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Hoisington won its second straight Winter Jam title on Saturday. (Mike Courson / January 20, 2013) |
The Cardinals boys claimed a title at their own tournament. The other basketball teams in the league each suffered at least one big loss in week seven of action.
Hoisington
For the second year in a row, the Cardinal boys got it done in their own tournament. Hoisington defeated Victoria 49-39 for the Cardinal Winter Jam title. Hoisington (9-2) reached the championship by beating Ellsworth 70-40 in the opener on Tuesday, and taking down Minneapolis 48-29 on Friday. The Cardinals led just 18-17 at the half against Victoria. After several lead changes, Hoisington took the lead for good at 26-24, eventually pushing the gap to 34-24 in the third quarter. Senior Cody Stetler and freshman Jacob Warnken each scored 15 points. Anthony Broeder added nine points. Stetler added 10 boards and four blocked shots, including three in the final 2:30.
The Lady Cardinals posted a 2-1 record at the Jam to improve to 5-6 overall. After a 47-37 loss to Ellinwood in the opener, the girls downed LaCrosse 47-39, then beat Otis-Bison 45-31 on Saturday. Jordin Greer scored 24 points in Saturday’s win. Abi Rziha added eight points.
Ellinwood
The Lady Eagles entered Saturday’s title game at the Winter Jam with just three losses: two to Class 1A power St. John, and an opening-game loss to Russell. Ellinwood had a chance to avenge the Russell loss but instead fell behind 17-0 before eventually falling 55-40 for second place. Ellinwood (8-4) beat Hoisington 47-37, and outlasted Victoria 46-44 in overtime on Friday to reach the finals. In that game, the Lady Eagles were cruising with a 30-15 lead early in the third quarter. Victoria battled back to lead 38-25. In the extra frame, Blake Wilt went 5-of-6 from the free throw line for the only Ellinwood points in overtime. Sophomore Rachel Doll hit three threes in the second quarter and scored 17 points in the win. Sophie Hayes added 15 points, and Wilt finished with seven points.
The Eagle boys (4-8) won their opener against Otis-Bison 47-45, but it went downhill from there with a 61-35 loss to Victoria in the semifinals, and a 60-32 loss to Minneapolis in Saturday’s consolation game. Patrick Ringering paced the Eagles with 14 points in the Otis-Bison win, followed by 11 points from Kyle Blakeslee, nine points from Tanner Swank, and seven points from Marc Waite.
Larned
The Indian basketball squads had a rough week. The boys went 0-3 at the St. John tournament. The Lady Indians traveled to Great Bend on Tuesday for a 77-20 loss. The boys dropped to 2-11 after the tournament. Larned opened with a 62-44 loss to Macksville, then fell to Ness City 70-46. Saturday, the Indians came up just short of a win with a 61-54 loss to Medicine Lodge. In Friday’s loss to Ness City, Larned had a solid second quarter with 20 points. Ness City won the other three quarters by a combined 51-26, including a 21-6 lead after one quarter. Easton Palmer led the Indians with 14 points. Camryn Bryant finished with 11 points.
The Lady Indians (2-9) fell apart after a good first quarter at Great Bend. Trailing just 16-12, Larned was outscored 48-8 over the next two quarters, and 13-0 in the final frame. The Lady Indians scored just two points in the second half. Tiara Diaz hit a three and led Larned with eight points.
TMP
The Monarch basketball squads each posted a 1-2 record at the Hillsboro tournament last week. That resulted in a sixth-place finish for the boys, who fell to the host Trojans 58-49 in the fifth-place game. They opened with a 69-57 loss to Holcomb, then defeated Riley County 52-35 on Thursday. The Lady Monarchs had a tough bracket, falling to No. 4 Hillsboro 65-25, then losing to No. 2 Holcomb 57-9. The girls pulled off a 46-45 win in Saturday’s seventh-place game against Goodland.
The Monarch Boys (4-8) led 27-19 at the half in Saturday’s game. Jordan Gottschalk paced the team with 13 points. The girls (2-10) barely survived for their second win. Freshman Melissa Pfeifer hit two free throws with 33 seconds to play for a 46-44 lead. Goodland had a chance to tie at the line made only one freebie. TMP had another chance at the line but missed both tries, leaving the door open for Goodland, who missed a good look close to the basket in the final seconds. Heather Ruder lead the way with 23 points and eight steals. Samantha Younie added six points.
