Perkins County girls’ basketball falls in first round of SPVA

    As the month of January drags on for the Perkins County girls’ basketball team, Head Coach Deanne Bishop is hopeful that January’s struggles will lead to February success.
PCS lost to Chase County and Wauneta-Palisade last week as the Plainsmen continue to be without the services of leading scorer Kailee Potts.
In Potts’ absence, Bishop said she’s hopeful that players will step out of their comfort zones and embrace new roles.
Confidence in those new roles will hopefully make the Plainsmen stronger for the quickly approaching postseason.
Chase County
Bishop said she knew rebounding, especially limiting Chase County’s second chance points, would be important in her team’s Thursday night game against the 10-4 Longhorns.
It proved to be a tall task for the Plainsmen. CCS pulled down 20 offensive rebounds in the game and scored 15 second chance points.
Meghan Bishop got PCS on the board with a three pointer and added a second three before the first quarter ended.
Meredith Gloy powered the Plainsmen offense in the second quarter, scoring all of her game-high eight points in the quarter.
Autumn Anderson made a field goal and Libby Cole knocked in a three pointer after halftime.
Cole, Maggie Fisher and Kaitlin Meyer scored for PCS in the fourth quarter of the 30-64 loss.
Perkins County also missed Potts’ ball handling skills. Chase County forced 30 turnovers and turned them into 31 points.

Wauneta-Palisade
PCS made the trip to Wauneta the following night to take on the 10-4 WP Broncos.
The Plainsmen’s triangle-and-two defense tied WP in knots early on and its offense gave PCS a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Gloy and Cole each scored six points in the first quarter. Fisher added a conventional three point play and Anderson and Bishop each chipped in two points.
The game remained close as halftime approached. Gloy added four more points to go with field goals by Biship, Cole and Fisher. PCS led 29-28 at halftime.
Cole scored the Plainsmen’s first four points of the second half. After a basket by Fisher, Cole connected on a three pointer. With 1:17 left in the third quarter, PCS held a 38-37 lead. WP finished the quarter on a six-point run leaving Perkins County trailing 38-43 heading into the final stanza.
A basket by Anderson and free throw by Gloy kept PCS in striking distance, 41-45 with 6:31 remaining.
Perkins County sent the Broncos to the free throw line often in the fourth quarter where WP made 5-10 as the game wore on.
After a basket by Cole, Fisher added two free throws to the scoreboard. A three pointer by Bishop kept PCS within five points, 48-53, and with two minutes remaining Cole cut the deficit to three points.
Despite a long range bomb by Gloy, WP closed out the game with a 8-3 run leaving PCS trailing 53-61 as time ran out.
Cole led the Plainsmen with 19 points and rounded out a double-double with 12 rebounds. Gloy finished in double figures, as well, with 14 points.

SPVA begins
As injuries and illnesses continue to take their toll, Bishop said her team was down to five varsity players for the Plainsmen’s SPVA opening round matchup with Hershey.
Seeded fifth, PCS lost to the fourth seeded Panthers 24-64.
Perkins County, now 7-7, will next play Saturday at 11 a.m. MT against either Sutherland or Kimball.
A SPVA recap will be available in next week’s paper.