By Kevin Leibrock
DANVILLE — Brownsburg used size to its advantage Friday night against Cascade.
Six-foot-2 freshman Stephanie Mavunga had her way in the post, totaling 18 points and five rebounds to lead the Bulldogs past the Cadets, 60-42 and into the final round of the Hendricks County Tournament.
Lindsey Dall added 12 points for Brownsburg (2-2).
“They both played really well,” Bulldogs coach Brauman said of her post players. “They worked really hard to get open and the perimeter people did a great job getting them the ball.”
Alyssa Suter scored 14 points to lead Cascade (1-3).
Brownsburg got off to a hot start, hitting four of its first five shots from the field. A Mavunga steal and fastbreak lay-up put the Bulldogs up 15-2 with 1:38 to play in the first.
“With them playing the zone, we wanted to make sure we weren’t just staying out there throwing up shots from the outside,” Brauman said. “We wanted to get it inside, and overall we did a pretty good job doing that.”
Cascade pulled to within 19-7 after one, but trailed 35-14 at halftime.
Brownsburg pushed its lead to 43-20 midway through the third, when Ryne Carr came off a screen and nailed a three-pointer from the corner.
The Bulldogs held a 48-26 advantage heading into the final period.
Cascade’s offense came to life early in the fourth, as the Cadets outscored the Bulldogs 7-4 to open the quarter. Suter capped the run with a lay-up off an assist from Andrea Rivera that cut the deficit to 52-33 with 6:42 to play, prompting Brauman to call a quick time-out.
The Bulldogs responded, and padded the lead back up to over 20 points on a lay-up from Dall. Mostly reserves took the court for Brownsburg the rest of the way.
Brownsburg advances to play Plainfield (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. tonight for the county championship. Cascade faces Avon (2-1) at 6 p.m. tonight for third place.
“Obviously they like to press,” Brauman said of the Quakers. “We’re going to have to work on our press offense. I know the girls are fired up and ready to play, so hopefully it’s a good game.”
kevin.leibrock@flyergroup.com
