AURORA | It wasn’t a perfect way to start the new year, but it was a victory nonetheless for the Smoky Hill girls basketball team.
Due to injury and illness, coach DeWayne Brandon employed just seven players in Tuesday night’s all-Aurora non-league contest at Rangeview, but each player contributed to the Buffs’ 43-29 victory.
Senior Brooke Zimmerman led Smoky Hill with 12 points, while senior Taylor Ruby added nine, junior Brynell Yount chipped in eight and senior Sarah Milafsky contributed seven as the Buffs prepared for the opening of Centennial League play Wednesday with their first victory since Dec. 12 against Westminster.
Rangeview forced 29 turnovers, but shot just 7-for-16 from the free throw line and couldn’t get sophomore Jaleesa Avery involved in the second half as it had a six-game winning streak snapped.
The 6-foot Avery led all scorers with nine points in the first half, but had none in the second half for coach Chris Dolan’s Raiders, who got six points each from senior Carra Jackson-Brown and freshman LeShawn Love.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
SMOKY HILL 43, RANGEVIEW 29
Score by quarters:
Smoky Hill 9 17 8 9 — 43
Rangeview 6 8 8 7 — 29
SMOKY HILL (43)
Brynell Yount 3 2-2 8, Taylor Ruby 3 2-2 9, Janay Henderson 2 1-2 5, Ellie Johnson 1 0-0 2, Brooke Zimmerman 6 0-1 12, Sarah Milafsky 3 0-0 7, Lana Yeager 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-7 43.
RANGEVIEW (29)
Tiana Cunningham 0 1-2 1, Carra Jackson-Brown 2 2-2 6, Jaleesa Avery 3 3-4 9, Makaylee Jones 0 0-0 0, Ajanee Robinson 1 1-2 3, Jaelin Jones 1 0-0 2, LeShawn Love 3 0-4 6, Desmond Allen 1 0-2 2. Totals 11 7-16 29.
3-point field goals — Smoky Hill (2): Sarah Milafsky, Taylor Ruby. Total fouls — Smoky Hill 15, Rangeview 9. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
