Brandon’s girls basketball team kept it close for three quarters against host Fenton Oct. 14.
However, the Tigers outscored the Blackhawks 16-6 in the crucial fourth quarter to defeat Brandon 40-26. The loss dropped the Blackhawks to 4-9 overall and 4-2 in the Flint Metro League, good for second place, two games behind Linden.
The Blackhawks trailed by one point, 16-15, at the half, and only trailed 24-20 at the end of the third quarter.
‘With about five minutes left, we were down 26-25,? Brandon coach Bryan Ray said. ‘They got a couple buckets and we were forced to play catchup.?
Savannah Stedman led Brandon with 13 points, while Jessica Liebner added six.
Five days earlier, Brandon earned a league win against Holly, but the final score wasn’t indicative of the struggle the host Blackhawks had against Holly. After trailing at halftime, Brandon came back to defeat the Bronchos 44-28.
The two teams played a competitive first quarter as Holly outscored the Blackhawks 9-8 in the period. However, the Blackhawks? offense stalled in the second quarter, as the Bronchos outscored Brandon 8-3 in the period to take a 16-12 halftime lead.
The Blackhawks came back to outscore Holly 15-8 in the third quarter and take a 27-24 lead. From there, Brandon outscored Holly in the fourth 17-4 to put away the victory.
‘The kids came out in the second half, and we picked up the intensity,? Ray said of the second-half comeback.
Ray also said Mariah Andre (playing in place of the injured Lahunna Waybrant, who has since returned to the lineup), played ‘the best game of her career,? finishing with seven points and making some key steals on the defensive end.
Brooke Schaefer, whom Ray also praised for her play against Holly, led the Blackhawks with 10 points, while Stedman added nine.