Two weeks ago, Sheffield traveled to Brockway and suffered a 41-point defeat at the hand of the Lady Rovers, a loss Sheffield coach Brandon Troutman said was not anywhere close in terms of where either team stood at that point in the season.

In Monday’s 53-49 home loss, Sheffield came to play, and despite a slow start to the third quarter, nearly came away with a win.

“We played to our potential tonight, and I’ve told the kids all season that when we play to our potential, we can be dangerous,” said Troutman, “and I know they (Brockway) felt our presence all night.”

A back and forth first quarter saw Sheffield get four points each from Mya Grubbs and Lexi Lyon, as Sheffield held a 10-6 lead after a period.

Brockway got rolling in the second period, with Leah Lindemuth netting eight points en route to a 26-24 Brockway lead at the half.

After halftime, the Lady Rovers came out in a man press, which helped them start the half on a 12-2 run, forcing Sheffield to adjust.

“We did well against their 2-2-1 in the first half, and they made the adjustment to go man, and it paid off for them early in the third,” Troutman noted.

Sheffield was able to adjust, and scored a few transition buckets that forced Brockway into their half court defense.

“The slow start in the third hurt us, and as they successfully ran some clock after we adjusted, we didn’t get the possessions late in the third that we needed to narrow the lead, and went into the fourth down eight,” Troutman noted.

Brockway did lead 38-26 at one point in the third period.

A defensive adjustment to put more pressure on the ball helped Sheffield, as Brockway was forced to initiate their offense, and the Lady Wolverines benefited from some turnovers.

“Our guard play was a big factor defensively in the fourth, we created turnovers, and our bigs did a great job cleaning up the boards on their missed shots,” Troutman added.

Down 53-46 with under a 20 seconds to go, and the ball out of bounds on the baseline, Eliza Davidson hit Mya Grubbs on a nice inbounds pass for quick corner 3-pointer, cutting the lead to four.

After a Sheffield timeout, Brockway’s Katelyn Morelli broke free on an inbounds stack play, and was able to run the floor and the time off the clock.

Sheffield got a nice game from their seniors – Mya Grubbs dropped a career-high 23 points, Lexi Lyon 25, and Eliza Davidson 10.

Troutman complimented Destiny Wynn on her defensive play, noting she had two blocked shots and several steals.

“We honestly got a great effort from all the kids who played tonight. Allison Schmader and Rosemary Nelson gave good minutes late in some defensive situations, and Marissa Grubbs, Emily Leichtenberger, Alyssa Dunham, and Lily Lauffenburger all helped on both ends of the floor,” Troutman noted.

Sheffield continues their 3-game home stand tonight, hosting Ridgway.

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BROCKWAY (53)

Buttery 2-0-0-4, Schmader 2-0-0-4, Richardson 1-0-0-2, Smith 0-0-0-0, Lindermuth 3-4-6-10, L. Lindermuth 6-6-6-18, Morelli 6-3-7-15, Rosman 0-0-0-0, Williams 0-0-0-0, Totals 20-13-19-53

SHEFFIELD (49)

Schmader 0-0-0-0, Wynn 0-0-1-0, Mya Grubbs 6-9-12-23, Nelson 0-0-0-0, Lauffenburger 0-0-0-0, Ma. Grubbs 0-1-2-1, Leichtenberger 0-0-0-0, Davidson 4-0-0-10, Pierce 0-0-0-0, Dunham 0-0-0-0, Lyon 7-1-5-15, Bailey 0-0-0-0, Totals 17-11-20-49

By Quarters

Brockway 6 20 16 11 – 53

Sheffield 10 14 10 15 – 49

Three-point FGs: Brockway – None; Sheffield (4) – Mya Grubbs 2, Davidson 2