The HOA basketball teams played in tournaments around the state with varying success. Marion and Moundridge hosted their own tournaments.
Marion
The Warriors hosted their own tournament last week. The Marion boys took full advantage of playing at home, improving to 4-0 on the year with a 3-0 showing at the tournament. The squad had little difficult downing Peabody-Burns 80-42 on Tuesday, taking down Remington 47-35 on Friday, and beating Eureka 69-37 on Saturday. The Lady Warriors struggled to a 1-2 finish, falling to Peabody-Burns 31-25 and to Remington 45-34. They bounced back to beat Belle Plaine 46-39 on Saturday.
In Tuesday’s win, Marion was steady throughout the night, putting up 20 or 21 points in three of the four quarters, and adding a 19-point third quarter. Four Warrior boys reached double-figures, led by Jordan Hett and Jacob Harper with 19 points each. Austin Pederson added 13 points, and Taylor Heidebrecht finished with 10 points and four assists.
Moundridge
The Wildcats hosted a round-robin tournament last week. The boys posted a 2-1 record, suffering their first loss of the year in a 59-52 contest against Hillsboro. They rebounded to down Lyons 68-52, and Inman 61-60. The Lady Cats fell to Hillsboro 38-32 and Lyons 50-48, before downing Inman 57-40 to improve to 2-2 on the year.
The boys built a 33-21 halftime lead Thursday against Lyons, and extended the gap to 51-27 before the Lions went off for 25 points in the fourth quarter. Daniel Ratzlaff hit two threes to lead the Wildcats with 22 points. Hunter Enyart and Tyler Kaufman each added 13 points, and Ryan Lorimor knocked down a pair of triples for 11 points.
Berean Academy
The Warrior basketball teams headed to Marion for tournament play last week. The girls went 3-0, defeating Belle Plaine 49-27 on Thursday, beating Eureka 55-34 on Friday, and taking down Remington 33-30 in the title match on Saturday. The No. 4 boys had less luck, opening with a 35-25 win against Belle Plaine, but falling to Eureka 37-32 and to Remington 33-32.
In Friday’s semifinal action, the Lady Warriors held Eureka to just 17 first half points while pouring on 35 of their own. They also won the final two quarters by smaller margins to keep pulling away. Xannie Quiring paced the Warriors with 20 points. Sara Hoover added nine points, and Carrie Unruh finished with eight points.
Sedgwick
The Cardinal basketball teams were in action at the T-Bird Classic hosted by Pratt-Skyline last week. The boys reached the championship match where they edged Stafford 37-36 for the title. The Lady Cards did not fare as well, opening with a 34-26 loss to Pretty Prairie, then giving up four points in the second half in a 30-28 loss to host Skyline. Saturday, the girls led Stafford 40-13 by halftime, eventually winning their first game of the year 61-20.
In the Skyline loss, the girls led 5-4 after one quarter and 13-11 at the half. Skyline took a one-point lead into the final quarter where they outscored Sedgwick 6-5 to hold on for the win. Senior Annabelle Little scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Cards. Saturday, Little again led the squad, this time with 22 points and six boards. Sophomore Taylor Bevan added 10 points and five rebounds, and sophomore Audrey Bebermeyer scored nine points.
Ell-Saline
The Cardinal basketball teams were in action at the Morris-Stephens Tournament in Russell last week. Both squads finished 2-1 for fourth place. The boys fell to Central Plains 47-38, then bounced back to beat Ellsworth 58-46 and Nickerson 40-27. The Lady Cardinals fell to eventual champ Central Plains 59-50, giving them their best game of the tournament. They rebounded to beat Phillipsburg 51-36 and Lincoln 47-35.
In the girls’ opener against Central Plains, the Lady Oilers built a 26-20 halftime lead. Ell-Saline stormed back to lead 38-37 after three quarters. Central Plains turned it back on for a 20-point fourth quarter to take back the lead and win. Darriane Wikoff paced the squad with 15 points, followed by 12 points from Aubrey Wilson. Emily Work hit two threes and finished with nine points.
Trinity
The Celtic basketball squads competed at the Cheney Tournament last week. The girls won their opener against Cheney 47-37 on Monday, then fell to Collegiate 39-28 on Friday. On Saturday, the Celtics came up just short in a 45-42 loss to Clearwater. The boys posted an 0-3 record on the week, losing to Cheney 48-36, falling to Collegiate 64-33, and losing to Chaparral 42-31 on Saturday.
In the Cheney win on Monday, the girls struggled to just three points in the second quarter, trailing 25-17 at the half. They bounced back to win the final two quarters, including a 14-0 fourth quarter, to take the win. Sophomore Brooke Racette filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Madison Watson added 11 points, and freshman Mariah Hammersmith grabbed eight rebounds to go along with four points.
Inman
The Teuton basketball squads stayed in conference to play in the Moundridge tournament last week. The boys showed promise by taking down Lyons 46-44, then defeating Hillsboro 47-44 in the round-robin format. Friday, they played another close game in a 61-60 loss to Moundridge. The Lady Teutons went 0-3 at the tournament.
In the Lyons win on Tuesday, Inman won three of the four quarters, trailing 27-24 at the half and tying things up at 36 with a quarter to play. Josh Miller was the only Teuton to reach double-figures with 14 points. The girls were outscored 30-18 in the first and third quarters combined in their 39-32 loss to the Lady Lions. Kaitlynn Goalden led the team with eight points.
Remington
The Bronco basketball teams had a nice showing against a tough field at the Marion tournament last week. The teams combined to go 4-2 on the week. The boys downed Peabody-Burns 53-36, fell to unbeaten Marion 47-35, then beat ranked Berean Academy 33-32. The Lady Broncs opened with a 40-23 win against Peabody, then downed Marion 45-34 to reach the finals where they fell to Berean 33-30.
The girls got off to a slow start in the Marion win, trailing 11-3 after one quarter. They won each of the final three quarters, still trailing 20-15 at the half but outscoring the Warriors 30-14 in the second half. Sophomore Kristyn Wedel paced the team with 13 points, adding eight rebounds to her night. Rose Dollarhide added 11 points, and Kylee Schunn finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Bennington
The Bulldog boys remain unbeaten after a 3-0 run through the Halstead tournament last week. The squad never lost by less than 10 points, beating Solomon 48-34 on Tuesday, taking down the host Dragons 54-44 on Thursday, and beating Minneapolis 52-37 on Friday. The No. 10 Bulldogs are now 4-0.
Bennington led Minneapolis 11-6 in the first quarter, but really took over in the second quarter, holding the Lions scoreless to lead 28-6 at the break. Drake Juenemann led the team with 18 points, and BJ Glanton added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Derek Stanley finished with eight points and five steals. The Bulldogs used another big 22-14 second quarter to help get past Halstead. Stanley paced the squad with 16 points in that win, followed by 14 points from Glanton and 10 points from Juenemann.
