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ENLARGE
In a very physical and defensive game Thursday night at Bear River it was the Lady Bruins that triumphed over Pioneer Valley League rival Placer, 36-32.
The two teams battled back and forth all night as neither team could gain a decisive advantage until late in the fourth quarter.
With 28 seconds left in the game and down 34-30, Placer was forced to foul Bear River (13-6 overall, 2-1 in the PVL) to stop the clock. Two Placer defenders trapped Bear River's star player, Jennifer Meylor, as she attempted to dribble into the front court.
In Meylor's attempt to break the trap she was fouled hard. She fell to the floor in obvious pain and the entire gymnasium went silent. After a few moments she rose from the floor to emphatic applause and joined her team.
On the next play she was fouled again, this time sending her to the line. The senior captain calmly sank both free throws, giving her Lady Bruins a six point edge and the eventual win.
Meylor played all 32 minutes and led her team in scoring with 16, three points below her season average.
The Lady Bruins came out cold in the first quarter allowing Placer to jump out to a 13-4 lead.
Solid defense allowed the Lady Bruins to get some easy baskets on the offensive end as they went on a 13-3 run to take a 17-16 halftime lead.
Placer and Bear River traded blows in the third quarter, which included several hard fouls and a flagrant foul called on Placer. The quarter ended with Bear River holding a slight edge at 27-26.
In the fourth quarter, Bear River's Savannah Welz scored her team's first seven points, including a 3-pointer that gave her team a four-point lead. Welz finished the game with 12 points.
The Bear River offense struggled from the beginning and never really got on track.
“We shot the ball terribly but at least we hung in there and played good defense,” Bear River coach Jeff Bickmore said. “Luckily we played well enough to win but it wasn't a real good effort.”
The Lady Bruins relied on their stingy defense and ability to control the boards against a much bigger Placer front court.
Bear River's defense held Placer to three points in the second quarter and six points in the fourth.
Not intimidated by the taller Placer front court, Bear River's Sara Hagar crashed the boards aggressively.
The junior had a game-high 13 rebounds to go with four points and three assists.
“She ( Hagar) is our best rebounder,” Bickmore said. “She's only 5 foot 6 (inches) but she's a great rebounder. Were small so we need our guards to rebound like that.”
Senior captain Brenna Klauer also chipped in with five rebounds and two blocks.
Placer also struggled with its shooting, especially at the free throw line. Placer shot 9 of 21 at the charity stripe as Bear River shot 8 of 13.
Placer's leading scorer was Nicole Parrish with 15 points. The rest of her team only managed 17 points.
Despite the win, Bickmore said Bear River will need to improve if they want to beat rival Colfax next Tuesday.
“Going into Colfax we will have to play better,” He said. “We can't expect to beat Colfax playing that bad offensively. We really need to execute better.”
The two teams battled back and forth all night as neither team could gain a decisive advantage until late in the fourth quarter.
With 28 seconds left in the game and down 34-30, Placer was forced to foul Bear River (13-6 overall, 2-1 in the PVL) to stop the clock. Two Placer defenders trapped Bear River's star player, Jennifer Meylor, as she attempted to dribble into the front court.
In Meylor's attempt to break the trap she was fouled hard. She fell to the floor in obvious pain and the entire gymnasium went silent. After a few moments she rose from the floor to emphatic applause and joined her team.
On the next play she was fouled again, this time sending her to the line. The senior captain calmly sank both free throws, giving her Lady Bruins a six point edge and the eventual win.
Meylor played all 32 minutes and led her team in scoring with 16, three points below her season average.
The Lady Bruins came out cold in the first quarter allowing Placer to jump out to a 13-4 lead.
Solid defense allowed the Lady Bruins to get some easy baskets on the offensive end as they went on a 13-3 run to take a 17-16 halftime lead.
Placer and Bear River traded blows in the third quarter, which included several hard fouls and a flagrant foul called on Placer. The quarter ended with Bear River holding a slight edge at 27-26.
In the fourth quarter, Bear River's Savannah Welz scored her team's first seven points, including a 3-pointer that gave her team a four-point lead. Welz finished the game with 12 points.
The Bear River offense struggled from the beginning and never really got on track.
“We shot the ball terribly but at least we hung in there and played good defense,” Bear River coach Jeff Bickmore said. “Luckily we played well enough to win but it wasn't a real good effort.”
The Lady Bruins relied on their stingy defense and ability to control the boards against a much bigger Placer front court.
Bear River's defense held Placer to three points in the second quarter and six points in the fourth.
Not intimidated by the taller Placer front court, Bear River's Sara Hagar crashed the boards aggressively.
The junior had a game-high 13 rebounds to go with four points and three assists.
“She ( Hagar) is our best rebounder,” Bickmore said. “She's only 5 foot 6 (inches) but she's a great rebounder. Were small so we need our guards to rebound like that.”
Senior captain Brenna Klauer also chipped in with five rebounds and two blocks.
Placer also struggled with its shooting, especially at the free throw line. Placer shot 9 of 21 at the charity stripe as Bear River shot 8 of 13.
Placer's leading scorer was Nicole Parrish with 15 points. The rest of her team only managed 17 points.
Despite the win, Bickmore said Bear River will need to improve if they want to beat rival Colfax next Tuesday.
“Going into Colfax we will have to play better,” He said. “We can't expect to beat Colfax playing that bad offensively. We really need to execute better.”
To contact Sports Writer Walter Ford, e-mail wford@theunion.com or call the Sports department at (530) 477-4232.
