Both St. John basketball teams remain unbeaten despite playing at Class 2A Ellinwood and at Class 4A Larned in week six of the season.
St. John
The Tiger basketball teams sit at a combined 20-0 following a brief trip through area MCAA schools. Tuesday, the squads dominated Class 2A’s Ellinwood. Friday, Class 4A Larned fell victim. The No. 1 (Class 1A, Div. I) boys led Ellinwood 40-14 at the half on the way to a 77-29 win. Friday, Tigers merely led 32-18 at the half before outscoring Larned 35-22 in the second half for a 67-40 win. Spencer Nusser scored 22 points in Friday’s win. Zuriel Reyes went 4-of-8 from three-point land for 19 points. Kade Kinnamon filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
The No. 3 Lady Tigers mowed down a hot Ellinwood team 54-24, then outscored Larned 52-14 in the middle quarters en route to an 80-25 win on Friday. Teresa Christie scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win. Jamie Waters added 18 points, nine assists, and five boards. Tara Christie hit double-figures with 10 points, and Alexis Witt added eight points and four rebounds.
LaCrosse
The Leopard boys rebounded from a 47-33 loss to Macksville on Tuesday to defeat Otis-Bison 65-36 on Friday. The Leopards cruised early on, building a 22-8 lead after one quarter, and extending the gap to 56-34 after three quarters. Kip Keeley scored 18 points, Lucas Moeder finished with 11 points, and Tanner Yohe added nine points. Keeley led the way with nine points against Macksville.
The Lady Leopards gave up a last-second three-pointer in a 40-37 loss to Macksville on Tuesday. LaCrosse led in that game 11-4 after one quarter, and 28-26 after three quarters. With the game tied late, a half-court three-pointer at the buzzer meant the difference. Morgan West scored a team-high 14 points in the loss. Rachel Weigel added eight points. LaCrosse lost another close game on Friday, falling to Otis-Bison 46-45.
Central Plains
The Oiler basketball teams had a busy week six with three games. The Lady Oilers had a great week with three wins to improve to 10-1. Monday, the girls downed Hill City 74-42. Tuesday, the girls beat Kiowa County 55-37. On Friday, they completed the sweep with a 61-49 win against Victoria. In that final game, Central Plains outscored the Knights 23-5 in the second quarter to lead 45-24 at the break. Victoria won the final quarter 16-3 for a more respectable score. Freshman Reagan Phelan scored 19 points. Seniors Jennifer Hitschmann and Janae Hekele added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The boys (6-5) still had a nice week with two wins. They escaped Hill City with a 57-50 win, then defeated Kiowa county 55-47. The streak came to an end on Friday with a 52-39 loss to Victoria. Layne Bieberle paced the Oilers with 15 points in Tuesday’s win, and Michael Ryan was right behind him with 14 points.
Macksville
The Mustang boys have been picking up steam on the hardwood of late, but the play of the week goes to Lady Mustang junior Melissa Espino. Entering Tuesday’s game against LaCrosse, the Macksville girls had just win on the season. With the score knotted at 37, Espino let a half court shot fly. The buzzer beater went in, giving the Lady Mustangs a 40-37 win. Espino finished with 17 points in the game. Tara Bunker added 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Mustang boys won their third-straight with a 47-33 win at LaCrosse. Neither team scored much early with Macksville leading 14-6 at the half. The Stangs went on to lead 28-14 after three quarters before the teams split 38 points in the fourth quarter. Senior Adolfo Ibarra hit both three point tries and lead the squad with 15 points and nine rebounds. Tanner Tranbarger added 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Hugo Flores scored nine points.
Victoria
The Victoria boys’ run into the Class 1A, Div. I rankings may be short-lived. Maybe not. Tuesday, the No. 10 Knights fell to No. 6 Stockton 57-51. They rebounded to handle Central Plains 52-39 on Friday, improving to 6-2 on the year. Victoria led just 21-20 at the half on Friday, then outscored the Oilers 16-7 in the final frame for the double-digit win. Senior Phillip Nowak went 10-of-13 from the floor to lead the way with 22 points. He also cleaned the glass with 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Clayton Roth added 10 points, and Sam Ottley grabbed nine boards to go along with four points.
The Lady Knights did not have a good week with two losses. Tuesday, the girls fell to Stockton 40-38. Friday, No. 8 Central Plains downed the girls 61-49. In that loss, Victoria trailed just 22-19 after one quarter, but fell flat in the second quarter to trail 45-24 by halftime, and 58-33 after three quarters. Kristin Huser paced the team with 19 points, and Ashley Dome added 10 points.
Ness City
The No. 4 Eagle boys had moved to 8-1 on Tuesday with a 61-33 win against Spearville. Friday, Ness City ran into six-foot-nine senior Cody Stetler in Hoisington. Stetler scored 25 points and grabbed 28 rebounds to lift the Cardinals past the Eagles 55-49. Trailing 10-9 after one quarter, the Eagles poured in 21 second quarter points to lead 30-20 at the break. Hoisington went on to win the second half 35-19. In Tuesday’s win, Ness City led Spearville 37-15 by halftime. Garrett Flax hit two threes and led the team with 19 points. Dalton Gantz added 15 points, and Tucker VonLehe scored 13 points in the win.
The Lady Eagles had a rare 0-2 week, falling to 5-5 with a 61-44 loss to Spearville on Tuesday and a 59-46 loss to Hoisington on Friday. Ness City was outscored in each of the first three quarters on Friday to trail 46-33. Makenna Fritts paced the Lady Eagles with 19 points.
Otis-Bison
The Cougar basketball teams posted an 1-3 record in week six of the season. The boys fell to 3-7 with a 54-53 loss to Kinsley on Tuesday, and a 65-36 loss to LaCrosse on Friday. Tuesday’s game was tied at 40 heading into the final quarter. Junior Kole Urban missed just one shot in the game to lead the Cougars with 16 points. Tyler Maier added 12 points, and Dylan Wissman finished with 11 points and a team-high five rebounds. Otis-Bison was outscored in each of the four quarters on Friday, trailing 40-23 by halftime and 56-34 after three quarters. Wissman scored 11 points followed by nine points from Maier.
The Lady Cougars sit at 3-7 following a 49-33 loss to Kinsley on Tuesday, and a 46-45 win against LaCrosse on Friday. Otis-Bison trailed 28-23 at the half of that game but outscored the Leopards 11-5 in the third quarter en route to the win. Hannah Bannister led the way with 13 points, followed by Annie Kraisinger’s 12 points.
Kinsley
The Coyote basketball teams had a good Tuesday against CPL-foe Otis-Bison, but could not repeat the good luck on Friday against Kiowa County. The boys edged out Otis-Bison 54-53 on Tuesday, then were nearly doubled-up 64-34 by Kiowa County on Friday. The girls downed the Cougars 49-33 before falling to Kiowa 40-33.
Nathan Frame led all scorers with 20 points in Tuesday’s win. The girls were outscored 33-12 in the middle quarters of Friday’s loss. Tuesday, Kinsley outscored Otis-Bison 30-15 in the first and final quarters combined for the win. Brittany Gleason scored 21 points, followed by eight points from Paige Hermann.
