As Madilyne Kupris tried to dribble around Christa Usborne, her way was blocked when Lyncoln Belden came around to double-team the Brookfield senior.
Juggling the ball, but not taking a step that would have caused a turnover for traveling, Madilyne dumped the ball to the left to senior Jenna Bugbee. Bugbee, who had scored all four of her points in the final quarter, added two more with a no bounce shot that nestled in the net in the Madison gym.
Those were the final points scored in Brookfield’s 45-22 win, improving them to 19-0. That record includes winning all 12 Central Counties League games to take the league championship as solo top finishers.
Last year Brookfield and Madison split their series and shared the title. Madison then knocked the Beavers out of the Section Three Class D playoffs.
But this season Brookfield has improved from last year even with a schedule that includes larger schools and an earlier 47-41 win over the Blue Devils. So a lot was at stake in the rematch.
In Madison’s packed gym, after seniors from both teams were recognized, neither team could find their usual shooting touch that starts games. Brookfield slowly built a 6-0 lead and then led 10-1 after the first quarter.
Both teams have tall players who routinely bang out double-doubles in points and rebounds. BCS’s Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott did so again with game-highs of 16 points and 17 rebounds, and 10 blocks for a triple-double.
The Beavers found a way to slow down Maryellen Coleman on the boards as she had just eight. And she went scoreless before fouling out with 7:06 to play.
The slow start continued in the second quarter for both teams. Brookfield scored just seven points, with Madison adding just six for the Beavers to take a 17-7 halftime lead.
In the second half, scoring picked up somewhat. Vleer-Elliott helped the Beavers crack 20 points, taking a 25-14 lead midway through the third quarter.
Madison put Bugbee and Kupris in foul trouble, but couldn’t take much advantage of that at the line. Unsborne’s free throw cut the gap to 25-15 going into the fourth quarter; Madison went 2-for-12 at the line.
After Coleman went to the bench, the Beavers still struggled to get shots to fall. A BCS timeout by Coach Doreen Rogers was immediately followed with 6:29 to play by a nice layup from Vleer-Elliott.
Bugbee blocked a Madison shot, Vleer-Elliott grabbed…