Back-2-Back: Bronson rolls past White Pigeon to claim 2nd straight D3 District title

CONSTANTINE, MI. - Back-to-Back Champs!

The Bronson Lady Vikings used a dominant defense and pin point shooting Friday night, especially throughout the first half of play, to win their second straight Division Three District Championship after defeating the White Pigeon Lady Chiefs by the score of 58-27.

“I think we were a little out of sync when it comes to the mental aspect of the game to start,” said Bronson head coach Tony Lasky while referring to the change of times due to inclement weather. “Defensively tonight though I think we were lights out for three quarters, as White Pigeon really had trouble with our defense, getting any space on offense, which is something we knew we’d be able to do. My hats off to White Pigeon though, with as many young kids as they play they handled our pressure better than most teams we’ve played this year. I think Coach (Brooke) McClure is doing a great job over there and they have a lot of great things to build on.”

Bronson wasted little time taking control of the district championship, thanks in large part to a suffocating full court pressure mixed with a very effective zone defensive scheme. Bronson used that defensive pressure and some hot shooting early to race out to a 13-0 lead over the first five minutes of play. Bronson’s initial run was paced by the hot shooting of Haylie Wilson, Aubree Calloway and Brealyn Lasky.

White Pigeon finally got on the board with just a little under three minutes left in the first quarter thanks to a bucket in transition off the Bronson press, finding what would be the first quarter score of 13-2.

Bronson was paced in the first quarter by Calloway with eighth points, Wilson with two points, and Lasky with three points.

The Vikings extended their lead to 20-3 after a 7-1 run to start the second quarter, a run capped by a Calloway three pointer, giving the sophomore 13 points with four minutes left in the second quarter.

Bronson went on to lead the Chiefs 25-5 at the half thanks to two points from Ava Hathaway, two from Lasky, five from Calloway, and three from Payton Springstead.

White Pigeon kicked off the second half with a bucket on their first possession, closing the score to 25-7. The Vikings on the other hand continued the second where they left off in the first, with Calloway finding the bottom of the bucket, this time with two free throws to push the lead back to 20 points at 27-7.

Bronson continued to score nearly at will, with their lead growing to 30-9 with a triple from Haylie Wilson with 6:30 left in the third quarter. The Vikings added to their lead with another Wilson bucket followed by a Brealyn Lasky three pointer, extending the Bronson lead to 38-13 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Bronson went on to lead White Pigeon after three quarters by the score of 41-19. The Vikings third quarter effort was led by Wilson with eight points, Lasky with six points, and Calloway with two points as Bronson outscored White Pigeon 16-14 throughout the third.

White Pigeon looked to get back into the contest with some big buckets from Bailee Freelance, Ellie McBride and three free throws from Dani Steel in the fourth quarter however it seemed like Bronson would answer every Chiefs bucket with a bucket of their own. Bronson managed to out score White Pigeon 15-8 throughout the fourth quarter thanks in large part to a dominant fourth quarter by Wilson who poured in 11 points. Also adding to the Vikings effort was Calloway with four points and Veronica Bir with two points.

Thanks to their all-around effort Friday night the Bronson Lady Vikings went on to defeat the White Pigeon Chiefs by the score of 58-27 to claim the Division Three District 80 Championship.

Bronson was led on the night by senior Haylie Wilson who poured in a game high 21 points to go along with four steals. Wilson also hit on 5 of 12 from three point land, including 19 points in the second half.

“Haylie (Wilson) was disappointed at half time with her first half, some of the passes and some of the other things, just didn’t go the way she wanted it to,” said Lasky. “We talked at half time and I reminded her that we don’t live in the past we need to look forward, and she responded. She had a really good third quarter and a really great fourth quarter to really help us build that lead.”

Sophomore Aubree Calloway also had a monster game for the Vikings, scoring 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist.

Junior Brealyn Lasky also hit double digits in the victory, scoring 11 points to go along with two rebounds, two steals and one block.

Also adding to the Bronson championship victory was Payton Springstead with three points, six rebounds, and two steals; Ava Hathaway with two points; Victoria Loth with two points and one steal; Ryleigh Fee with two rebounds and one steal; Helena Eley with five rebounds; Ashlynn Harris with three rebounds; and Jaiden Hayes who had two rebounds.

White Pigeon was led on the night by Amiya Wright with six points and Bailee Freedline with seven points.

“We had a really good second half and you know we made a few really small mistakes that led to us giving up 10-12 possessions in the first half that are normally lay ups for us but we didn’t complete the pass or something, but in the end that’s basketball,” added Lasky. “Better for that to happen in a game you’re in control of then a two point game when it’s a harder pill to swallow.”

With the loss the White Pigeon Chiefs end their season with a record of 12-11 overall on the year. The Chiefs will say goodbye to three seniors in Jaylee McBride, Bailee Freedline and Dani Steel.

Bronson meanwhile improves to 20-3 overall on the season and claims their second straight district crown and their fourth title in the last six years.

“What’s great about this group is that they aren’t just happy with little things, they are kind of spoiled in that they’ve played in a lot of big games, they’ve played in a lot of district title games and they’ve been fortunate enough to win them,” added Lasky. “But at the half the girls were adamant that they weren’t happy with the effort and they said that they’ve got a lot more to give, which has me looking forward to a very tough game in next week’s regional.”

The Vikings now advance on to the MHSAA Division Three Regional 20 semifinals where they will play the winner of the District 78 championship which takes place Saturday, pitting Niles Brandywine versus Buchanan. Bronson will face the winner of the district next Tuesday at Centreville High School with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Back-2-Back: Bronson rolls past White Pigeon to claim 2nd straight D3 District title