Women's Basketball | August 23, 2019
Paris, France- The Western Michigan women's basketball team experienced the sights of Paris on days five and six of their international tour, exploring the city's famous landmarks and competing against two more French professional basketball teams, finishing the week 2-1 overall.
The Broncos took a trip to the Eiffel Tower on Thursday morning, heading 280 meters up for a sweeping view of the city from the top of the iconic tower. During the day Friday, the group took a guided tour of the Louvre for a chance to see famous masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.
Game 2 vs Le Havre (August 22)-
Thursday's game saw a fast-paced defense and strong performances from some of the newer faces on the team, but in the end the Broncos fell to the Le Havre Basketball Club 73-55. The Brown & Gold got on the board early and kept up with Le Havre in the first ten minutes, rounding out the quarter 15-13 with points in the paint from Sydney Shafer and Breanna Mobley
The Broncos slipped in the second quarter before coming back within ten points with a jump shot and two successful foul shots from Mobley. Putting in work in the second half, they were able to bring the score to 57-49. Shafer took control with three points and four rebounds in the second half. A pair of Le Havre turnovers and a foul shot from Chelayne Bailey brought the Broncos within seven points, but were unable to gain the advantage over their opponents.
"The second quarter really hurt us when we couldn't get the ball in the basket," Head Coach Shane Clipfell said. "I did like how well we fought in the second half when we tried to claw our way back into it. This is what we hoped for when we came over here was to be tested and to be able to learn some things about ourselves, and we did."
Game 3 vs Franconville (August 23)-
A slow start overall turned into a thrilling recovery in the third and fourth quarters when the Broncos took on Franconville BC Friday night. Both Mobley and Kamrin Reed scored in the double digits, while more freshmen displayed their talent among the veteran players with a strong defensive showing.
The first half saw the Broncos trailing Franconville consistently before waking up in the third quarter to tie the game with a shot from behind the arc by Jordan Walker A back-and-forth game saw another tie at 33-33 after a jump shot from Reed. Franconville went on an 8-0 run that the Brown & Gold answered to with their own 6-0 streak to bring them within five points of their opponents.
Two Franconville turnovers followed by back-to-back threes from Reed and Bailey gave the Broncos the lead with seconds to go. Bree Mobley successfully made two foul shots and the Broncos held on to the ball to maintain a victory, 54-52.
Mobley fell just one rebound shy of a double-double this evening, ending the night with 12 points and nine RBs. Reed went on a hot streak with 16 total points, 12 of which came from made three-point shots. Freshmen Aniya Walker and Reilly Jacobson added their skills to the mix, Walker with three points and three rebounds and Jacobson ending with six points and four rebounds, respectively.
"We challenged our team before the game to fight through any physical or mental lulls that we were sure to go through tonight, and they did just that," Clipfell said. "It was good to get two end-of-game situations for us like we had in game one and then again tonight. We didn't shoot the ball as well as I know we can and we had some turnovers that we can take care of as well, but overall it was a great basketball experience for our relatively new team."
The team has a free day tomorrow to explore the city on their own after taking a group boat cruise down the Seine River in the morning. They fly out Sunday morning to return to the states and will resume regular preseason practices the following week.
