Perkins County girls fall to Chase County, Wauneta-Palisade

The Lady Plainsmen fell to Chase County on Jan. 16 and 20, and to Wauneta-Palisade on Jan. 17.

In their home game against Chase County, the Lady Plainsmen got off to a slow start and had a difficult time making up for it later in the game.

The Longhorns put on the pressure from the beginning and brought a strong defense, making it a challenge for the Lady Plainsmen to keep the ball in their possession throughout the game.

Chase County made the first basket of the night when they sank a three-pointer a mere 20 seconds into the game. They gained another two points shortly after.

Dani Burge made Perkins County’s first basket of the evening at 6:57, but she was the only teammate to score in the first quarter.

Chase County quickly picked up 19 more points, leaving the score 27-2 going into the second.

Just seven seconds into the second quarter, Chase County added another three-pointer, and both teams struggled to score for the remainder of the period.

Samantha Patrick scored a trey for the Lady Plainsmen with just over a minute left in the quarter. The score was 39-5 at half.

Perkins County picked up the pace in the third quarter and scored five points, three from behind the line by Rylie Huff. The Longhorns scored 11 more points, ending the third 50-10.

Meredith Gloy added four points for the Lady Plainsmen in the final quarter and Burge scored two points. In the last second of the game, Juels Lyon stepped up to the line for two free throw shots, but unfortunately missed both.

Despite Perkins County’s efforts, they were unable to defeat the Longhorns, and lost 58-16.

“Overall we were pleased with how the girls played,” said Coach Katie Cross. “We seemed intimidated by the press and the pressure, but overall handled it okay. In the end, we need to work on our ability to handle pressure and our ability to score.”

Gloy and Burge led the team in scoring, each with four points.

Wauneta-Palisade

Wauneta-Palisade gained a quick advantage over the Lady Plainsmen in the first quarter on Jan. 17.

The Broncos put 19 points on the board, while Perkins County was only able to score five points, ending the quarter 19-5.

The Lady Plainsmen improved their game, starting in the second quarter, adding 11 points. The Broncos, however, put up 18 more points, leaving the score 27-16 at half.

Perkins County continued to improve, gaining 14 more points in the third, while holding Wauneta-Palisade to 11, ending the quarter 38-30.

It looked like the Lady Plainsmen might catch up, however Wauneta-Palisade scored 23 points in the final quarter, while Perkins County only put 15 on the board making the final score 71-45.

Burge and Hallie Fisher led the team in scoring against the Broncos, each with 10 points.

“Wauneta brought a very aggressive type of pressure that was hard for our girls to handle,” said Cross. “As a whole, our girls handled adversity and played very well. It echoed from the night before that we really need to work on our ability to handle all kinds of pressure, and our ability to score.”

Perkins County now stands at 3-11 going into the SPVA tournament where they played Chase County yet again Monday night.

Chase County @ SPVA

Perkins County faced Chase County in the first game of the SPVA tournament on Monday, Jan. 20.

Since the Lady Plainsmen had recently played the Longhorns, they had an idea of their opponent’s play style and defensive strategy going into the game.

In the first quarter, the Lady Plainsmen put seven points on the board, but the Lady Longhorns gained an eight point lead, 15-7.

Perkins County continued their efforts to the half, but were only able to score five points versus the Longhorns’ 16. The game was 31-12 at half.

The Lady Plainsmen fought to close the gap, but the 10 points they scored in the third were not enough to catch the Longhorns. Chase County added 18 more points to make the score 49-22.

In the final quarter, Perkins County scored just three points while their opponents gained 10. The Lady Plainsmen were defeated 59-25.

Fisher led the team in scoring with six points.

Next Action

Perkins County will now face Sutherland in the SPVA tournament on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. Central Time at North Platte Community College.

The winner of that game will go on to play against Kimball on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 12 p.m. Central Time in North Platte.

Their next non-tournament game will be at Holyoke on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 5:30 p.m.