Trending
HARRIS -- Sierra Debelak came to Bark River-Harris's rescue Tuesday night, leading the Broncos to a 70-59 girls' basketball victory over the Stephenson Eagles.
The junior guard scored a career-high 30 points, including the last eight points in this Skyline Central Conference match-up.
Stephenson climbed within 62-59 on a fast break layup by senior guard Autumn Rasner with 61 seconds left to play.
Debelak then sank 6-of-7 free throws and a layup as part of a 3-point play in final 53 1/2 seconds.
"I was able to get to the baseline and draw some fouls," said Debelak, who finished 13-of-14 from the line. "They put up a good fight, but the people on top of our press were clicking which made it easy for us to get some steals. We just needed to calm down, work together and get back in the groove."
BR-H, fueled by its full-court pressure defense, raced to a 19-4 lead after four minutes.
The Eagles then went on an 11-4 run, trimming their deficit to 23-15 on a pair of free throws by Rasner with 52.4 seconds left in the opening frame.
"We have rough starts lot of the time and have to play catch-up," said Stephenson coach Shannon Beal. "I didn't like our start tonight and having three starters foul out didn't help. The girls weren't sure which pass to make against their press. They seemed to hold back a little. I would like to see them be a little more aggressive."
The Broncos (11-2 overall, 8-1 SCC) led 39-30 at halftime, but only 47-43 following a buzzer-beating four-foot set shot by junior Makayla Johnson in the third quarter.
BR-H opened the fourth frame with a 9-1 run, gaining a 56-44 cushion on a pair of charity tosses by freshman forward Cara Zawacki.
Stephenson (4-7 overall, 3-5 league) again refused to go away and pulled within 58-55 on a layup by Makayla Johnson at 2:14.
The Broncos temporarily stopped the bleeding on a set shot from the lane by senior center Lauryn Bloniarz and two free throws by sophomore Morgan Cappaert for a 62-55 advantage with 1:25 left.
BR-H, however, still had to weather the storm one more time before pulling away at crunch time.
Senior guard Cassidi Stannard added 14 points and Peterson hit 12 for the Broncos, who travel to Superior Central Thursday.
Rasner drained 10-of-11 gifters and finished with 25 points. Emily Johnson hit 14 and Makayla Johnson had 12 for the Eagles, who visit third-ranked North Central Thursday.
The Broncos hit 26-of-42 free throws and committed 13 turnovers. The Eagles were 16-of-21 from the line, but had 29 miscues in this physical contest.
Stephenson 15 15 13 16 -- 59
BR-Harris 24 15 8 23 -- 70
Stephenson -- Rasner 25, Schultz 1, E. Johnson 14, M. Johnson 12, Kuntze 3, Cappaert 4. FT: 16-21; F: 26; Fouled out: Rasner, E. Johnson, Kuntze; 3-point field goals: E. Johnson 2.
Bark River-Harris -- Debelak 30, Stannard 14, Van Ginhoven 3, Bloniarz 6, Peterson 12, Zawacki 5. FT: 26-42; F: 20; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Debelak, Van Ginhoven.