by Scott Sacry
The Class A Hamilton Broncs and the Class B Florence Carlton Falcons girls’ basketball teams met in Hamilton last Saturday. Although both sides fought hard, it wasn’t as close as the boys’ game, and Hamilton won, 59-43. Hamilton started fast and jumped out to a 11-0 lead, and led 22-8 after the first quarter. Hamilton’s Layne Kearns was seemingly everywhere, making shots, grabbing rebounds, delivering assists and forcing turnovers.
Florence wasn’t going away without a fight, however, and outscored Hamilton 12-7 in the second quarter. A big three-point play by Florence’s Kasidy Yeoman just before halftime made the score 29-20. Hamilton came out of halftime determined, and early in the third quarter went on a 16-2 run, and took a 47-31 lead going into the fourth quarter. Both teams scored 12 in the final frame, leading to a 59-43 Hamilton win.
The scrappy Florence team got strong play from starters Kasidy Yeoman, Olivia Coulter, Quinn Skaggs, Kylie Kovatch, and Kolbi Wood, with Carina McCollum coming off the bench with some timely baskets. Hamilton was led by the aforementioned Kearns, and Taryn Searle, Alex Brenneman, Taylor McCarthy and Mya Winkler had solid games for the Lady Broncs.