Lady Indians open second half with win over Bronson

Chiefland girls opened the second half of their season with a bang, knocking off a hardy Bronson team 50-37. With C.J. Jack back from her preseason knee injury, the Lady Indians had one more scorer and rebounder on the floor. Bronson keeps improving, with much of the team playing better than they have all season, although scoring difficulties persist.

Dave Colon

Chiefland Head Basketball coach Emily Gore gives her young team a calming smile during a time-out against Bronson.

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Dave Colon

Chiefland's Renashia Bowers looks to pass as Bronson's Jessica Thomas defends closely.

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Dave Colon

Bronson's Lossie Mitchem keeps her balance and controls the dribble as Chiefland's Charlene Davis defends.

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The Indians proved they've lost their fear of shooting the ball, coming out guns-a-blazin'. But the Eagles scored first, as Lossie Mitchem found Liz Gay inside for a turnaround bucket. Chiefland tied it up as Charlene Davis tossed in a deep ball from just inside the arc.

Both sides played a stiff trapping defense and many of Bronson's points came in transition. Chiefland did a better job on the boards, as Jack and Madalyn McCray cleaned up on junk.  Davis followed her own miss and kicked back out to Janessa Barrios on the perimeter, and Barrios put in the three. Kniesha Means did a nice job inside, getting putbacks for Bronson.

Chiefland led 24-19 at the half and ran it up to 34-24 midway through the third, but then the Eagles put on a ferocious run. Ashley Thomas kept finding her spot out on the right wing, scoring on three straight trips. Gay scored off the inbounds play to bring Bronson within two.

As the fourth quarter began, though, the Indians stepped it up. Davis went coast to coast to start it off, and McCray scored eight of Chiefland's next 10 points, unanswered by Bronson. Angela Freeman had a bucket and a free throw in the final minutes, but the Eagles couldn't recover.

“We played pretty good considering we just came off a two week break with only one practice,” said Chiefland head coach Emily Gore.

“The girls did a lot of good things – they really got after it.

“I told them we're not worried about what we did before Christmas, just from here on out. We started with a win, so I'm happy.”

Bronson head coach Sherrie Schuler was less happy.

“We just don't understand yet that a winning attitude has to come from inside you,” she said.

“My girls that I don't expect to know that really did their best tonight; the ones I expect more from really didn't. They need to understand that it's got to be about dedication and basketball. Right now, a lot of them think it's just about showing up.”