All six MCAA basketball teams in action during week two were busy at the Gene Keady Classic in Larned. Hoisington had the best go of it with two third-place finishes.
Larned
The Indian basketball teams once again hosted the Gene Keady Classic in week two of the basketball season. The Lady Indians had the better finish, falling to Hoisington 69-44 in the consolation match to finish fourth.
Larned (1-2) opened its season at the tournament with a 50-39 win against Kiowa County. They lost to Spearville 40-28 in the semifinals, then fell the the Cardinals on Saturday. In Monday’s win against Kiowa, Larned used two big quarters to pull off the win, outscoring the Mavericks 29-14 in the middle quarters. Senior Reagan Quick led the Lady Indians with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Tiara Diaz knocked down two threes to add 11 points, and junior Jessie Johnson finished with nine points and 12 boards.
The boys (1-2) dropped their opener to Kiowa 63-45, but rebounded to beat Spearville 53-43 on Thursday. Easton Palmer scored 11 points in the win. Michael Reece added eight points and nine rebounds, and Brayden Smith and Nolan Allison each scored eight points.
Hoisington
Saturday’s consolation match of the girls’ Gene Keady Classic in Larned pitted MCAA-foes Hoisington and Larned against one another. The Lady Cardinals used a big second quarter to down Larned 69-44. The Hoisington boys also finished third, downing Kiowa 66-31.
In the girls’ game, Hoisington scored 22 points in the second quarter and added 18 more points in the third quarter to establish a 55-33 lead. The girls led just 15-14 after one quarter. Jordin Greer paced the Cardinals (2-2) with 22 points. Abi Rhiza added 17 points. Hoisington won its first game of the tournament against Kinsley 47-33, then fell to Class 1A powerhouse St. John 51-21 in the semifinals.
The Cardinals boys are also 2-2 after their consolation win. Big-man Cody Stetler paced Hoisington with 20 points on Saturday. The Cards reached the consolation by beating Kinsley 61-41, then falling to St. John 63-43. Stetler scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Kinsley win, nearly pulling off a triple-double with five steals. Anthony Broeder added 14 points and Steffan Dolechek scored eight points.
Ellinwood
The Eagles were one of three MCAA schools competing at the Gene Keady Classic in Larned all last week. The Lady Eagles picked up their first win and another to finish the tournament at 2-1. The boys dropped all three of their games to fall to 1-3 on the year.
After a 40-23 loss to Class 1A power St. John to open the tourney, Ellinwood (2-2) outscored Kinsley 18-9 in the final quarter to steal a 56-55 win. The next day, the Lady Eagles carried that momentum to handily beat Kiowa County 60-41. Ellinwood scored 22 points in the first quarter of that win. Junior Sophie Hayes had 18 points and six rebounds in the Kiowa win, followed by 14 points and seven rebounds from sophomore Rachel Doll. Juniors Kelsea Ward and Amanda Tucker split 15 points and 16 rebounds, and sophomore Blake Wilt added nine points.
The boys had a hard luck tournament. After falling to St. John 55-26 in the opener, the Eagles lost to Kinsley 54-53 on Thursday, then lost a 44-37 lead late to lose to Spearville 49-48 on Saturday. Ellinwood made just 2-of-20 three-point attempts on Saturday. Seniors Kyle Blakeslee and Cody Isern each scored 14 points, and Blakeslee led the team with seven rebounds.
