RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
Union City star Luane Schoonbroodt erupted for 20 points in the second half to propel the Indians to a come-from-behind 44-41 win over South Adams Saturday night at the Stardome.
The Indians (4-2) trailed the Starfires 22-15 at the half and 27-15 after Macy Pries opened the third quarter with a layup and teammate Emmerson Smith followed with a three-pointer.
Then Schoonbroodt got to work. She hit a pair of threes, a drive, and two free throws as the Indians outscored the Starfires 14-3 the rest of the quarter to get within one at 30-29.
The Starfires’ Liz Gerber hit a baseline jumper just ten seconds into the final period to bump the lead back to three, but then Union City went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by three buckets from Schoonbroodt, the last one coming on a full-court drive and layup. Another key play for the Indians was an offensive rebound by Danika Black off a Schoonbroodt miss at the 2:25 mark. Twenty seconds later Black drove hard from the left side and hit a floater to give the Indians their biggest lead of the game, 40-32.
South Adams (1-4) kept fighting, pulling to within three, at 44-41, when Gerber banked in a 15-foot jumper from the left side with 34 seconds left. In the final moments the Starfires had the ball twice with a chance to tie, but Gerber missed a three with 14 seconds left, and after Schoonbroodt surprised everyone by missing two free throws, Emmerson Smith missed a three from the right wing at the buzzer.
Schoonbroodt, who finished with 28 points, made eight of 12 field goal attempts in the second half. “We knew we needed some energy and had to have a big third quarter,” said Union City coach Sarah Black. “She came on strong for us.”
South Adams sophomore Laney Trausch sizzled in the first half, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 field goal shooting and two-for-two from the line. Her stellar play was the key factor in the Starfires’ first-half lead, as she helped her team overcome uncharacteristically cold shooting from leading scorer Macy Pries, who hit only one of seven shots in the half.
Trausch cooled off in the second half, scoring only one point, but her 15 points was a career high, as was her 11 rebounds. “Laney did a great job the first half,” said South Adams coach Wayne Kreiger. “Second half she got some of the same shots, but they didn’t fall.”
That was the case for her teammates also. The Starfires hit 10 of 21 (48%) two-point shots in the first half, but only five of 18 (28%) in the second half. They also struggled on threes, hitting just one of six in each of the final two quarters.
“They didn’t do anything defensively that we didn’t counter,” Kreiger stated. “It was just the fact that we didn’t get the ball in the basket.”
Pries finished with eight points, bringing her just 19 points shy of 1,000 for her career. Gerber scored nine, including seven in the fourth quarter. Smith had five points, and Addie Baker, who tied Trausch with 11 rebounds, added four points.
Black scored eight for the Indians.
There was no JV game. The Starfires will host Leo next Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. and will travel to Bluffton Friday for a game against the Tigers, which will be broadcast on WZBD.
