By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

SIDNEY — The Bradford High School girls basketball team end their season with a 59-11 loss to the second seeded Russia High School in the Southwest Division IV sectional.

The Lady Railroaders started off slow in the game. The Lady Raiders pressed early on and gave Bradford problems early. The offense couldn’t get into a flow and the team started to turnover the ball.

The turnovers led to easy points and Russia ended the first quarter with 32 points. Despite the game not going their way, the Lady Railroaders continued to fight on.

Head coach Josh Siedling said the team never quit during a game all season long. This game showed how far the team as come since the first game.

“All year long, they never gave up under any circumstance. At the beginning of the season to now, I think we’re a whole different team. A lot of that is how much hard work they put in and to our seniors. They should be very proud on the program they set forth,” Siedling said.

Bradford only gave up 27 points in the next three quarters. They not only settled in defensively, they also started to get some shots off on offense.

Russia had to earn their points against Bradford. Defense became Bradford’s strong suit as the season went on. Siedling said the defensive effort is a testament to the girls for buying in and catching onto their defensive scheme quickly. Normally defense takes time to develop, but the Lady Railroaders learned quickly.

It was a rebuilding year for Bradford. They only had two returning players from the previous season and had to add in seven new players. Siedling said the seniors should be proud for laying the foundation for the program.

The next step for the program is to improve on the offensive end. Siedling said the offense will come once they go through an offseason of improving their skill level and being comfortable in the offensive system.

“You can ask any team we played, they all tell you the same in that no matter what happened we always played hard. On the defensive end, we hung our hat that way,” Siedling said. “The offense will come the more experience they get with the new offensive system that’s happening.”

Senior Shayleigh Swick led the team with four points. Junior Brooklyn Crickmore had three points as senior Isabella Hamilton and freshman Ryleigh Dotson each had two points.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]