The three CPL powerhouses each picked up two more wins in week 10 of action. The unbeaten St. John boys survived a slight scare from Victoria on Friday.
Central Plains
The Oiler basketball squads posted four easy wins in week 10 of action. Monday, the No. 6 Lady Oilers downed Ellinwood 66-47. Friday, they jumped back into league play, improving to 15-2 overall with a 61-26 win against LaCrosse. Monday, Central Plains already led 24-10 after one quarter before using a 14-0 run to open the second quarter. The Oilers earned a running clock with 5:05 to play in the game. Senior Katie Hipp scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jennifer Hitschmann and Reagan Phelan also scored 17 points apiece, Janae Hekele added eight points, and Taylor Rolfs finished with seven points.
The boys (10-8) are back on the plus side in the win column after a 72-46 win at Ellinwood, and a 54-36 Homecoming win against LaCrosse. Monday, the Central Plains youth showed its talents. Freshman Braeden Crites scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore Layne Bieberle also finished with 19 points, and freshman Michael Ryan scored nine of his 16 points in the first quarter.
St. John
The top-ranked Tiger boys improved to 17-0 with two more convincing wins. Tuesday, the squad knocked-off LaCrosse 54-22. Friday, the Tigers got a rare scare from Victoria, leading the Knights only 19-13 at the half and 31-23 after three quarters. Senior Spencer Nusser scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Dean Wade added a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Omar Ramirez scored eight points.
The No. 3 Lady Tigers (15-2) got back on track with two big wins. Tuesday, they led LaCrosse 68-8 after three quarters in a 74-22 win. Friday, the girls downed Victoria 58-25. Jamie Waters scored 22 points in Tuesday’s win, followed by 14 points from Teresa Christie, 12 points from Tia Smith, and 10 points from Alexis Witt.
Otis-Bison
The Cougar boys picked up the lone win for the school in week 10. Otis-Bison (6-11) need a big final quarter to do it. Trailing 35-32 at the half and 54-46 after three quarters, the Cougars outscored Trego 22-13 in the final eight minutes to steal a 68-67 win. Friday, the boys fell to Ness City 57-47. Senior Dylan Wissman filled the stat sheet on Tuesday with 22 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Tyler Maier added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Justus Bartonek scored 12 points.
The Lady Cougars fell to 4-13 overall with a 53-29 loss to Trego and a 56-43 loss to Ness City. In Friday’s game, Otis-Bison trailed 45-25 after three quarters before scoring 18 points in the final frame for a more respectable score. Annie Kraisinger led the way with 11 points. Hannah Bannister and Kim Pechanec each added 10 points.
Macksville
For three quarters, the Mustang boys hung with No. 1 Fowler on Friday night. Unbeaten Fowler led 37-29 at the half. Macksville (11-5) battled back for a 47-44 score with a quarter to play. The Goldbugs doubled-up the Stangs 22-11 in the final frame for the deceptive final score. Tuesday, Macksville outscored Kinsley 24-9 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 68-49 win. Adolfo Ibarra scored 24 points, followed by Jordan Welch’s 15 points. Tanner Tranbarger finished with 14 points, six assists, and six rebounds. Clayton Wood added 12 points.
The Lady Mustangs dropped to 3-13 with a 50-47 loss to Kinsley and a 61-57 loss to Fowler. In Tuesday’s game, Macksville held a 43-34 lead heading into the final quarter before being outscored 16-4. Tara Bunker scored 14 points in the loss, and Mindy Wood finished with 10 points.
Ness City
The Eagle boys picked up two more wins to improve to 12-5 on the year. Tuesday, the squad downed Western Plains 71-57. Friday, the Eagles picked up a league-win in a 57-47 contest against Otis-Bison. In that Friday win, Ness City outscored the Cougars in each of the first three quarters to lead 25-15 by halftime and 43-32 after three quarters. Tucker VonLehe and Colin Foos each poured in 16 points for Ness.
The Lady Eagles also picked up two wins, moving all the way back to .500 at 8-8. Tuesday, the girls got past Western Plains 46-27. Friday, they downed Otis-Bison 56-43. In Friday’s win, the Lady Eagles already led 30-22 at the half before outscoring Otis-Bison 15-3 in the third quarter for a 45-25 lead. Erin Flax and Jessie Rubottom each scored 17 points, and Tristan McVicker hit double-figures with 10 points.
LaCrosse
The Lady Leopards saw perhaps their toughest week of the year against two ranked teams. Tuesday, the girls fell to No. 3 (Div. I) St. John 74-22. Friday, LaCrosse (4-14) headed to No. 6 Central Plains (2A) for a 61-26 loss. Tuesday, the Leopards managed just eight points through three quarters, falling behind 68-8. Senior Rachel Weigel scored 10 of the team’s 22 points. Sophomore Alyssa Oborny and Marissa Wagner added seven and four points, respectively.
The boys also went 0-2 on the week, falling to 6-12 overall. Tuesday, the Leopards fell to No. 1 St. John 54-22. Friday, Central Plains beat LaCrosse 54-36. Trailing just 7-5 after one quarter against unbeaten St. John, LaCrosse fell behind 23-15 by the half and 42-18 after three quarters. Sophomore Sheldon Schmidt led the team with seven points, and senior Derrick Depperschmidt added six points.
Victoria
The Lady Knights picked up a non-conference win against Hoisington on Tuesday. After holding on against the Cardinals 49-44, the squad fell to No. 3 St. John 58-25 to drop to 9-8 overall. In Tuesday’s win, the Knights led Class 3A’s Hoisington 20-19 at the half, then outscored the Cardinals 29-25 over the next two quarters for the win. Audra Nowak and Kristin Huser each finished with 17 points for game-high honors.
The boys had a tough week playing against opponents with a combined 31-3 record. Tuesday, the 9-8 Knights fell to Hoisington 55-46. Victoria gave No. 1 St. John a rare fight on Friday before falling 49-36. Tuesday, the Knights outscored Hoisington 33-22 in the first and fourth quarters combined, but lost the middle quarters 33-13. Dalton Dreiling hit two threes and finished with 10 points. Phillip Nowak added seven points, and Sam Ottley led the team with nine rebounds to go along with two points.
Kinsley
The Coyote basketball squads each went 1-1 in week 10. The Kinsley girls picked up a 50-47 league win against Macksville on Tuesday, then dropped to 6-10 overall with a 52-50 loss to Bucklin on Friday. The Coyote boys are 9-8 after a 57-31 win against Bucklin and a 68-49 loss to Macksville
Tuesday, the girls outscored Macksville 16-4 in the final eight minutes to pull out the win. Brittany Gleason led all scorers with 25 points, and Amber Espinosa finished with 10 points. The boys dominated Bucklin early on Friday, leading 37-13 by halftime. Nathan Frame scored a game-high 17 points, and Greg Newsom also hit double-figures with 12 points.
