Matlock had the Eagles within one, 50-49.
About the comeback, Roberts said, “It honestly didn’t surprise me that we were able to get it back to single digits by the end of the quarter and then actually cut it to one late in the game because that has been a characteristic of this team all season long. I feel they were able to draw on some experiences from earlier in the season to help them handle this one and put themselves in a position to get the win.”
Halle Hehman sank two free throws, giving the Braves a three-point cushion, 52-49, and after a missed offensive opportunity for the Eagles, Brownstown Central called a time-out with two minutes and 35 seconds on the clock.
The Braves didn’t score another basket, but they didn’t need to, as they went 7-8 from the line to put the game away. Anna Fleetwood nailed a three-pointer with 23 seconds left for the Eagles’ final score of the contest.
For the game, the Braves went 18-21 from the stripe, while the Eagles were a perfect 11-11. Brown County finished the season at 67 percent from the line, a mark that Roberts believes might be a school record.
In the end, clutch free throw shooting and an outstanding individual offensive performance by the Braves’ junior guard Katherine Benter were just too much for the Eagles to overcome.
Benter was a handful for the Eagles. She finished with a game-high 25 points that included three 3’s in the first quarter, and she was perfect on all 12 of her free throw attempts. Roberts called Benter “a much tougher cover than I expected.” Ashley Schroer had 16 for the Braves.
Roberts was not surprised with his opponent’s performance, calling the Braves, “a solid all-around team that defends well and can beat you in a variety of ways on offense.”
Matlock and Stogsdill scored 13 apiece for Brown County, and Anna Fleetwood had 10.
It was definitely a tough loss for Roberts and his team, but he was quick to credit his team for their season-long accomplishments. “They’ve had an amazing season and no single game or event can take that away,” he said.
There are obviously plenty of great achievements: A 16-win season, the first since 2005; a WIC championship; and the program’s fifth 1,000-point scorer in Allison Stogsdill.
As meaningful as those are, Roberts believes his five seniors deserve the spotlight one more time, and like most coaches, he is already thinking about the future.
“Those are some pretty special accomplishments. But most of all, it was an end to a senior class that has helped turn this program around and get us pointed in the right direction and set the bar high for the future.”
