Girls Basketball: Poor third period hurts Spartans' effort

The Brookfield East girls lost to West Allis Central, 53-31, Friday at home.

The loss dropped East to 0-6, 3-11 overall, and the Spartans remained in last place in the Greater Metro Conference.

Against the Bulldogs (2-4, 3-10), the Spartans trailed only 23-16 at halftime before Central went on a 21-10 tear in the third quarter to coast into the fourth period with a 44-26 advantage.

"Actually in the first half, we even had a lead at one point," East coach Kelly Lam said. "And in the last two minutes, WAC went on a run and then we were down by seven. The girls fought hard."

Mistakes hurt the Spartans in the second half.

"In the third quarter we were forced into turnovers," Lam said. "WAC did a good job trapping and it took us a few possessions to break it, which unfortunately was after they made their run."

Seven East players scored, but no one reached double figures. Sophomore Christy Johnson led the way with nine points, but she was blanked in the second half. Junior Emily Utic had six points and sophomore Alyssa Carter had five. The Spartans struggled at the free-throw line (.313), hitting only 5-for-16.

Mehryn Kraker scored 17 points, eight in the second half; and Claire Hankins added 11, seven in the second half.