Most of the MCL teams took some extra time off as weather interrupted Thursday’s final scheduled games of the year. A few teams finished up on Tuesday.
Ellis
The Lady Railroaders climbed into the Class 2A rankings last week only to play host to another newly ranked team in No. 7 Ness City. No. 9 Ellis pulled off the minor upset, improving to 6-1 overall with a 67-46 win. Ellis led just 29-28 at the break before outscoring the Lady Eagles 18-8 in the third quarter and 20-10 in the fourth quarter. Freshman Alexcia Deutscher continues to be a key factor with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Stephanie Greenway added 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, and Bailey Hensley finished with 12 points.
The Ellis boys hand their hands full with No. 3 Ness City, staying close the unbeaten Eagles in a 73-64 loss. The Railroaders (4-3) led 31-28 at the half but gave up six points to the Eagles in each of the final two quarters to fall behind. The difference came from three-point land where Ness City was 10-of-18, and Ellis made just 4-of-21 tries. Tyler Walters and Blake Hudson each scored 12 points, and Jared Mick finished with 10 points.
Norton
The Blue Jay basketball teams split their final contests of the year against Cambridge on Tuesday. The Norton girls easily won their game 59-26 to improve to 5-2 on the year. The boys fell to 3-4 overall with a 47-36 loss.
The Lady Jays never allowed more than 10 points in a quarter from the Nebraska-based Trojans. Norton led 24-13 at the half, and 42-17 after three quarters. Junior Bailey Ambrosier hit all seven field goal tries to lead the Jays with 16 points. Tawni Griffey added 12 points, six steals, and five assists, and Kamilla Jones finished with eight points. Katelyn Englebert grabbed 10 rebounds and finished with seven points.
Trego
The Golden Eagle basketball teams came out on opposite ends of a route Tuesday night at Wheatland-Grinnell. The boys won their game 59-33 to end 2012 at 3-4. The Trego girls fell 56-35, leaving the year behind with just one win at 1-6.
The boys cruised to a 36-22 halftime lead, but Wheatland scored just 11 more points in the final two quarters as the Golden Eagles ran away with the win. Senior John Griffith hit 4-of-7 three-point tries to lead the way with 25 points and six steals. Junior Clayton Riedl also had a monster night, missing a trile-double by just one block with 20 points, 18 rebounds, and nine blocked shots. The girls had their best offensive-output of the year with 35 points. Trailing 22-21 at the half, Trego was outscored 34-14 in the final two quarters. Addie Zeman led the team with eight points. Bailee Fritts and Shaylee Flax each added seven points.
