Brockton Girls Advance To Eastern C Divisional Tournament
It was a hard-fought battle, but when a final three-point attempt missed its mark, the Brockton Warriors qualified for the divisional tournament with a 37-35 win over Mon-Dak in the third-place game of the District 2C tourney on Saturday afternoon.
Brockton’s 37-35 victory resulted in standout Tamryn Bauer shedding tears of joy while the Warriors were receiving the third-place trophy. The win qualified Brockton for the divisional tournament for the first time since 2014.
“I’m in awe right now,” Bauer, who finished the game with 27 points, said. “I’m so grateful to my teammates. We’ve always been stuck in districts. How can you not cry?”
The journey to success was especially a remarkable one for Bauer, who suffered a knee injury near the end of last season. She was very limited at last year’s district tournament.
“I’ve worked very hard for this moment,” the senior, who has scored more than 1,000 points in her career, said. “I love this sport.”
Brockton’s Coach Shawn DeMarrias also loved the hard work that the Warriors put in to reach their goal.
“It was a long time coming,” DeMarrias said. “They executed well. It was great team execution all the way through.”
The coach added, “I’m so proud. We’re going to celebrate, it’s been a long time.”
After holding a 20-18 halftime lead, the Warriors increased the margin to 28-24 on three-pointers by Bauer and Quintana Young early in the third quarter. The Thunder, however, responded with an inside shot by 6-2 senior Abby Lowes and a three-pointer by Molly Wright to grab a 29-28 lead.
A pair of free throws by Lowes put MonDak up 33-30, but Bauer connected on two free throws to cut the gap to 33-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Bauer put the Warriors ahead for good with two free throws and a 16-footer in the fourth period.
MonDak fought back to 36--35 on a hoop by Lowes with 2:58 remaining.
After Brockton’s Young hit a free throw at the 1:33 mark for a 37-37 lead, the Thunder missed on several shot attempts for a potential tie.
The Thunder’s last possession came with 12 seconds left after Brockton was guilty of a shot clock violation. MonDak missed on a three-point attempt as time expired.
