Sluggish start proves costly for Brown County girls in sectional semifinal

BRIMFIELD, Ill. — Oh, to play the first five minutes again.

The Brown County girls basketball team played right with No. 1-ranked Brimfield for much of Tuesday night’s 63-49 loss in the Class 1A sectional semifinals.

The Hornets, however, stumbled out of the gate, falling behind 17-4. They turned the ball over nine times in the first five minutes. Brimfield’s lead was 30-11 midway through the second quarter, and Brown County never got the deficit under 12 points the rest of the game.

“We did not execute very well that first five minutes,” Hornets coach David Phelps said. “The defensive pressure and intensity that has got us to this point … we didn’t seem like the same team out there. We lost our man, couldn’t stay in front of people. It was frustrating. I know the pressure of the game sometimes causes that with kids.

“Many of those shots we missed weren’t difficult shots. We were being bothered right at the rim. You just get three of those to fall, and if it’s a six-point game in the first quarter, it’s completely different. When you’re down double digits, you start to press and force your shot. If a couple of those bunnies go down, things are a little different.”

To Brown County’s credit, it never stopped fighting. The Hornets missed 21 of 27 field goals in the first half and turned the ball over 12 times, but their scrambling defense forced the Indians into 12-for-30 shooting. Brimfield led 32-17 at halftime.

Indians coach Maribeth Dura liked how her team overcame adversity in the first half.

“Jaclyn (Fabry) fell down and bumped her head, and then she had the bloody nose,” Dura said. “Then I think one of the fouls on our No. 10 (Elly Doe) was put on (No. 20) Ella (Lune), and we didn’t notice it until she had three fouls. Then we were a little bit discombobulated about everything as well. If it wasn’t for everyone, we wouldn’t be here. They did a great job.”

Doe, Lune and Elynn Peterson combined to make consecutive 3-pointers midway through the third quarter to put Brimfield ahead 45-22.

“They shot the ball so well,” Phelps said. “We saw multiple films on them, and they didn’t shoot nearly this good against any team. They got layups, and they shot really well from the 3-point line tonight. We really just weren’t expecting that from some of those kids.”

Undeterred, the Hornets continued to fight back. They trimmed to deficit to 18 by the end of the third quarter, and a left-handed layup by Gabby McGath got Brown County within 14 points at 57-43 with 4:45 to play.

The Hornets forced 12 turnovers in the second half (and 18 in the game), but the early deficit was too much to overcome.

“That’s as gutsy as I’ve seen this team play,” Dura said. “To get through all that we had to with who we had tonight, that was great. I’m really happy.”

“If we could get the first quarter back, I think it would have been a different game,” Phelps said. “We didn’t shoot the ball. We didn’t finish.”

Katey Flynn didn’t score her first basket until late in the first half but finished with 13 points to lead the Hornets. Gracie Hedden added 10 and Klare Flynn scored nine. Lune, who has signed with Eastern Illinois, led the Indians (28-4) with 20. Peterson had 16 points, and Doe finished with 12.