The Norwich girls fell to No. 5 in the Class 1A, Div. II polls, but rebounded from a loss to win the Cunningham tournament last week.
Cunningham
The Lady Wildcats did not win their own tournament, but they did post a 2-1 record to advance to 8-4 on the year. Cunningham opened the tournament on Tuesday with a 39-36 win over South Barber. The Wildcats dropped Friday’s game against No. 5 Norwich 49-28, then rebounded to beat a tough Kinsley squad 40-37 for third place.
In Tuesday’s win, Cunningham took an early lead and held it, taking a 16-10 lead into the break against South Barber. The Chieftains cut the gap in half in the third quarter, but Cunningham’s 15 points in the fourth quarter were enough to hang on for the win. Bayleigh Meyers paced the Wildcats with 14 points. Lissy Albers added 12 points, including two three-pointers.
Norwich
The Lady Eagles suffered their first loss two weeks ago and fell from the top spot to No. 5 in the Class 1A, Division II ranks. Norwich got back on track last week, going 3-0 and taking the tournament title in Cunningham to improve to 11-1 on the year. The Lady Eagles cruised to the title game, downing Macksville 52-33 in the opener on Tuesday, then defeating Cunningham 49-28 on Friday. Norwich was in control over Pratt Skyline to start Saturday’s championship, but the Thunderbirds battled back to give the Eagles a scare at 38-37.
Norwich led Skyline 10-7 after one quarter, and took a 24-19 lead into the break. The Thunderbirds shaved a point off that deficit in the third quarter, and three more in the fourth quarter though the effort fell just short. Makenzie Klaver and Michelle VanGiesen each scored 11 points to lead the Lady Eagles.
Central Christian
A key match-up loomed at the Eli J. Walter Invitational at Berean Academy. The Lady Cougars did their part, beating Douglass 47-40 in Monday’s opener, and downing Word of Life 50-39 in the semifinals. Berean did their part in the other bracket to set up the matchup between the No. 5 Cougars (Class 1A, Div. II) and the No. 2 Warriors (2A). Berean got the best of the Cougars, winning 47-33 to win their own tournament on Saturday.
Jamie Patrick continued her torrent of points in Thursday’s win with 36 points against Word of Life. Central Christian (10-3) took a 13-5 lead after one quarter, and added three points for a 27-16 lead at the half. Word of Life would play the Lady Cougars even the rest of the day. Patrick hit four three-pointers on the way to her big game.
Pratt Skyline
The Lady Thunderbirds picked up two wins to open the Cunningham tournament last week. Then Skyline was pitted against former No. 1 Norwich. The Thunderbirds put together a second-half comeback but fell just short, taking second place with a 38-37 loss to the Lady Eagles. The two wins put Skyline at 8-3 on the year.
The T-Birds trailed Norwich 24-19 at the half, then outscored the Eagles in each of the final quarters. Still, that effort was not enough as Norwich just held on. Skyline got past Kinsley 46-40 to reach the title game, and beat Pretty Prairie 39-19 in the tournament opener on Monday. Kaitlyn Stark hit four three-pointers and finished with 18 points in the Norwich loss. Stark also led the T-Birds in Friday’s win with 13 points. Janessa Davis added nine points in that win.
Attica
The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 2-11 with two losses at the Cunningham tournament last week. The girls opened the tournament with a 50-20 loss to a tough Kinsley team. The Bulldogs won their next game 37-34 over Pretty Prairie to advance to the fifth-place game where they fell to South Barber 46-38.
In Friday’s win, Attica failed to outscore Pretty Prairie in any quarter until the fourth, trailing the other Bulldogs 27-19 after three quarters. Attica turned it on in the fourth quarter, outscoring Pretty Prairie 18-7 to sneak away with the win. Sedna Casper led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Brittany Ricke added eight points.
South Barber
The Lady Chieftains could not beat host Cunningham in last week’s tournament, but did salvage two wins and a fifth-place finish to advance to 7-6 on the year. The girls fell to Cunningham 39-36 on Tuesday, then handed winless Macksville a 60-25 loss on Friday. South Barber defeated Attica 46-38 on Saturday in the tournament finale.
The Chieftains used a big second quarter to defeat the Bulldogs on Saturday. Attica outscored South Barber 36-33 in the other three quarters combined, but it was the second quarter, where the Chieftains outscored Attica 13-2 that made the difference. Jessica Daughhetee paced the squad with 19 points. Morgan Koblitz hit two threes and finished with 12 points, and Naicee Gugelmeyer added eight points.
Pretty Prairie
The Lady Bulldogs (3-7) posted a 2-1 record at last week’s tournament in Cunningham, taking down winless Macksville 45-20 on Saturday to finish in seventh-place. The girls opened the tournament with a 39-19 loss to Skyline on Monday, and fell to Attica 37-34 on Friday.
Pretty Prairie had a chance to advance to the fifth-place game, taking a 10-5 lead after one quarter against Attica on Friday, and holding onto a 27-19 lead after three quarters. Attica would have none of it, outscoring Pretty Prairie 18-7 in the final four minutes to steal the three-point win. Chelsea Flickenger scored 11 points in that loss. Renee Elpers and Selena Wapelhorst each added six points.
Fairfield
Things got off to a rocky start for the Lady Falcons last week at the Sedgwick Invitational. The girls lost the opener 42-32 to a struggling Inman squad. From there, things picked up as Fairfield downed Canton-Galva 50-47 on Thursday, then won Saturday’s fifth-place game in dramatic fashion, beating Belle Plaine 55-54.
Belle Plaine took an 18-9 lead after one quarter. After Fairfield (6-6) fought back for a 25-25 halftime tie, the Dragons again took a five-point lead heading into the final quarter. Once again, the Falcons had the answer, scoring 18 points to squeak out a one-point win. Junior Brandy Burns hit four threes on the night to finish with 28 points. Three Lady Falcons: Hali Pankratz, Renae Montford, and Kristen Robersts were next in scoring with five points.
Burrton
The Lady Chargers picked up a 48-44 win against Bluestem Thursday at the tournament at Berean Academy in Elbing. That put Burrton in the fifth-place game where the girls fell to Douglass 46-28, falling to 5-7 on the year. The Chargers lost the opener to Hutch Trinity 49-24 on Monday.
Burrton had to withstand a late charge from Bluestem on Thursday. Leading 32-20 at the half, the Chargers were outscored 24-16 in the second half but were able to hang on to the win. Elizabeth Simoneau was 5-of-6 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc, to lead the way with 18 points. Miranda Day added 12 points and seven rebounds, and Mariah Friesen finished with seven points and 11 boards. Day led the team with 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss to Trinity.
