The No. 4 Central Christian girls secured the HOPL title last week with two wins. The No. 7 Pretty Prairie boys also secured a league title last week.
Norwich
The Lady Eagles moved back up to No. 3 in the Class 1A, Div. II polls just in time to face No. 9 Pratt Skyline (2A) last Tuesday. Norwich won that game 37-27, then went on to beat Fairfield 63-40 on Friday to improve to 17-2 on the year. The Eagles took a 9-0 lead early on Tuesday, eventually pushing the gap to 16 points in the third quarter. Mackenzie Klaver paced the team with 14 points, and Michelle VanGieson also hit double-figures with 10 points.
The Norwich boys moved to 4-15 after falling to Skyline 82-42, then losing to Fairfield 67-39. The Eagles hung tight early against Skyline, trailing 10-9 after one quarter. From there, it was all Thunderbirds. Skyline took a 30-21 lead into the half, then outscored Norwich 52-21 in the second half. Harrison Magruder finished with 17 points to lead the Eagles, and Jake VanGieson added 10 points.
Pratt Skyline
The Lady Thunderbirds fell a spot in the Class 2A rankings before having to face the other two powers in the HOPL. Tuesday, Skyline dropped a 37-27 contest to No. 3 Norwich (1A, Div. II). Friday, No. 4 Central Christian (1A, Div. II) downed the T-Birds 39-32. Skyline trailed 9-0 in the first quarter against Norwich before scoring the last four points of the quarter. The Thunderbirds trailed 20-13 at the half, and trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter before outscoring the Eagles 8-2 in the final eight minutes. Kaitlyn Stark led the team with seven points. Morgan Flowers and Anna Petrowsky each added six points.
The Skyline boys handed Norwich a 82-42 loss on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds outscored the Eagles 43-22 in the middle quarters to lead 53-31, then piled on 29 more points in the final eight minutes for the big win. Brennan Stotts led all scorers with 20 points. Easton Burgardt finished with 14 points, Brandon Broce 12 points, and Blake Lee nine points.
Pretty Prairie
The Bulldog boys climbed to No. 7 in the Class 1A, Div. I polls. They also posted two more HOPL wins, claiming the league title, downing Attica 69-22, then dispatching Cunningham 41-24. The Bulldogs are now 16-3 overall, 12-0 in against HOPL teams. Stetson Broce scored 22 points in the Attica win, followed by Kale Graber’s 14 points, and 10 points and nine rebounds from Ben Lampe. Lampe scored 14 points in Friday’s win, and Broce added 12 points.
The Lady Bulldogs went 1-1 last week, moving to 4-12 with a 39-32 win over Attica, and a 26-20 loss at home against Cunningham on Friday. Pretty Prairie trailed 5-4 after one quarter, then held Cunningham to just six points over the next two quarters to take a 16-11 lead. The Wildcats posted 15 points in the fourth quarter to leave town with the win. Selena Wapelhorst had eight points in the loss.
Cunningham
The Lady Wildcats are 12-6 after downing Stafford 40-17 on Friday, then beating Pretty Prairie 26-20 on Friday. Neither team scored much through three quarters on Friday, but Pretty Prairie held a meager 16-11 point lead. The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 15-4 in the final quarter to pull away for the six-point win. Bayleigh Meyers had 10 points in the win. Lissy Albers added eight points and Kelsey Ricke seven points.
The Cunningham boys went 1-1 on the week, downing Stafford 68-35, then falling to league-champ Pretty Prairie 41-24 on Friday. The Wildcats opened the game against Stafford with 24 points in the first quarter en route to a 41-15 halftime lead. Garrett Beat led the team with 17 points. Nick Huhman hit two threes and finished with 15 points.
Central Christian
The No. 4 Lady Cougars secured the HOPL title with two wins last week. Tuesday, they beat Burrton 48-29, then the girls downed No. 9 Skyline (2A) 39-32 on Friday. Central Christian (16-3, 8-0) outscored the Chargers 29-12 in the second and fourth quarters combined for the Burrton win. Sarah Hagen hit all four of the Cougar three-point makes on eight tries to lead the way with 19 points. Jamie Patrick added 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
The Cougar boys handed Burrton a 59-38 loss. The squad hit 10 three-pointers on the night on just 22 attempts. That effort began early as the Cougars hit six triples in the first quarter. Sophomore Zac Krehbiel hit four of those. Krehbiel finished with 19 points in the game. Freshman Ben Krehbiel added 10 points, and freshman Kyle Patrick added nine points and 15 rebounds.
Attica
The Bulldog boys moved to 7-11 on the year with a 69-22 loss to Pretty Prairie on Tuesday, and a 73-61 win against Stafford on Friday. Attica struggled early against HOPL champ, taking a 25-0 deficit into the second quarter, and trailing 41-11 by halftime. Vince Ramirez had nine points in the loss, and Daymon Howell added six points.
The Lady Bulldogs fell 39-32 to Pretty Prairie. The Attica girls also failed to score in the first quarter, trailing 9-0 after eight minutes and 24-12 at the half. The squad did cut the lead to 28-21 after three quarters but could not overcome that gap. Kelsey Fly led the way with 13 points, and Sedna Casper added 11 points.
Fairfield
The Lady Falcons dropped to 10-9 following a 43-38 loss to South Barber, and a 63-40 loss to No. 3 Norwich on Friday. Fairfield played a competitive game for three quarters against the Eagles on Friday, but the second quarter doomed the Falcons as they were outscored 22-5 to trail 39-17 at the half. Brandy Burns hit two threes and scored 15 points in the loss. Brittany Carter added 10 points.
The Falcon boys are 7-12 after posting a 1-1 record last week. They fell to South Barber 60-39, then beat Norwich 67-39 on Friday. Fairfield won every quarter in that win, leading 32-15 at the break, and outscoring the Eagles 22-13 in the final quarter. John Dealy scored 16 points in the win, and Ryan Waters hit two threes on the way to a 12-point evening.
Stafford
The Trojan boys picked up two more losses, falling to Cunningham 68-35, and losing to Attica 73-61 at home on Friday. Stafford fell behind early on Tuesday, trailing 24-7 after one quarter, and falling behind further 41-15 by halftime. Dustin McClure finished with 11 points in the loss. Gus Stueve added nine points.
The Lady Trojans lost to Cunningham 40-17 last Tuesday. Trailing 9-5 after one quarter, Stafford put only two points on the scoreboard in the second quarter to trail 19-7 at the half. They again struggled to score in the fourth quarter with only two points. Kristen Lumpkins paced the Trojans with seven points.
South Barber
The Lady Chieftains are 11-8 after posting a 1-1 record last week. The girls downed Fairfield 43-38 to start the week, then fell to Burrton 56-49 on Friday. South Barber started strong on Tuesday, leading the Falcons 23-12 at the half. They held that lead through three quarters before Fairfield made a late run in the fourth quarter. Jessica Daughhetee did most of the scoring, scoring 27 of the 43 Lady Chieftain points in the win.
The South Barber boys had a similar week, defeating Fairfield 60-39 on Tuesday, then falling to Burrton 39-33 on Friday. The Chieftains won every quarter on Tuesday, leading 29-14 at the half, and 42-23 after three quarters. South Barber connected on nine threes in the game. Logan Hitchcock hit four shots from the outside to finish with 19 points. Luke Yearout added 14 points.
