Britton-Hecla’s girls basketball team played Groton Area for the second time in four days in the first round of the Region 1A basketball tournament last week Tuesday, and the result was similar.
The seventh-seeded Lady Braves, who finished the season with a 4-17 mark, fell 45-19 to the second-seeded Tigers in regional play after dropping a 60-28 decision four days earlier in the regular season finale. Groton defeated Milbank 54-52 in semifinal play on Thursday to earn a SoDak 16 berth at Sioux Falls Christian on Thursday. The girls state tournament will run March 12-14.
Groton Area jumped out to a 16-5 lead after one period, led 24-7 at halftime, and stifled any Britton-Hecla comeback thoughts by grabbing a 20-point lead after three quarters.
“I was happy with our defense. That didn’t kill us like it did in the final regular season game,” said B-H coach Terry Nelson. “We did a pretty good job of holding them down. But 30 turnovers and 21% shooting from the field kill you.”
Karlie Zuehlke, Maddi Micko, and Chellon Pruitt each had five points for B-H and Daynika Zuehlke added four. Karlie Zuehlke grabbed 11 rebounds and Daynika Zuehlke pulled down seven.
Nelson stressed that now the work begins for next season.
“For us to compete against the better teams like Groton, Milbank, and Hamlin the kids have to work on dribbling and shooting all year, and we have to play hard defense. That happens by doing those things in the little scrimmages all year long.”
FOR FULL STATS, SEE THIS WEEK'S JOURNAL.
