It didn’t exactly go as Rod Thomas planned it, but the head coach and his Bronson girls’ basketball squad got the result they were looking for: survive and advance.
The Lady Eagles overcame an eight-point second-half deficit to prevail 35-31 against Dixie County in the District 1A-7 quarterfinals in Trenton Monday, Feb. 5.
Bronson advances to face No. 1 seed and No. 2-ranked Trenton Thursday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals.
The Lady Eagles, who are having to make do without their injured No. 2 guard, Neomi Thomas, went 14 minutes without a field, starting from midway through the first quarter.
But Thomas’ sister, junior point guard Yelena Thomas, did plenty of heavy lifting in scoring a game-high 25 points, helping Bronson escape the drought as she posted 17 points in the second half alone.
A put-back by Brandi Strong in the third snapped that field goal drought for BMHS, setting the stage for a back-and-forth battle to the finish.
Yelena Thomas then put together a string of baskets, including a floater in the lane, to knot the game at 20-20 late in the third.