Boyd Christian High School’s Lady Broncos ran out of time as the played host to Nashville Christian Academy last Tuesday night, dropping a hard-fought contest 77-70 to the Lady Warriors.
Ultimately it was foul trouble that did in the Lady Broncos as they gave Nashville Christian 33 shots from the charity stripe. The Lady Warriors made 23 of the free throws, 15 in the fourth quarter alone, shooting an overall 63 percent from the line.
The Lady Broncos didn’t get as many opportunities to tune up their free-throw shooting, hitting 6-of-11 for 55 percent.
“We played well, but got out rebounded and missed some shots we normally make,” said Boyd Christian coach Brent Warren. “There are a few things we need to improve on. But, overall I was pleased with our effort.”
It was a high-scoring shootout, with a furry of fire in the second half by Lady Warrior Maggie Pepper, who scored all of her game-high 26 points in the last two quarters. Pepper got one trey, eight buckets and went 7-of-11 from the foul line.
The Lady Broncos, who were already playing catchup from a 33-23 halftime deficit, mounted their best offense in the second half to almost close the gap, scoring 47 points and outscoring the Lady Warriors by 4 points. Boyd dialed long distance successfully nine times, with Lady Bronco Erin Cantrell earning the night’s sharpshooter award with four treys. Boyd’s offense was led by Stephanie Mullins, who shot for 19 points, and four other starters broke double digits.
“We have gone through a tough stretch and have played some strong teams. Nashville Central Christian was a good team. They have several excellent outside shooters and had one really good post player that hurt us,” Warren said. “But, my team showed a lot of heart and battled with them the entire game. I saw a lot of effort through all four quarters. That is something we have lacked up to this point. We always seem to have one quarter in each game that we have a letdown. I did not see that in this game. These tough matchups are going to help us when we hit conference play this month.”
Also scoring for the Lady Broncos were Rhiannon Hoover with 15 points, Mackinzie Pistole and Cantrell hit for 12 points apiece, Morgan DeWeese 10, and Emma Rhoton scored 2 points.
The Lady Broncos play host to Covenant Academy in a non-conference game Dec. 10. Game time is 7 p.m.