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Trojans win battle of Rock Valley unbeaten girls basketball teams

EAST TROY — The Brodhead High girls basketball team put their hands up, bumped, and even bruised East Troy sharpshooter Rachel Atchison.

It still wasn't enough to stop Atchison from taking over the second half of the Rock Valley Conference crossover showdown game here Monday evening.

After managing just one first-half point, Atchison buried five second half 3-pointers to help third-ranked East Troy turn a one-point halftime deficit into a commanding 63-49 victory over the second-ranked Cardinals (18-1, 13-1).

Atchison finished with 18 points while Breanna Gaspervich added a team-high 19 to help the Trojans (19-0, 14-0) remain unbeaten.

"When Rachel gets her feet set, it's over," East Troy coach Jeff Brown said. "And I know her eyes light up when she sees zones."

That's exactly how Atchison picked apart the Cardinals.

After Carley Mohns' putback gave Brodhead a 23-20 lead early in the third quarter, Atchison buried her first three of the game.

Atchison then added five consecutive points for good measure to help the Trojans take control with a 20-8 run en route to a 40-29 lead.

Matters only worsened from there for the Cardinals. Atchison drilled three more long-distance shots, including a four-point play that broke the game wide open late in the fourth.

"East Troy got hot and then you saw how good they are," Brodhead coach Brad Pickett said.

The Trojans, however, weren't hot at all in the first half, and walked off the court at halftime with just 20 total points.

Despite holding the lead at half, Pickett said turnovers, along with Mohns—the Cardinals' leading scorer—suffering from foul trouble kept his team from owning a bigger halftime lead.

"You can't let them stick around when you have chances to pull away and extend the lead," Pickett said. "And we let them stick around until they took advantage."

Rachel Heller picked up the slack with 11 of her team-high 19 points in the first half, but it still didn't leave a big enough dent in the score.

The Trojans finally took advantage in the second half, draining nine second-half 3-pointers to finish off the Cardinals.

"Our team understands who they are enough where they get a little frustrated when shots don't fall like they didn't in the first half, but they realize they have to keep shooting and know it will be good in the long run," Brown said.

The Trojans certainly proved Brown's point to perfection in the second half against Brodhead.

EAST TROY 63, BRODHEAD 49

Brodhead (49) – Heller, 7-3-19; Douglas, 1-3-5; Mohns, 7-2-16; Moe, 3-1-7; Hicks, 1-0-2. Totals: 19-9-49

East Troy (63) – Gaspervich, 4-7-18; Atchison, 6-2-19; Olsen, 2-2-7; Oleson, 3-0-7; Riemer, 2-0-4; Schahczinski, 1-0-2; Santos, 1-0-2; Schultz, 1-1-4. Totals: 20-12-63.

Brodhead 13 8 8 20--49

East Troy 12 8 20 23--63

Three-point goals—Brodhead 2 (Heller), East Troy 11 (Gaspervich 3, Atchison 5, Olsen, Oleson, Schultz). Free throws missed—Brodhead 9, East Troy 6. Total fouls—Brodhead 21, East Troy 17.