The 2012 portion of the basketball season is over. Both St. John teams and the Ness City boys will head into the new year with perfect records.
Central Plains
The Oiler basketball squads closed out the 2012 portion of the season with a combined 3-1 week. The Lady Oilers picked up a 70-32 win Tuesday at Larned. Friday, the girls improved to 6-1 with a 61-45 win at Hoisington. In Tuesday’s win, senior Janae Hekele scored 24 of her 25 points in the first half. Friday, senior Jennifer Hitschmann took her turn with a 25-point performance. Freshman Reagan Phelan added 10 points at Hoisington, and Hekele scored eight points. Junior Breanna Holmes led the team with 11 rebounds to go along with four points.
The Oiler boys downed Hoisington in game one of the year, but could not repeat the feat in a 38-32 loss on Friday. Central Plains (4-3) did get past Larned 60-46 on Tuesday. In Tuesday’s win, the Oilers trailed 11-8 before outscoring the Indians 32-16 in the middle quarters to take the win. Sophomore Layne Bieberle scored 19 points, followed by freshman Braeden Crites’ 15 points. Konner Hickel hit two threes to add eight points.
Otis-Bison
The Cougar basketball teams have struggled early in the season. That was not the case on Tuesday as both teams picked up wins against Healy. The Cougar boys (3-4) nearly doubled-up the Eagles 62-32. The girls (2-5) were nearly as effective in a 57-37 win.
The boys wasted no time building an 18-4 lead, extending the gap to 57-25 with a quarter to play. Junior Kole Urban hit nine of 10 shots to lead all scorers with 22 points. Jordan Hoffman added 12 points and six rebounds, and Dylan Wissman scored 11 points and had five steals. Otis-Bison shot 27-of-39 (69 percent) from the floor. The Lady Cougars held Healy to just two points in the second quarter to lead 34-8 by halftime. Hannah Bannister hit three threes on the way to a 21-point night. Kim Pechanec added 13 points, and Annie Kraisinger finished with 12 points.
St. John
The Tiger basketball teams escaped 2012 with perfect records. Tuesday, the No. 1 Tiger boys (7-0) took down Kinsley 65-28. Sophomore Dean Wade flirted with a triple-double, leading St. John with 18 points, eight steals, and seven rebounds. Zuriel Reyes finished with 14 points, Spencer Nusser added 11 points, and Kade Kinnamon scored 10 points.
The No. 5 Lady Tigers also improved to 7-0 with an easy win on Friday. Kinsley scored 11 points in the second quarter, but the St. John defense won the battle more of the night, allowing just eight points in the other three quarters combined. Teresa Christie paced the squad with 14 points. Morgan Osborne, Jamie Waters, and Alexis Witt each contributed eight points to the win. Osborne and Christie grabbed six rebounds apiece.
Victoria
The Class 1A Knights played host to Class 3A’s TMP Tuesday night. The boys dominated the Monarchs for a 53-38 win. The Lady Knights needed overtime to known off the former state power 44-41. The boys (4-1) held the Monarchs to no field goals and forced 20 turnovers in a 14-plus minute stretch that ended in the fourth quarter. Victoria outscored TMP 36-11 in the middle quarters. Junior Clayton Roth paced the Knights with 13 points, and Sam Ottley added 12 points.
The Lady Knights (3-2) led the then winless Monarchs 33-22 early in the fourth quarter, but TMP battled back to outscore Victoria 15-7 to force overtime. There, Victoria picked up the three-point win. Audra Nowak led the team with 13 points, followed by 11 points from Kristin Huser.
Ness City
Tuesday night featured a match-up between two girls teams who had just made their way into the Class 2A rankings. No. 9 Ellis pulled off the minor upset, handing Ness City its second loss in a 67-46 contest. The Eagle boys remain unbeaten at 7-0 with a 73-64 win.
The Lady Eagles (5-2) led 19-16 early, but junior guard Jessie Rubottom left the game with an injury. Ellis eventually held a one-point lead in the third quarter before ending the frame on a 9-0 run. Sophomore Tristan McVicker led the Lady Eagles with 14 points. Rubottom finished with seven points in less than two quarters of action. The boys looked to be in trouble early on, trailing 31-27 at the half. They turned that around to win the second half 45-33 and take the game. The Eagles hit 10-of-18 three-point tries in the game. Garrett Flax was 5-of-6 from the outside to finish with 22 points. Dalton Gantz added a trio of treys for 17 points. Tucker VonLehe and Kotlyn Ratliff each scored 10 points in the win.
Kinsley
The Coyote teams entered Tuesday’s match-up against tough St. John with just two wins apiece. That’s all they will get before Christmas. The Kinsley boys fell to the No. 1 Tigers 65-28. The Lady Coyotes struggled against the Lady Tiger defense in a 40-19 loss.
The boys (2-5) could not stop the powerful St. John offense early, falling behind 36-17 by halftime, and 55-24 after three quarters. Nathan Frame led the Coyotes with nine points and 13 rebounds. Taylor Abel added six points, and Gustavo Chavez finished with five points. The Lady Coyotes scored just two points in each of the first and third quarters, and put up just four points in the final frame. Brittany Gleason paced the girls (2-5) with eight points.
LaCrosse
The Leopard basketball teams each picked up wins Tuesday night at Western Plains. The boys improved to 3-4 with a 45-40 win against the Bobcats. The Lady Leopards also hit the break at 3-4 following a 48-29 win.
The LaCrosse boys never could pull away from the 1-5 Bobcats, leading just 18-14 at the half, and 31-24 after three quarters. Western Plains kept things interesting in the fourth quarter with 16 points. Kip Keeley scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win. Lucas Moeder added 10 points and eight rebounds. Taylor Yohe also finished with eight boards to go along with four points. Freshman Morgan West led the Lady Leopards with 11 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Alyssa Oborny also hit double-figures with 10 points and five rebounds. Sophomores Ashley Depperschmidt and Marissa Wagner each added eight points.
Macksville
The Lady Mustangs got a big present on Tuesday in the way of the first win of the season. The girls downed Cunningham 51-27 to improve to 1-5. The Wildcats never scored more than eight points in a quarter, trailing 25-14 by halftime. The Lady Mustang defense came up with 13 steals in the win. Karissa Langlois hit two triples and paced the team with 16 points. Tara Bunker added 13 points and nine rebounds. Clara Cross got into double-figures with 11 points.
The boys’ game saw 155 total points. Macksville had the bigger number, improving to 3-3 with an 83-72 win against the Wildcats. Macksville scored 46 first half points but still held a meager one-point lead. The Mustangs added 20 points in the third quarter to open up a 66-57 lead. Hugo Flores led the ‘Stangs with 20 points. Jordan Welch buried three threes en route to a 19-point game. Adolfo Ibarra added 17 points, Tanner Tranbarger 14 points, and Clayton Woods 10 points.
