Head coach Chris Schofield and his Bruin girls varsity basketball team traveled to Harrisburg, just north of Eugene, to meet up with the 5-3 Lady Eagles to start off 3A-5 Far West League post-season play.
A high energy Bruin girls team walked onto the hardwood and set the pace early, applying defensive pressure to the Lady Eagle ball handlers, slowing the Harrisburg offensive attack. This allowed the Bruin girls defense to set up their 2-3 zone defense, continue pressuring the Lady Eagle play makers.
The combination of poor shooting and disruptive pressure on the Lady Eagle offense led to turnovers and defensive rebounds for the Bruin girls as the Brookings-Harbor offense attacked the key. Junior Zoe Carlson #11 started scoring in the game hitting a 3 pointer within the first minute of play. Senior forward Skylar Gallagher #3 led the way offensively for the Bruin girls with two baskets and freethrow, scoring 5 of the Bruin girls 13 points in the quarter.
The pressure on the Lady Eagles by the Bruin girls continued to be successful as Ashlyn Schofield and Marissa Scott held down the interior defense under the basket, limiting second looks at the basket for Harrisburg. Rockette Marrington and Charlie Nolte forced the Lady Eagle point guard into foul situations, putting her in early foul trouble in the first half. The Brookings-Harbor defense allowed only 3 points in the period as #4 Faith Burton and Zoe Carlson #11 hit 3’s to give the Bruin girls a 20-11 lead at the half time break.
Coming out trailing by 9 points to start the 3rd period, Harrisburg made defensive half time adjustments and began setting picks to rub Bruin girl defenders off the ball in the back court, which opened up the Lady Eagle offense, helping them close the gap to 23-20 Bruin girls, at the midway point of the 3rd period. As the score became closer, the confidence of the Lady Eagle defense became more disruptive, turning the tables in the period, holding the Bruin girl offense to just 5 points in the 3rd, while their offense put up 14 points, sending the game into the final period of play, with the Bruin girls holding on to a 25-23 lead.
With a 2 point ball game, and just 8:00 minutes left to advance in post season play, defense stepped up for both teams as they fought to create a lead. Now tied 30-30 at the 5:00 minute mark, the Lady Eagles would take their first lead, 32-33 with just over 2 minutes to play. Junior guard Tristan Brouillard, #1, would get the ball behind the arc after a Brookings-Harbor timeout, and hit a crucial 3 pointer with less than 2 minutes to play. On the following play, Brouillard would draw a foul from a moving pick, forcing a Harrisburg turn-over, giving the ball back the Bruin girls. Junior point guard, #12, Rockette Marrington, brought the ball across the top of the key getting the ball to an open Zoe Carlson, who hit another 3 pointer in what would be a 6 point swing for the Bruin girls late in the period, stretching the Bruin girls lead to 38-33 with 1:40 to go.
As time ticked away in the final period, the 5 point Brookings-Harbor lead would force the Lady Eagles into quick shots and fouling to stop the clock. But the Bruin girls, led by Zoe Carlson who went 4 for 4 from the line late after hitting two 3 pointers for 10 points in the period, would go 5 for 7 from the line in the final minutes, as the Bruin girls closed out the game on a 9 point run, taking a 41-33 win to advance in post season play.
Talking with coach Schofield after the game, “Our first half was one of the best halves we’ve played defensively…maybe ever…” he said. “They attacked us better in the second half and we struggled to slow their momentum, but I am proud of how this team locked in again defensively to finish things off.”
With the first round win, the 14-10 overall, 10th ranked Bruin girls will advance to quarterfinal round play starting next Thursday, March 3rd, against the 24-2 overall, #2 ranked Nyssa Lady Bulldogs, who will make the long trip from eastern Oregon to Coos Bay’s Marshfield High School for an 8:15pm tip-off for a chance to advance to semi-final play.
