cowgirls win brawl in barnesville, 42-36

breckenridge is 3-1 after chippy section 8aa win

Photos by Carol Colby • Grace Conzemius played through contact in a big section win over Barnesville

• By Robert Wanek Jr.

It was a knock-down, drag-out brawl in Barnesville on Tuesday night. When the smoke settled, it was the Breckenridge Cowgirls who came away with a 42-36 victory. They improved to 3-1 with a second consecutive Section 8AA win.

Over the past two contests, Breckenridge has allowed 32 points per game, forcing opponents to settle for long jump shots, while riding the rebounding efforts of Camryn Kaehler and Grace Conzemius. The senior skyscrapers each grabbed eight rebounds.

Breckenridge jumped out to an early lead on a pair of three-pointers by Kaehler and Johnica Bernotas, and led by as many as nine in the first half. The Cowgirls held a 21-14 lead at the break after two blocks by Conzemius in the final minute and a baseline three by Carcie Materi. 

Unforced errors marred the start of half number two, as Abby John and the Trojans came roaring back. She stepped into a three and took a steal to the rack as Barnesville tied it up at 23-23. Ana Erickson answered with a clutch triple for Breckenridge, but John wasn't done, bringing Barnesville back for a 32-30 lead w/ 8:45 remaining. 

That was the last time Barnesville would inch ahead, as Breckenridge did just enough to protect the basketball, dive for loose balls, and convert at the charity stripe to survive a tough Heart O' Lakes conference road rivalry.

Johnica Bernotas has shown she can hit the three

Kaehler is averaging nearly 10 rebounds per game

Road wins never come easy. The Cowgirls improve to 3-1 w/ a gritty win at Barnesville in the Highway Nine Rivalry. #Section8AA

Breckenridge has allowed 32 ppg over the past two contests.

• Conzemius (11 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk)
• Kaehler (7 pts, 8 reb)
• Materi (7 pts, 4 ast) pic.twitter.com/MliPBZmQS6

— Breck Sports Talk (@BreckSportsTalk) January 27, 2021

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Offense didn't come easy, with seven Cowgirls scoring, yet only Conzemius finishing in double figures at 11 points. Still, Breckenridge saw clutch contributions including an acrobatic layup from Materi near the finish. Jude Held, Abby Johnson, Materi, and Conzemius went 10-14 from the free-throw line to ultimately ice the game.

Materi and Kaehler finished with seven points apiece, as Materi facilitated four assists on the evening. The Cowgirls had trouble swiping the ball, tallying just five steals on the night. Breckenridge prepares next for a road game on Tuesday, February 2nd at Moorhead. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.