Broncos Cruise to 59-46 Win over (RV) Benedictine in Hawaii Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Benedictine (KS) (9-2, 7-1 HAAC) | 17 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 46 |
|
Hastings (8-3, 4-3 GPAC) | 11 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 59 |
(Honolulu, HI) – In a low-scoring battle, the Hastings Broncos defeated Benedictine, who was voted just one spot out of the latest Top 25 Poll, 59-46, in Honolulu on Thursday to give the Ravens their second loss of the season by holding them without a field goal in the final five-and-a-half minutes.
Hastings got off to a bit of a slow start offensively as the Ravens led 6-0 early, then grew the lead out to 15-6. The Broncos were able to trim the lead to six at the end of the quarter, 17-11, with a free throw from Kiernan Paulk and baskets from sophomore Tathis Arredondo and junior Macy Bryant.
The Broncos continued to back in the second quarter, as after trailing 22-17 with 3:30 left in the half, sophomore Rachel Goodon scored inside. Bryant stole the ball on the other and junior Mariyah Avila turned it into two points. It was Arredondo's turn next, as her steal and layup gave Hastings its first lead at 23-22 with 2:06 left in the half.
Arredondo concluded the 9-0 run with a three-pointer with 1:19 to go in the half. The Ravens scored right before the half to make it a 26-24 Bronco lead at the half. Bryant's 10 first half points were a game-high, along with seven points from Arredondo.
Freshman McKenna Yates began the second half with a three, then Arredondo put in a jumper to extend the lead to seven. A stop and a second chance putback by Goodon led a Raven timeout following the 7-0 run to begin the half.
Benedictine stopped the run with a three out the timeout and forced a Bronco miss at the other end, but Arredondo forced another steal and Yates laid it in. On the Ravens ensuing possession, Avila came up with a steal and score to put the Broncos up 37-27 with 6:29 left in the third. The Ravens were able to close the gap to seven with 1:59 left, but layups by Bryant and senior Alyssa Baker brought the lead back to 11 at 45-34 by the end of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles opened with an 11-5 run to cut the lead to 50-45 with 5:44 to go. After that run, Hastings would hold the Ravens without a field goal the rest of the way. Goodon responded for Hastings by drawing a foul and knocking down both free throws. Neither team would score for almost three minutes, as Goodon was able to split a pair of free throws with 2:42 remaining to put Hastings up 53-45.
Hastings showed terrific defense the rest of the way, only allowing a single point the final five minutes of the game, which came in the final seconds of the 59-46 win. Avila and Goodon provided the finishing touches offensively to earn the big win over a team that was ranked just over a week ago, holding the Ravens to 28 percent shooting from the field and from three in the second half, to go along with 11 turnovers.
Goodon, who had 11 points and four rebounds in the second half alone, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and a block. Bryant ended with 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals, while Arredondo had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Yates and Avila each chipped in with eight points, with Avila also adding four rebounds, two assists, and a game-high three steals.
Up next, Hastings will play undefeated #2 Indiana Wesleyan to conclude their Hawaii trip tomorrow at 3pm CST.
