Brookfield and United advance

February 21, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

MINERAL RIDGE

Brookfield outscored Champion 14-6 in overtime to win the Division III sectional tournament game on Monday.

Brookfield’s 47-39 victory earned the Warriors (15-6) a sectional final game against United (18-3), who advanced with a 55-33 win over Campbell Memorial.

“The parity of the teams is pretty close, so it’s exciting,” said Brookfield coach Shawn Hammond.

Brookfield seem to take control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring Champion 13-4 to take a 17-10 lead at halftime. The Warriors led 25-20 after three quarters.

But the Flashes (11-10) came roaring back in the fourth quarter, outscoring Brookfield 13-8 to force the game into overtime.

“We got a little stagnant on offense,” Hammond said. “But kids coming off the bench played a fantastic game.”

In fact, the team’s leading scorer was Ashley Kirila, a sophomore reserve player, who tallied 12 points.

Kirila admitted she didn’t expect to play a key role in the game.

“I was nervous going in, but this was the best game I’ve had all season.”

“The game was very intense,” said Warrior Lauren Hawley, a sophomore who connected for 11 points. “It was really, really nerve-wracking. It was a fun game to play in.

“You got to play with your team, play like a family, and you’ll get the win,” Hawley added.

Champion’s leading scorer, was junior Jordyn Skaggs, who put 15 points on the board

United 55, Campbell 33

Campbell Memorial started strong, scoring the game’s first six points. But United quickly roared back, scoring 10 consecutive points to take the lead. The Golden Eagles put the game out of reach in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Red Devils 34-9 in that stretch.

United was led by senior Taylor Smith, a dominating inside presence who scored 13 points. Sophomore Mackenzie Gatchel also scored 13 points for the Golden Eagles, while junior Emily Zehenbauer added 10 points.

Campbell was led by sophomore Isabella Espada, who tossed in 17 points.“We came out with no energy at all,” said United coach Sam Mathias. “After that first quarter, when the team saw the Campbell players weren’t going to come in here and lay down, we stepped it up.

“It’s something for us to learn from.”