Basketball Recap: Kate Kolenbrander Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Briar Woods

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Previous 5 Games

02/14/25 - Away	39-32 W
01/28/25 - Away	27-58 L
02/07/24 - Away	31-74 L
01/22/24 - Home	19-79 L
02/03/23 - Home	13-55 L

Independence hadn't done well against Briar Woods recently (they were 0-7 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Independence walked away with a 39-32 win over the Briar Woods Falcons. This was a revenge game for Independence: when they faced off against Briar Woods back in January, they had to take a 58-27 defeat.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Independence to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kate Kolenbrander, who posted five points in addition to eight rebounds and seven assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Lily Grof-Tisza, who went 5-for-9 on her way to 10 points.

Kolenbrander wasn't the only one working in the assist department: Independence was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Briar Woods only racked up three assists.

Briar Woods' loss came despite strong showings from Nina Keltz and Brianna Zaher. Keltz went 5-for-12 to rack up 16 points, while Zaher earned nine points and five boards. Those 16 points gave Keltz a new career-high.

Independence's victory was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-9 and their overall record up to 6-16. As for Briar Woods, their loss dropped their record down to 11-10.

Coming up, Independence will take on Lightridge in a tournament on Monday. Independence is facing Lightridge at the right time seeing as Lightridge is stuck on a four-game losing streak. Briar Woods does not have any more games scheduled as of now.