(PHOTOS BY BREANA RELIFORD / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
TOURNAMENT ACTION … Bryan’s Amiyah Langham drives to the hoop while being defended by Chloe Cicero of Napoleon.
SECOND QUARTER RALLY … Piper Hanna hits a triple during an 18-7 second quarter by Bryan to take the lead at halftime after trailing early.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
BRYAN (February 13, 2025) – It’s hard to imagine going 0/15 from the field in the first and fourth quarter combined and still winning a tournament game.
On Thursday night Bryan, who lost to Napoleon 63-37 a month ago, did just that.
After falling behind 9-0 after one quarter, the Golden Bears went 14/26 from the floor in the middle two quarters with nine triples and went 8/12 from the line in the final frame to close out a 47-35 win in a Division IV sectional final.
After Bryan’s first quarter offensive struggles, freshman Averyann Fisher nailed a three-ball from the left wing to give the Bears their first points of the night with 7:25 remaining in the first half.
Hannah Miller answered with a layup for Napoleon before Bryan scored 10 straight points.
A baseline jumper by Fisher started the run followed by consecutive treys from Josey Arnold and Piper Hanna to tie the game and Fisher then gave the Bears their first lead of the night at 13-11 on a scoop-and-score.
A basket from Molly Rosebrook briefly tied the game but Bryan regained the lead after Fisher canned her second triple of the frame.
Hanna’s bucket pushed the lead to 18-14 before Rosebrook scored for the Wildcats at the buzzer to cut the Bryan lead to 18-16 at halftime.
Napoleon’s Rosebrook scored to open the third to tie the game for the final time as a 15-0 run by Bryan ensued.
Arnold buried the first of five triples by Bryan in the third as she connected from the left wing for a 21-18 lead.
Amiyah Langham then went back-to-back from deep and Arnold hit a runner in the lane to increase the lead to eleven at 29-18.
Arnold would score the last four points of the run by going 2/2 at the line following a technical foul on Napoleon head coach Craig Cicero and then added a bucket to make the score 33-18.
Rosebrook bottomed a triple from the right side to temporarily stop the bleeding for the Wildcats, but Ava Zimmerman and Langham responded with three-pointers as the Bryan lead ballooned to 39-21.
An 8-1 run by Napoleon that carried over into the final stanza trimmed the Bryan lead as Miller hit a three and Rosebrook added a field goal to make it 40-29.
With Bryan keeping possession of the ball in the final minutes, Napoleon was in a must foul situation and the Bears would go 7/10 at the line the rest of way to close it out.
A balanced Bryan scoring attack was led by 13 points each from Arnold and Fisher with Langham adding a dozen. Rosebrook topped Napoleon (14-9) with 11.
Bryan (13-10) will face NWOAL rival Wauseon (19-4) in the district semifinals on Wednesday at Miller City at 6 p.m.
NAPOLEON (35) – Smith 0; Kruse 1; Rosebrook 11; Huddle 5; Cicero 7; Baker 0; Miller 8; Good 3; Totals: 9-4-5 – 35
BRYAN (47) – Zimmerman 3; Langham 12; Hanna 6; Fisher 13; Thiel 0; Arnold 13; Vollmer 0; Totals: 5-9-10 – 47
NHS 9 7 8 11 – 35
BHS 0 18 21 8 – 47
GAME STATISTICS
NAPOLEON: FG – 13/45 (29%); FT – 5/8 (63%); Rebounds – 29 (7 offensive); Turnovers – 16; BRYAN: FG – 14/41 (34%); ft – 10/14 (71%); Rebounds – 26 (2 offensive); Turnovers – 10