Broncos Fall Short Against Mustangs, 97-90

(Hastings, NE) – In a critical game in the GPAC Standings on Saturday - Hastings at 8-4, Morningside at 7-5 - both teams scored at a high rate in the first half with the Mustangs holding a slim, 51-49 lead at the break. In the second half, Hastings held leads on multiple occasions, but the Mustangs came out on top, 97-90.

The Mustangs came out with good intensity on both ends, scoring the first eight points. Freshman McKenna Yates got the Broncos on the board almost three minutes into the game and after a quick turnover, senior Kiernan Paulk scored inside and sophomore Tathis Arredondo drilled a three after another Morningside turnover to cut the lead to one at 8-7 with 6:42 left in the first.

Morningside responded by scoring eight straight again to go back up 16-7. Freshman Ann Bose came off the bench and drained a triple and Paulk later added another behind the arc to cut the lead to six with 3:40 left. The Mustangs built a 10-point lead at the 1:54 mark, but threes by Avila and Yates kept the Broncos close, as they trailed 28-21 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter with the score 30-23, the Mustangs drilled a deep three and after a stop, scored down low to go up 35-24. Bose drilled a three-pointer on the next trip down, then after a steal in the backcourt by Paulk, she found Bose for another three. After a Mustang miss from deep, Avila attacked the rim for two to cut the lead to four.

A steal by sophomore Bailey Kissinger set up the third three from Bose in the quarter, then Yates put in another Bronco three to go up 37-35 with 5:21 left. Paulk concluded the 16-3 run after a Mustang basket with a three to take a 40-37 lead. Morningside outscored Hastings by two in the last five minutes of the half, but a fifth Bose three of the half as the horn sounded gave Hastings some momentum despite trailing 51-49 at halftime.

The Broncos made 12 threes in the opening half to offset shooting 40 percent in the half in comparison to 53 percent from Morningside. Hastings also forced 15 turnovers in the first half and scored 20 points off of them. Bose led the Broncos with 15 points, all from three, while Avila had 11, and Yates and Paulk each had 10.

Sophomore Rachel Goodon opened the scoring in the second half on a short roll to the basket to tie it at 51, but Morningside responded with six of the next 10 points. Yates found Paulk on a beautiful backdoor play to tie it again at 57. The Mustangs came right back and converted a three-point play, then Yates knocked down her third three of the game on a second-chance opportunity, tying it up with 5:40 left in the third.

Senior Alyssa Baker gave Hastings its first lead of the quarter at 62-60 with a bucket inside. Morningside managed to build a three-point advantage with 2:38 left, forcing the Broncos into a couple of empty possessions. They pushed their lead to six with under a minute to go in the quarter, but freshman Jentri Marx found Yates on a backdoor cut and Yates stole the inbound pass, got fouled, and made one of two free throws to make the score 74-71 going to the fourth.

Bryant opened the fourth by finishing an old-fashioned three-point play to even it up at 74. After almost three minutes with no scoring, Bose came through with a driving finish to take a 76-74 lead with 6:55 remaining. About a minute later, Bose anticipated a Mustang pass and threw it ahead to Arredondo for an easy layup to go up four.

Morningside inched their way back by getting to the free throw line, cutting it to one with 4:58 left. Paulk scored on a putback after a heave to beat the shot clock, but the Mustangs scored twice inside to retake the lead at 84-83 with 3:27 left, then drilled a three from the corner after a Bronco turnover.

Avila drained a midrange jumper to cut it to two with 2:51 left. Morningside then got fouled after an offensive rebound and put in both free throws to go back up four. After a Hastings turnover and a free throw by Morningside, Yates drilled her fourth three to cut it to two with 1:33 left. Hastings forced a miss on the ensuing possession, but Yates came up short on her layup with 54 seconds left.

Hastings fouled on a three with 30 seconds left and Morningside knocked down two of them, going up 92-88. Bryant's three came up short and the Mustangs put the game away at the line, 97-90.

Morningside held the Broncos to just two threes in the second half and made 22 of 26 in the second half alone. For the game, the Mustangs took 30 free throws to the Broncos' eight and held a 51-37 edge on the glass.

Yates led Hastings with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Bose finished with 19 points, three rebounds, and two steals off the bench. Paulk also stuffed the stat sheet coming off the bench with 17 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Avila was also in double-figures with 15 points and five assists.

Up next, Hastings will play at Waldorf on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2pm in Forest City, IA.