Less than ten seconds into the game, a Deerfield player caught the ball behind the three point line, pivoted, hesitated, accelerated, and travelled. Just two minutes later, Senior Sandra Deeney plucked an inbounds pass out of the air and went straight in for the quick layup. For the most part, this was the story of the game Kits would win 61-27.
Deerfield kept the game close with Kits for most of the first quarter, tying the game at 9-9 with 4 minutes left. However, after that point, Kits would never look back. Deerfield did not score for the rest of the first half as the Kits went on a 27-0 run. In the game, Kits had 17 steals, and forced 25 total turnovers from Deerfield.
The Kits managed to outpace the Warriors throughout the night.
“We want to be able to push the tempo, to get easy baskets. We did a great job of that, especially in the second half,” remarked head coach Brittany Johnson.
Sophomore Charity Bryant led her team with 27 points and eight rebounds, catching fire with 14 points in the third quarter alone.
“She was a matchup problem for them and we were able to get her the ball a lot. She was really helpful for us,” stated Johnson.
So who else would it be with five minutes left in the game, other than Charity Bryant, to hammer the last nail into the coffin. As she pulled up for a deep two, all of Beardsley gym could hear the basketball swish smoothly through the net. This would end up being the last field goal for Bryant, capping off a memorable night of dominance.
Junior Payton King and senior Sandra Deeney also starred with a combined nine assists and six steals.
“Sandra Deeney was great. She was getting some key steals and I thought she was a great leader,” reflected Johnson.
This Deerfield game was only the fifth out of twenty-seven in the basketball season. To extend their conference winning streak, coach Johnson and her team will have to keep their eyes on the prize and pull away with big wins at both Glenbrook schools in the coming weeks.
“We’ve got a big game next week against GBN, and another big game against GBS,” said Johnson, turning her gaze to the future.
