Bainville Girls Repeat As District 2C Champions
The Bainville Bulldogs earned their second straight District 2C title with a 56-42 win over Richey/Lambert in Sidney on Saturday night.
After a tight first half of play, Bainville’s defense took charge by allowing the Fusion just 19 points in the second half including only six points in the third quarter.
“They stepped up defensively both against Brockton and Richey/Lambert,” Bainville Coach Lance Berndt said of his players. “We handled our defensive assignments.”
It’s the first time that the Bulldogs have won consecutive district championships since the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
“It’s pretty awesome to have done that,” Berndt said.
He mentioned the quality leadership that seniors Chandi Johnson, Addison Hansen, Lila Butikofer, Siena Martinez and Hailey Berwick provided.
Behind by a 21-14 margin midway into the second quarter, the Bulldogs went ahead with 12 straight points on two jumpers by Butikofer, two baskets by Jodi Albus, two free throws by Berwick and a drive by Jaylynn Bjorge.
A drive by Richey/Lambert’s Brynne Hill closed the gap to 26-23 at the half.
The Fusion opened the third quarter with a three-pointer by Brylie Huft and a hoop by Klempel to take a 28-26 lead.
The Bulldogs then gained control with the contest’s next 12 points on two shots by Butikofer, a three-pointer by Hansen, a coast-tocoast drive by Berwick and a 16-footer by Albus.
After a free throw by Klempel, Butikofer kept her strong game going with a 12-footer to put the Bulldogs up 39-29 at the end of the third quarter.
A drive by Berwick, another three-pointer by Hansen and a 14-footer by Albus provided the Bulldogs with a comfortable 48-31 lead with 4:57 left.
Berwick hit a pull-up jumper and Bjorge scored off a pass from Hansen to produce a 52-36 margin with under four minutes remaining.
Top scorers for the Bulldogs were Berwick with 18 and Butikofer with 16. Albus and Hansen added eight points each. Also scoring were Bjorge with four and Johnson with two.
Leading the Fusion were Klempel with 13, Hill with 12 and Huft with nine points.
