Lowell Pushes Class 2A No. 2 Rensselaer to the Limit Last Thursday night, the Lowell Red Devils girls basketball team put quite a scare into the second-ranked team in the state, Rensselaer. The Devils fought back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit, cutting the lead to just six at 44–38 and forcing Bombers head coach Wes Radtke to call a timeout as he searched for a way to stop Lowell’s momentum. What a job Coach Chavez and her team did, especially after losing leading scorer Brooke Dawson early in the first half to an injury. The game could have had a very different outcome, but the junior returned in the third quarter and made her presence known immediately, hitting a jumper to pull the Devils within eight at 35–27. Rensselaer answered, closing the quarter strong. Kamri Rowland knocked down a three and added a floater in the lane as the Bombers extended the lead to 40–27. The Devils showed no quit in the fourth quarter. Alivia Madison and Gatlin Hanrath scored, and Dawson drew a foul and converted both free throws to cut the deficit to 44–38. However, Lowell could not get any closer. Bryn Webb scored underneath, and Rowland added a free throw to seal a 47–38 win for the Bombers. Lowell came out firing in the first quarter, jumping to an 11–2 lead. Dawson scored the opening basket and then finished a perfect pass from Hanrath on a cut to the rim. Dawson followed with a three from the wing, and Hanrath added a jumper from the elbow to make it 11–2 with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Coming off the bench, Madison buried a three to extend the lead to 14–5, followed by another three from Josey Laub to make it 17–5. Rensselaer capitalized on two Lowell turnovers to close the gap, but the Red Devils still led 17–9 after one quarter. Turnovers proved costly in the second quarter. Junior star Courtney Mathews found her rhythm and showed why she is a Division I recruit, as Rensselaer outscored Lowell 19–4 to take a 28–21 lead at halftime. Lowell committed eight turnovers in the quarter compared to just one by the Bombers, with Mathews and the Rensselaer defense applying constant pressure. Rensselaer built a 13-point lead at 40–27 late in the third quarter and held on in the second half despite Lowell’s late surge. Mathews led all scorers with 20 points, while Rowland added 15 for the Bombers.