Behrens’ 30-point production lifts BV to 58-46 win

The Lady Lynx evened their season mark to 4-4 behind the firepower of freshman Hilary Behrens’ 30-point production in Thursday’s 58-46 road win at Watertown.

Brandon Valley implemented a late-game surge to fend off the 0-8 Arrows, who got within five points late in the fourth quarter before the Lynx pulled away for good.

“It’s always a challenge to go on the road in our league and get a win,” said Lynx head coach Mike Zerr. “I was glad to see our team be able to get out to a fast lead and then just play within themselves throughout the game.”

BV led their hosts at all four quarter stops, 16-12 after a quarter of play; 31-23 at the half; 41-34 at the end of three; and a 58-46 ending.

“In the fourth quarter when we needed to get stops and salt the game away, our girls really stepped up and finished,” Zerr said. “We talk about having pride in our defense and that pride in defense travels with us no matter where we play and gives us a chance in every game.”

While Behrens’ 30-point performance clearly stands out, Zerr said the freshman “did it within herself, doing the things we see each and every day in practice. She took the shots she needed to for our team and did a nice job distributing and being willing to share it when they took things away from her.”

Zerr also took notice of the job Emma Jarovski did on defense.

“Emma did an outstanding job defensively on one of the premier perimeter player in our state in Megan Fannin, guarding her the vast majority of the night with her teammates communicating and helping out when they needed to,” the coach said. 

Along with Hilary Behrens’ 30 points, Mara Schaap and Jarovski both dropped in seven points and Hannah Behrens knocked down six.

The Lynx made 4-13 from beyond the arc (31 percent), 16-35 inside the arc (46 percent), and 14-21 free throws, a 67 percent performance. 

BV charted 18 rebounds, and Hannah Behrens led the charge with seven.

The Lynx charted 15 assists and 15 steals. Schaap, Kylie Foss and Hilary Behrens all had three assists to their credit. Sidney Thue and Jarovski both had two. 

Jarovski picked off four steals, while Hilary Behrens and Foss both had three.

Hannah Behrens and Jarovski each had two of the team’s six total blocks.

BV also took good care of the ball, turning it over just six times in the ESD Conference win.

The Lady Lynx opened a busy week of action Tuesday when they hosted Harrisburg. The girls travel to Brookings Thursday for a 7 p.m. game and head to Sioux Falls Lincoln for a 5 p.m. game on Saturday.

“We have a big week coming up with three games in five days. Our depth will again be a great asset this week,” said Zerr, who will continue to look to his bench for time on the floor. “Being a bench player is a challenging job and we’re thankful to have five, six, seven girls outside of our starting lineup that are willing to contribute their best when their number is called. They put the time in every day and it shows in our execution and level of play that carries over when our bench gets their opportunities to play.”

 

Brandon Valley 16 31 41 58

Watertown 12 23 34 46

 

Brandon Valley (2PFG, 3PFG, FT TP): Kennedy Nuebel 0-1 0-0 0-2 0; India Bradfield 0-1 0-1 2-2 2; Mara Schaap 0-0 1-2 4-6 7; Kylie Foss 2-3 0-1 0-1 4; Emma Jarovski 0-0 0-3 1-2 7; Hilary Behrens 7-13 3-4 7-8 30; Grace Gerken 0-1 0-0 0-0 0; Hannah Behrens 3-6 0-2 0-0 6; Sidney Thue 1-2 0-0 0-0 2; Aneesha Scott 0-0 0-2 0-0 2. Totals: 16-35 4-23 24-21 58.