The Central Plains girls lost a big battle to No. 2 Sterling in week eight. Friday, the squad handed No. 3 St. John only its second loss of the season.
Central Plains
The No. 7 Lady Oilers could not beat No. 2 Sterling last week. Friday, they did something nearly as rewarding by knocking off No. 3 St. John to avenge the other loss Central Plains carries. The Lady Oilers (14-2) just got past the Tigers 37-36 on Friday. Tuesday, the girls pounded Otis-Bison 58-38. In that game, Jennifer Hitschmann scored 10 of her 16 points in the first quarter. Janae Hekele scored all of her seven points in the first half as Central Plains built a 32-14 lead. Breanna Holmes, Katie Hipp, and Taylor Rolfs each scored six points.
The Oiler boys downed Otis-Bison 56-45 but were no match in Friday’s game against No. 1 St. John, falling to the Tigers 54-35 to fall to 7-7 on the year. In Tuesday’s win, Konner Hickel had the hot start with 14 of his points, including four threes, in the first quarter. Sophomore Layne Bieberle took over in the second half with 13 of his game-high 17 points. Freshman Braeden Crites finished with 10 points.
Victoria
The Lady Knights picked up two more wins to get back over the .500 mark at 8-7. Tuesday, Victoria outscored Plainville 24-21 to sneak home with a 47-46 win. Friday, things were a little more comfortable in a 61-44 win at Macksville. Tuesday, the girls won despite a paltry 4-of-14 performance from the free throw line. Audra Nowak and Kristin Huser accounted for 33 of the 47 points with 19 and 14 points, respectively. Nowak led the team with nine rebounds, and Huser finished with five steals and three assists.
The boys went the other direction in week nine, falling to Plainville 52-47, then losing to Macksville 59-49. Tuesday, the Knights (9-6) were outscored 35-29 in the second half by a tough Plainville team. Lane Braun was the lone Knight to reach double-figures with 11 points. Sam Ottley added four points and six rebounds, and Bryan Dome finished with six points, four assists, and four steals.
St. John
Even without Kade Kinnamon in the lineup, the No. 1 Tiger boys continue to score at will. In two easy wins in week nine, the squad scored 20-plus points in three of the eight quarters played. Tuesday, that resulted in a 44-12 halftime lead against Norwich. St. John (15-0) went on to win 66-35. Friday, the Tigers outscored Central Plains 40-17 in the middle quarters en route to a 54-35 win. Dean Wade and Spencer Nusser each scored 18 points, and Zuriel Reyes finished with 11 points against the Oilers. Tuesday, Wade hit 9-of-13 shots for 21 points.
The No. 3 Lady Tigers bounced back from their first loss against a tough Class 6A school with a dominant performance in Tuesday’s match-up against No. 2 Norwich (Div. II). The Lady Tigers took the fun out of that anticipated game with a 46-17 win. Friday, St. John fell to 13-2 with a 37-36 loss to No. 7 Central Plains (2A). Tuesday, the Tigers led 11-3 after one quarter and 21-12 at the half. A 16-0 run in the second half sealed the big win. Morgan Osborne scored 22 points in the win, and Jamie Waters added 10 points.
LaCrosse
The Leopard basketball teams had a rough week nine of action, posting a combined 1-3 record. The Lady Leopards (4-12) picked up the lone win with a 56-41 victory at Ness City on Tuesday. Friday, the girls fell 55-49 to Ness City. The boys fell to Macksville 74-55, and lost to Ness City 51-37.
The girls outscored Macksville in each quarter on Tuesday, leading 27-19 at the half and 38-28 heading into the final quarter. Sophomore Alyssa Oborny had a big night with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Marissa Wagner added 11 points. Marshall Jay paced the boys (6-9) with 12 points against Macksville. Jake Reifschneider added nine points, and Jack Garcia and William Storie each finished with seven points.
Macksville
The Mustang boys have won seven of their last eight games after posting two more wins in week nine. The lone loss came against No. 1 St. John. Tuesday, Macksville (10-4) got by LaCrosse 74-55. Friday, the Stangs earned another double-digit win by downing Victoria 59-49. In Tuesday’s win, Macksville already led 35-26 at the half before putting the game out of reach in the third quarter with a 63-39 lead. Senior Adolfo Ibarra led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Jordan Welch and Tanner Tranbarger each poured in 15 points.
The Lady Mustangs sit at 3-11 following an 0-2 week. The girls fell to LaCrosse 56-41, and lost to Victoria 61-44. Mindy Wood finished with 15 points in Tuesday’s loss, followed by 12 points from Tara Bunker and 11 points from Karissa Langlois.
Otis-Bison
The Cougar basketball teams went 0-2 Tuesday night at Claflin. The boys dropped to 5-10 overall and remain winless in the league following a 56-45 loss. The Lady Cougars are 4-11 after a 58-38 loss to No. 7 Central Plains.
The boys fell behind 24-15 after one quarter. Otis-Bison stopped the bleeding in the second quarter to trail 32-26 at the half. Central Plains again found a scorer, outscoring the Cougars 24-19 in the second half for the win. Senior Tyler Maier scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, also leading the team with seven rebounds. Dylan Wissman added 13 points and five assists, and Justus Bartonek scored nine points. Hannah Bannister was the big scorer for the Lady Cougars, hitting five threes to finish her night with 23 of the team’s 38 points. All of those points came in the final three quarters. Kim Pechanec finished with six points.
Ness City
The streak is over. After a brief appearance in the Class 2A rankings, the Lady Eagles dropped eight straight games, many to ranked opponents. Tuesday night, the girls fell to Ness City 57-45. Friday, the Eagles (6-9) got back on track with a 55-49 win against LaCrosse. Tuesday, Ness played virtually even with Hill City in the second half but could not erase a 30-19 halftime deficit. Jessie Rubottom led the team with 22 points, and Regan Stiawalt scored 11 points.
The Eagle boys sit at 10-5 following a 45-42 loss to Hill City and a 51-37 win against LaCrosse. The Eagles outscored the Ringnecks 26-17 in the first half on Tuesday. Hill City cut the gap to 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter, then outscored Ness City 13-6 to steal the win. Dalton Gantz paced the Eagles with 15 points, followed by 12 points from Koltyn Ratliff and nine points from Will Frusher.
Kinsley
The Coyote boys will stay on the plus side of .500 following a 60-59 overtime win against Spearville on Friday. In a close game throughout, Kinsley (8-7) led 29-27 at the half, but trailed 38-37 heading into the final quarter. After forcing the extra period, the Coyotes outscored the Lancers 10-9 in the final four minutes for the win. Nathan Frame did his part with 26 points to lead all scorers. Gustavo Chavez added 14 points, and Gustavo Chavez finished with nine points.
The Lady Coyotes (5-9) came out on the other end of a close game in a 46-43 loss to Spearville. Brittany Gleason still scored a game-high 24 points. Alex Herrmann added seven points, and Amber Espinosa scored six points.
