Pioneers score 53 in 12-point home win

Girls basketball team improves to 6-9

Pioneers forward Bria Bench, left, dribbles by Brownell-Talbot's Molly Clark on Tuesday at Fort Calhoun High School.

Grant Egger

Pioneers senior Tess Skelton, left, keeps the ball from Omaha Brownell-Talbot's Katherine Thaden as halftime approaches Tuesday at Fort Calhoun High School.

Grant Egger

Pioneers guard Dala Drowne, left, starts her way up to the hoop as Brownell-Talbot's Molly Clark defends Tuesday at Fort Calhoun High School.

Grant Egger

Pioneers sophomore Raegen Wells, left, passes the ball in around Brownell-Talbot's Briley George on Tuesday at Fort Calhoun High School.

Grant Egger

Pioneers guard Maddy Tinkham, left, dribbles up the floor as Brownell-Talbot's Paige Birch defends Tuesday at Fort Calhoun High School.

Grant Egger

Posted Friday, January 21, 2022 7:00 am

FCHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORE

Tuesday

Fort Calhoun girls 53, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 41

OBT (3-10) 13 9 6 13 — 41

FCHS (6-9) 17 12 13 11 — 53

Scoring: FCHS — Bria Bench 21, Tess Skelton 18, Maddy Tinkham 9, Dala Drowne 5.

OBT — Katherine Thaden 21, Molly Clark 8, Paige Birch 4, Briley George 3, Bethany Haas 3, Sarah Ali 2.

By Grant Egger - sports@enterprisepub.com

Five-foot-10 Fort Calhoun sophomore Bria Bench saw Tuesday's 53-41 home win coming.
After all, her basketball team's practices had gone well leading up to the game against Omaha Brownell-Talbot. The Pioneers (6-9 overall) were executing their offense and, ultimately, tallied their third-largest point total of the season.
“Our shots were really falling today,” Bench said after scoring 21 points herself. “Everyone had shots, and really worked well getting the ball moving and going.”
FCHS started fast with an 11-2 start. Maddy Tinkham and Tess Skelton scored the game's first two baskets before a pair of Bench free throws kicked off a 7-0, first-period run.
A pair of Dala Drowne steals contributed to the effort, though Brownell-Talbot would battle back. The Raiders (3-10) scored 11 of the next 17 points and trailed just 17-13 after one quarter.
“They had a really good game tonight,” Bench said.
But the Pioneers' was better. Their leading scorer for the night, Bench, hit two 3-pointers down the stretch, while Skelton added two more for the game during her 18-point effort. Tinkham scored nine points and Drowne had five, too.
Calhoun was scheduled to play a makeup game Thursday against Cedar Bluffs before its next contest 1 p.m. Saturday at Conestoga High School. There, the Pioneers face Arlington during the first round of the Nebraska Capitol Conference Tournament.