By CHIP CIRILLO | Photos by STEVE WHEELER
Ronnie Seigenthaler knew Brentwood was close to breaking through and it finally happened.
Izzy Franco scored 17 points and Delany Trushel added 13, leading the Lady Bruins to their first District 11-AAA win with a 53-42 upset of visiting Summit on Tuesday night.
“A seasoned coaching staff like this, we’d seen the potential,” said Seigenthaler, the BHS coach. “We knew we were close, but we just needed something good to happen for their belief and several good things happened throughout the fourth quarter.”
Brentwood (6-15, 1-6 11-AAA) ended a nine-game losing streak with its first win since a Dec. 16 victory over Hillsboro.
The win puts the Lady Bruins in a last-place tie with Independence (6-13, 1-6) in the seven-team district.
“We’re very hopeful that this will propel us for the second season,” Seigenthaler said. “You start seeing everybody the second time.”
The Lady Bruins avenged a 65-38 loss at Summit on Jan. 3.
Brentwood made 20 of 23 foul shots, including 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter.
“We shared the ball, we were pushing it, we played lockdown defense, we played like a team,” Franco said. “They were not guarding (Delany) at all. She was open and knocked down some very important shots.”
Zacharyia Esmon led Summit (8-11, 3-3) with 17 points and Olivia Colson added 14.
The Lady Spartans’ second straight loss put them in fourth place behind Dickson County, Franklin and Centennial in the district.
“We weren’t ready and just thought they were going to lay down to us, but they obviously didn’t,” Esmon said. “We didn’t play defense at all and fouled a lot, and they made free throws. We didn’t have help side, we barely pressured, we let them catch and we just let everything happen.”
Esmon’s layup tied the score at 38 with 4:30 left, but Brentwood closed with a 15-4 run.
Summit coach Kari Goodwin gave her team a long talk after the loss.
“Defensively, I was really disappointed at how we played,” Goodwin said. “The effort was not there in certain situations and we just could not get going offensively. We weren’t in position to rebound and push the ball like we normally do. Hats off to them for having a great night.”
UP NEXT
Summit visits Franklin on Wednesday.
Brentwood visits Ravenwood on Friday.
