BY TIM IRVING
Fifth-seeded Keshequa pulled away in the fourth quarter to advance to the Class C3 girls basketball semifinals with a 46-37 victory over Byron-Bergen in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.
Both teams came into the game with 15-5 records, a big departure for a young Indians team that won only twice last year.
They played like even teams in the first half, Ava Wagoner scored four of the Bees’ 10 first quarter points and it was 10-7 after one.
The Indians, despite foul trouble, stepped up their defense and offensive rebounding. Ava Thayer hit Anna Linde for a bank shot three and Keshequa built a 16-12 lead in the second quarter.
Keshequa uses only seven players and Byron-Bergen’s depth pulled them even as Mikaylah Pocock provided some big minutes and the Bees pulled even at 20-20 with under a minute to play in the half.
Thayer, a freshman, stuck a three-pointer late and Keshequa took a 23-20 lead to the locker room.
The back and forth continued in the third with both teams starting to knock down three-pointers. Linde’s with 54 seconds to go in the third gave the Indians a 32-31 lead going to the fourth.
Midway through the fourth quarter, junior Julia Wilkins knocked down a three from the top and Keshequa had the lead and that ignited the Indians defense.
Thayer made a steal and fed Libby Benner for a five-point lead.
Then came the turning point for Keshequa.
Running their offense, Wilkins missed a three-pointer but Aurora Sabins grabbed the rebound and while jumping out of bounds, fed Benner for the score and a 42-35 lead. Benner and Wilkins hit all four of their free throws to end the game.
“In the second half, I think we were all just hyping each other up and knew we could pull through and come together as team, “ Wilkins, who scored 11 points and pulled down 13 rebounds said.
Benner, who picked up two fouls in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 12 points. Hall of Fame coach Pete Piraino, in his 39th season as coach at Keshequa, says that’s as much as a strategy as anything else.
“We talk about it, just like you try to execute a play, we try to execute it when they’re in foul trouble.”
“It means the world to get to the semifinals, “ Wilkins said. “We’ve all been playing since we were very little so, it’s a dream come true to come to this place (in time).”
SCORING
5-Keshequa 46
Ava Thayer 6, Anna Linde 10, Aurora Sabins 7, Libby Benner 12, Julia Wilkins 11.
4-Byron-Bergen 37
Ava Wagoner 10, Daji Caballero 8, Sasha Shramm 2, MacKenzie Senf 6, Olivia Senf 6, Mikaylah Pocock 4, Maddie Pimm 1.
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