The Smith Center girls are No. 3 in Class 2A, and continue to score at will, putting up 70-plus in both wins last week to improve to 18-0 on the year.
Smith Center
The No. 3 Lady Redmen all but clinched the MCL title with two wins last week. Tuesday, the girls went out of league to take down Rock Hills 75-23. Friday, the Redmen (18-0, 8-0) handled Stockton 72-28. Smith Center had 35 steals in the Stockton win. Trenna Cox scored an unconventional double-double with 11 points and 12 of those takeaways. McKenzie Benoit led the team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Tangie Hileman added 12 points, and Sydney Benoit added 10 points. Tuesday, Hileman scored 25 points in the win. Cox nearly had another double-double with 20 points and eight assists.
The Smith Center boys improved to 12-6 overall, 6-3 in the MCL with a 51-46 win at Rock Hills, and a 52-46 win at Stockton. Alex Hobelman had 13 points in the Stockton win, and Kale Terrill followed with 11 points.
Trego
The Lady Golden Eagles (12-7, 6-2) won their third-straight game with a 55-39 win over Wichita County on Tuesday. That streak came to an end on Friday when Phillipsburg downed Trego 59-52 and all but clinched second place in the MCL. The girls used a hot start to take a 27-14 lead after one quarter on Tuesday. They pushed the lead to 46-27 after three quarters. Lexi Riedel hit two of three tries from the outside to lead the way with 21 points. Hannah Dietz added 15 points, eight rebounds, and five steals. Haley Dietz scored 11 points in the win.
The Trego boys fell to Wichita County 50-38, then edged out Phillipsburg 61-59 to move to 8-12 on the year. Trailing 16-12 after one quarter against Phillipsburg, the Golden Eagles outscored the Panthers 35-29 in the middle quarters for the win. Clayton Riedel recorded a rare-triple double, finishing with 11 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 blocks. Blake Fritts and Devin Ghumm each scored 13 points in the win, and John Griffith finished with 10 points.
Phillipsburg
The Lady Panthers picked up two wins last week, staying atop Trego for second place in the MCL with a 59-52 win on Friday. Phillipsburg also downed Concordia 52-31 on Tuesday. In that win, the Lady Panthers (12-5, 6-1) led 15-3 after one quarter, and held a 46-21 lead after three quarters. Mattison Dusin, Jordan Kellerman, and Regan Bartels each had nine points in the win. Dusin led the team with 11 rebounds.
The Panther boys dropped both of their games last week, falling to 8-10 with a 76-62 loss at Concordia, and a 61-59 loss to Trego on Friday. The Panthers scored 25 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, but Concordia had already done plenty of damage, putting up 27 points in the second quarter and leading 61-37 after three quarters. Sean Newlan scored 16 points in the loss and grabbed eight rebounds. Sam Sage and Grant Wickham each added seven points. Seth Derr scored five points and dished out 10 assists.
Stockton
The Tiger boys fell to 5-13 overall with two losses last week. The squad fell to LaCrosse 71-36 on Tuesday, then dropped Friday’s MCL game against Smith Center 52-46. Stockton took a 37-36 lead into the final quarter on Friday, but Smith Center outscored the Tigers 16-9 in the final eight minutes to take the win. Justin Wiltfong provided nearly half the score with 20 points. Koby Beougher added 10 points.
The Lady Tigers also dropped two games last week, falling to LaCrosse 50-31, and losing to No. 3 Smith Center 72-28. Freshman Morgan Beougher was a bright spot in Friday’s loss, scoring 20 of Stockton’s 28 points.
Norton
The Blue Jay boys had a rough week, losing three games to fall to 11-8 on the year. Tuesday, Hoxie handed Norton a 55-35 loss. The Jays jumped back into MCL play Thursday, falling to Hill City 54-52. They completed the week with a 52-45 loss at Ellis on Friday. Hoxie held Norton to just four first quarter points on Tuesday, taking a 30-13 lead into the half. Jacob Brooks led the Jays with 12 points and nine rebounds. Andrew Ellis added seven points, and Jordan Wahlmeier and Dillon McConney each scored five points.
The Lady Jays (9-10) did get a win, beating Hill City 38-33 on Thursday. Norton also dropped two games, losing to No. 2 Hoxie 75-38, and to Ellis 38-26. The Lady Jays outscored Hill City 16-5 in the first quarter and were able to ride that lead to the finish on Thursday. Tawni Griffey led the team with 12 points, five steals, and four assists. Katelyn Englebert added 11 points, and Erin Terrell finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Hill City
The Ringneck boys put together three more wins last week and have now won seven in a row. Tuesday, the boys downed Northern Valley 66-43. They followed that with a 54-52 win against Norton, and a 49-40 win at Osborne on Friday. The Ringnecks outscored Northern Valley 22-2 in the fourth quarter on Tuesday to pull away for that win. Adam Pfeifer scored 24 points. Matt Craig added 13 points, and Solomon Wilson finished with 11 points.
The Lady Ringnecks lost to Norton 38-33 on Thursday, then handed Osborne a 49-40 loss on Friday. Hill City had to bounce back from a 15-8 first quarter deficit in that win. Kelsey Keith and Shelby Stewart each scored 15 points.
Osborne
The Lady Bulldog struggles continued last week with two more losses, pushing the streak to five games. Osborne has lost seven of its last nine, falling to 7-11 on the year. Tuesday, the girls fell to Sylvan-Lucas 37-33. Friday, they lost to Hill City 49-40. Osborne led 8-7 after a quarter of play on Tuesday. Sylvan battled back to take a 24-20 lead after three quarters, holding that lead for the win. Alyssa Windle led the way with 12 points, and Caitlin Miller finished with 10 points.
Ellis
The Railroader boys improved to 12-7 with two wins last week. They dominated Natoma 65-29 on Tuesday, then beat MCL-foe Norton 52-45 on Friday. Ellis outscored Natoma in each quarter on Tuesday, leading 33-18 at the half, and winning the second half 32-11. Thatcher Brown went 9-of-12 from the floor to pace the team with 18 points, also grabbing eight boards. Tyler Walters hit two threes to add 14 points and nine rebounds. Blake Hudson hit both of his three-point tries, finishing with 12 points in the win.
The Lady Railroaders picked up two wins, improving to 8-11 on the year by beating Natoma 72-36 on Tuesday, and downing Norton 38-26 on Friday. Ellis did all of its damage in three quarters on Tuesday, taking a 19-7 lead after one quarter, and leading Natoma 46-19 at the half. Bailey Hensley led the team with 16 points. Megan Honas added 13 points, and Mikayla Gottschalk added 10 points.
